Before putting away the paper, make a date for the annual Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.

This year, the show runs Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 14-18, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.

Check how many rusting old cars are the centerpiece of "shabby chic" garden designs, and expect to find the Lazy Gardener volunteering for the Hardy Fern Foundation on Friday evening.

WITH THE weather apparently settling into a typical Puget Sound cycle of sun, clouds and rain, it's time to check out early offerings at your favorite nursery.

Hellebores continue their popularity because they're easy care for and bloom during winter. They should be the valentine flower because they're usually blooming at this time.

Also popular are other plants that bloom in late winter. These include the lusciously vanilla scented sarcococca shrubs, witch hazel in colors from pure gold to crimson, sultry daphne odora, and spicy scented, deep pink-colored viburnum bodnantense.

Well-stocked nurseries will carry a good selection of winter flowering plants for your garden.

Q: The snow flattened my Japanese Maiden grass. May I cut it back now?

A: Miscanthus gracilis is an excellent plant for summer, fall and winter drama. During summer, Maiden grass is a fountain of narrow leaves up to 5 feet tall.

As fall approaches, the flowers and seedheads begin to show. With winter, the leaves turn a soft buff color and provide texture in the garden.

Usually, such deciduous grasses are cut back to six inches during late February just before new growth begins. However, if your grass is looking too sad to add anything to the landscape, go ahead and cut back early.

Evergreen grasses are generally not cut back but rather groomed to remove dead leaves. However, if grasses like Blue Oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) are also snow-flattened, don't hesitate to cut back to 12 inches.

Snow-flattened New Zealand flax (Phormium species) may be groomed leaf by leaf to remove broken and damaged leaves.

DO NOT cut back flax plants as you would grass. A wholesale slice and dice will leave them looking even sadder for several years, as they are much slower growing than grasses. The tough leaf stubs are not a pretty sight.

Q: A friend said I should be pruning my roses now. What do you say?

A: Hybrid tea, floribunda and other modern roses should generally be pruned twice each year. A fall pruning that reduces the bush by 50 percent will also reduce the rocking effect that comes during our frequent windstorms.

Rocking can loosen a rose's root ball and lead to winter freezing and dehydration, and poor growth the next season.

Modern roses get a final pruning in mid-February. Since roses bloom on new wood, the intent of pruning is to encourage new strong growth.

Remove all branches smaller than a pencil and cut back others by up to 50 percent. Remove crossing branches and dead stems. Make cuts at a slanted angle above a node or growth bud.

Clean up all debris around the rose to reduce black spot and other fungus diseases. Do not fertilize at this time, as it would cause soft growth that would be lost in a late freeze.

There are great books written on the care and feeding of roses. Every enthusiast should invest in at least one care reference.

An alternative is to plant roses that don't require so much effort, such as the shrub rose (Rugosa cvs.) and other easy care species.

Q: When should I prune my mophead and French lace hydrangeas?

A: Both mophead and lace hydrangeas bloom on new wood that grows from the previous year's wood. If cut back severely, a hydrangea is unlikely to bloom for 2 years.

To encourage bloom, prune these hydrangeas now. Cut back last year's wood to two to four strong new shoots as close to old wood a possible. Also cut out some of the oldest branches to open up the shrub.

Blooms are heavy and need a vigorous branch to hold them up. The difference between old wood and last year's wood is fairly easy to see upon close examination.

Old wood is usually light in color with a bark-like texture. Last year's wood is likely to be dark and smooth. If the regimen of cutting back to two to four buds each year is faithfully carried on, the age of any branch can be determined simply by counting the pruning cuts.

That helps in determining the oldest branches to be removed each year.

E-mail inquiries and suggestions to lazy.gardener@comcast.net.