Category: Monthly Garden Advice

“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. But humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine for example, one need be neither god nor poet. One need only own a good shovel.” Aldo Leopold

December is a quiet month, at least in the world of nature. The natural garden is a quiet place as well, and a perfect refuge for us in a month when many are running about…

Fall is in the air and the breeze, in the soil and on the calendar. And just in time, as always, comes the perfect precursor for winter, when our natural gardens grow ever quiet.

A season of hope. A look to the skies for the start of our rains. New birds arriving from distant lands, long migrations while others have left, flown south. The beginning of the horticultural year in the California natural garden.

We’re entering one of our two “tweener” months… we call May “pre-summer” and September “post-summer.” Now we see fall ambling up the way towards us, with not a care in the world.

Many of our natural gardens in southern California are still enjoying the benefits from our abundant rains last season, especially if they have already received a couple Deep Soaks and several Refreshing Sprinkles to date.

We’re looking forward to summer with warmer temps, but in reality, near the coast we’re still wearing long sleeves and even a jacket now and then.

These copious rains of 2022-23 have been very kind to native plants everywhere… in wild places and in garden spaces… abundant flowers, on both spring annuals and shrubs, and lots of new growth. This month we continue the enjoyment as we begin to methodically prepare for summer.