It’s time to play in the dirt! With trees budding and flowers blooming, the gardener in many of us is ready to clean up flower beds, plant vegetable gardens, and be inspired by wandering through nurseries.

We’re waiting — or not — for the weatherman to say the danger of a freeze is past so we can move our plants back to the patio or front porch. While we’re at it, we’re deciding which of them is ready to be repotted or separated.

Across the country and in Dresden & Company’s home village of Dresden, community gardens are being planned and the promise of harvest has people smiling. The thrill of gardening doesn’t escape apartment dwellers who know how to grow vegetables on their balconies.

Sometimes the selection of a new planter can be just as exciting as choosing which flowers or plants will go into the planter. Where will it go? What will look best in it? Do I give it as a gift or keep it for myself?

D&Co. has an innovative Basket Planter in three sizes in April. It combines a synthetic terra cotta-colored pot with a woven basket sleeve.

Andy Wolfe, director of Product Development and Manufacturing, said they wanted to design a planter that wouldn’t leak and where the surrounding sleeve would stay dry. The result is simple with the curved rim of the planter fitting tightly into the upper band of the sleeve.

“If we let the sleeves dry overnight before fitting the planter and added a touch of glue to the rim of the planter the sleeve and planter become one,” Andy said. “We just had to find the right glue, so the weavers didn’t end up with their feet glued to the floor or their fingers glued together. That can make it hard to weave,” he joked.

The pot has drainage holes. All you need to complete your Basket Planter look is a saucer for the pot and the flowers or plants you want to grow.

The D&Co. Basket Planter comes in Small, Medium and Large. The Large is only for D&Co. hosts so contact your Pro now if that’s the one your gardening soul needs.

Our planters will look good in any room of your home or on your covered porch or balcony. D&Co. recommends you not expose them to the elements to protect the basket weave.

These planters would make wonderful gifts for the greenest thumbs in the family or for the horticulturist getting their degree. Fill the planter with a few gardening tools, a gift card to the nursery and tie a bow around it all.

Or maybe you like the look of a houseplant without the work. Find a faux tree or plant and position it where you would like in your home.

We always like to think beyond the basket. You could use this to hold bottles of shampoo and lotions in the bathroom, extra kitchen tools or a child’s bath toys.

While we think of spring as the time to plant. This Planter Basket will be happy even in winter with a Norfolk Pine in it for the holidays.

Just plan ahead. That’s something gardeners always do.