It is s Sunday. You've spent a long weekend in the garden and I bet you are sore. Really sore.

I swear, gardening should have a pre-season – like spring training when baseball players gradually work themselves into shape and none of the games count.

I started grabbing the occasional warm day in February to begin cleaning up my beds (I have too many and they are too large.) And I broke my garden down into what I thought were bite-sized sections.

But still, at the end of the day, I felt like I had fallen down the steps. And there is still so much left to do.

 There are two ways to ease the pain of the start of garden season, and a hot tub and a glass of wine is one of them.

The other is to soak in a hot bath of Epsom salt – the same salt you might be putting around your roses – for at least 30 minutes. Use about two cups.

 Epsom salt contains magnesium sulfate and when it is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling and relaxes muscles.

It will also help you soak out thorns or splinters. After your soak, rinse off, pull on a soft robe and rest for 20 minutes.

If you are like me, the resting for 20 minutes is the hard part. There is always something more to do in the garden.

Oh, and drink plenty of water to rinse the toxins out of your muscles.

 Any other home remedies out there for the pains of the spring garden?