Hi ~
First thing to find out is what zone you are in, and when the last expected frost date is. I live in southern Missouri, and have been mowing the grass for almost a month now. We are in Zone 6 and not quite ready to put out annuals, which have a tendency to be a bit on the tender side. (Cold weather crops such as peas, lettuce, spinach, potatoes and onions, brocolli and cabbage have been in several weeks already.)
Once you have determined if it is "safe" to plant, especially in containers which are above ground and more susceptible to a frost or freeze (no ground protection and residual warmth), then you can jump right in.
A container 'garden' I love is a spike, geraniums and cascading petunias. The spike (generally about $2 and get the smallest one you can find as they grow!) is centered in the pot once you have put in some stones for drainage, followed by potting soil that is not wet and sticky (wish discount stores would cover those bags of potting soil displayed outside by the greenhouse so the contents would not be the consistency of peanut butter!) and then plant three geraniums (color of your choice in a triangle shape around the spike. Next comes 6 cascading petunias (love to have 3 of the deep purple and 3 of the white) in the next concentric circle and around the outer edge, finish off with some white or purple allysum. Gorgeous all summer long!!
With petunias, you will have to deadhead the expended blooms so that the plants keep producing for you.
This planting is stunning but requires a large pot ~ worth it, however. I have two of these on my deck with smaller pots of geraniums and allysum.
BTW, you can winter over the geraniums by repotting in the fall in smaller pots and housing them indoors in a sunny window, OR you can gently pull the plant from the soil, remove blooms, shake off the excess dirt around the roots, put in a brown paper grocery bag, and staple or paperclip the top down. Store in a cool, dry place for the winter. The following spring, remove the plant from the bag and put into a glass of water for up to 3 weeks, watching for new white-ish growth in the roots. When you have good root growth, replant in the container for another year of beautiful blooms.
I have also propagated dozens of new plants off the previous year's plants in either of these two above manners. We generally have to pay about $3 apiece for good sized geraniums so I would much rather propagate my own ~ I use about 20 of them a year in various beds and containers.
Sandie
What flowers could I plant now?? 
It is about time, but I can't complain because we really didn't have that bad of a winter...
Well my question is this.. This weekend dh and I are going to go and pick up some flowers and plant them in a huge planter.. And I was wondering what kind of flowers 
So I wasn't sure what I could plant??? I know there are a lot of gardeners here on this board and hopefully someone here could give me some imput on some flowers..;-) I was thinking maybe like pansies or something to that sort?? I read a while ago that those take up a frost if we did get one.. Is this true?
I also have a little space where I am able to plant some in the ground but we (dh and I) live in at a condo complex so outside planting is limited besides the planters... Well that is all for now, and I hope someone out there will be a help to me.. Thank you for reading this message.. And if you are able to help or give me advice 
Ang
