Oh well, it's always nice to dream.

Reality, however, doesn't have to dash your hopes. Instead, plant the next-best garden - one that thrives within your specialized conditions: sun, shade, soggy, dry, clay, sand or any in-between micro-climate.

The secret is to pick the right plant for the right spot. There is a dependable species for every difficult garden spot, writes Linda Yang in the book ``Plants for Problem Places,'' a publication among Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides.

To evaluate your problem place, record its light conditions - dappled or dense shade, morning or afternoon sun. Sample the soil for clay and sand, fill a hole with water to see if drainage is good or water stands too long, test the pH, acidity and nutrients. Deal with one problem spot at a time because soil conditions can change within a few feet.

Hunt for suitable plants after you know the factors of your planting space. You will be less frustrated and the plants will be happier if you work with what you have instead of struggling against Mother Nature.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and the ``Southerner Gardener's Books of Lists'' suggests these plants for some specific uses:

Light shade: hellebore, fern, foxglove, penta, hosta, columbine, primrose, lily-of-the-valley, daylily, azalea, nandina, impatiens, coleus, caladium, hydrangea, cardinal flower, hardy begonia, Snowbank boltonia, bluestar, ajuga, periwinkle, ivy, foamflower, coralbells, astilbe, Otto Luyken laurel, fatsia, aucuba, anise, leatherleaf mahonia, winter daphne, pieris.

Hot, dry: rudbeckia, fernleaf yarrow, false indigo, butterfly weed, tickseed, Joe-pye weed, goldenrod, candytuft, hardy ageratum, threadleaf coreopsis, purple coneflower, sedum, juniper, nandina, Indian hawthorn, Japanese barberry, glossy abelia, sunflower, yucca, flowering quince, spirea, fatsia, oleander, windmill and needle palms, ornamental grasses, firethorn, red bud, crape myrtle, ginkgo, golden raintree, live oak, lacebark elm.

Wet: swamp milkweed, Joe-pye weed, cardinal flower, bee balm, Cinnamon and Royal ferns, Japanese iris, canna, wax myrtle, spicebush, inkberry, sweetshrub, river birch, bald cypress, red maple, sweet bay magnolia.

Windswept: Daylily, maiden grass, coreopsis, rugosa rose, heather, wax myrtle, ribbon grass, Russian olive, Eastern red cedar.

Clay: daylilies, obedient plant, purple coneflower, milkweed, Shasta daisy, goldenrod, moonflower, morning glory, sunflower, loblolly pine, sweet bay magnolia, river birch, red maple.

Sandy: sunflower, purslane, old-fashioned petunia, fernleaf yarrow, daylilies, butterfly weed, canna, lantana, lemongrass, ornamental grasses, autumn sage, spurges, chaste tree, golden raintree, bald cypress, lacebark elm, live oak, Chinese pistache, Leyland cypress.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Let's hear a round of applause for the winners of giveaways at the Gardening '98 workshop sponsored by Hampton Roads Gardening, Christopher Newport University, Virginia Cooperative Extension and Hampton Roads Horticultural Society:

Doris Eagle, Japanese maple; Coenen Landscaping, Newport News.

Gayle Phillips, wiegelia; Alexander Costen, rose of Sharon; Susan Rilliet, iris; Patricia Weil, Swedish Ivy; Nickerson's Landscaping, York.

Mary Grant, three-gallon azalea; Roadview Farm Nursery, Gloucester.

Deb Hubbard, 50-lb. bag Southern Belle Grass Seed; Turf & Garden, York, Chesapeake & Suffolk.

Kim McGlone, four passes; Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk.

Linda Orgeron, $140 trimmer; Stihl, Inc. of Virginia Beach.

Pat Meider, four passes; Virginia Living Museum, Newport News.

Susan Haller and Marlene Weisz, Fiskar's pruning tools.

Kaye Gundry, Susie Kilduff, Barbara Flechner, Wilma Franklin, Harriet Cook, Grace Raymond, gardening books .

Gift Certificates:

Helen Jones, $100; Anderson's Home & Garden Showplace, Newport News.

Ann Williams, $50; McDonald Garden Center, Hampton, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake.

Joanne Armstrong, $25; Smithfield Gardens, Suffolk.

Karen Ewing, $15; Weekend Gardener, Waterside.

Diane Bittner, $50; White's Old Mill Garden Center, Chesapeake.

Also, congratulations to Maxwell Garden Club, best in show, floral arranging competition.

Many thanks to these contributors: Harris Teeter food stores, buffet lunch for 250; Nutri-Green, 500 sample bags of organic compost; Roadview Farm Nursery, 300 one-gallon azaleas; Signs by Daily Press, signs; York master gardeners, workshop moderators; Bess Coffee, floral judge.

Mark April 17 on your calendar for Gardening '99!