Courtesy of Harry Thurston
Native California fuchsia blooms in the summer and fall, providing both late-season color, and attracting hummingbirds with its long, tubular red blossoms. Now that the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are fading into memory, it’s time to get back out into the garden. Actually, there’s not a lot of traditional gardening to be done, but there’s enough to whet your appetite for spring.
Here’s some chores to attend to this week.
- Now’s a good time to take a good long look at your garden and landscaping. Are there bare spots in the lawn, open gaps in the hedges, space for a new tree? Is the garden of your dreams emerging, or is it time to do some adjusting?
- While you’re studying your space, look closely for trees that need pruning, flower beds that need weeding and areas that need fresh and additional mulch.
- Has your garden outgrown the irrigation system? Now would be a good time to switch to drip, make repairs and check out what might work better in your yard.
- If you haven’t pruned your roses and dormant fruit trees, there’s no time like the present. Prune trees for size and shape, but also remove dead and diseased branches, water sprouts and crossing branches.
- If you love California poppies as much as we do, plant them and other wildflowers for a glorious display in the spring. Sow seeds on moist soil and keep moist until seeds begin to sprout. With any luck, Mother Nature will take care of that, but if winter rains are scarce, you’ll need to break out your garden hose.
- This month is a great time for planting California natives, including California fuchsia, desert mallow, Bush monkeyflower and hummingbird sage.
- If you’re looking for leafy vegetables, plant arugula, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, fennel and kale.
- It’s bare root season for fruit trees and roses. Pick out your favorite, and get them into the ground now.
