winter garden
The weather may be less predictable at this time of year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still do plenty in the garden. As I’ve mentioned before, it is not recommended to walk on soggy soil as it compacts the clay particles, not to mention it makes a mess of your shoes. But periods between rains are ideal for clean-up and planting. All that foliage blown off trees is perfect to break down in a compost heap. If you have a shredder it will probably break down faster, though. Compost heaps need to be turned every now and again for aeration, to keep the moisture even and to keep leaves and stems from forming mats. The material will be breaking down much more slowly, however, at this time of year due to the cooler temperatures.
You can clip off brown foliage on perennials and shrubs at this time of year or leave it as a little extra frost protection until the late winter. An extra blanket of burlap or other fabric thrown over tender plants at night when there is a frost warning will minimize damage from frosts. Try not to leave the cover on during daylight hours, though, to allow light and air circulation.
Lawns should be over-seeded with cold weather grasses if you want to keep them green during the winter. Or you can chose to take the winter off and allow your lawn to fade to an olive green in dormancy requiring little to no additional watering. Even seeded lawns will need a markedly reduced watering schedule once germinated. Avoid evening watering in winter unless it is cloudy and feels like it could rain. In fact, lawns should require no more than an early morning watering even if there are extended periods between rains.
Consider planting hardy California natives and drought tolerant plants. Wait for cactus and succulents ‘til the weather dries out. There are a number of bulbs that do well planted this time of year. You can eek out the last of the iris and fill in with last minute tulips and daffodils. Mid and late blooming spring bulbs can be planted now. And look for all the bare-root trees, vines, berries and other perennials, both edible and decorative, that are pouring into stores and nurseries. You’ll get a better selection and much better prices buying these plants dormant and unpotted. It’s also much easier to transport them without the heavy, bulky pots to spill soil. The only downside is that you need to soak them once unwrapped and get them planted right away.
Since there are plenty of chores to do in the garden this month, you might want to gift yourself with a short trip to local vendors to see what’s new for your garden. After all, you spent all that time during the holidays shopping for everyone else, wouldn’t it be fun to spend just a little on yourself and your garden as a reward?
Jane has produced hundreds of landscape designs, each one a unique work of art specially adapted to the client’s tastes, needs and budget. She also does on site consultations and coaching through Gates & Croft Horticultural Design. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. You can find her online listed under The Garden Coach Directory or check out her site at http://www.gardengates.info for more gardening and landscape design information for the greater Santa Clarita area.
During past decade, Jane has been writing landscape design and gardening articles for newspapers like the Los Angeles Daily News and local magazines like The Agua Dulce/Acton Country Journal and Santa Clarita Living Magazine. You can find over a thousand articles she’s written nationally on the internet for the Examiner, eHow and InfoBarrel. She also continues to paint, draw, illustrate and cartoon. She is one of the featured artists published in the 2009 ‘100 Artists of the West Coast II‘ just released by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. and available in major book stores and on the internet. Her original paintings are handled by the Orlando Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
Contact information for Jane:
661-299-5383
