The key is that corticosteroid sprays take several days of consistent use to reach full efficacy; starting them two weeks before your typical allergy season onset is significantly more effective than starting them once symptoms arrive.

What a beautiful table actually requires is attention to a handful of structural principles and a willingness to work with what the season is offering — which in spring is, frankly, quite a lot.

The mechanics are simple: divide the amount you'd normally sow into three or four smaller portions, and sow each portion two to three weeks apart.

Rhubarb is the quintessential April ingredient — tart, fibrous, deeply pink, and available before almost anything else in the spring garden or at the farmers market.

Asparagus has one of the most compressed seasons of any vegetable — Spring is when the spears are at their most tender, their most sweet, and their most abundant at market.