The days are markedly shorter, the nights cooler, and our winter gear can soon make its way into our wardrobes for daily use. Our plants are in transition too, breathing a sigh of relief after those brutal heat waves last summer. Native plants literally spring to new life with the first rains, and fall weather signals them to open their little doors and windows for winter moisture to come in.
From a native plant horticultural perspective, it’s New Year’s Day every October 1.
Native plants are still in dry season mode and are almost poised to receive water and start growing. We have always considered September 15 the start of a new horticultural year.
The current heat wave has pounded the southland with scorching temps for three days already, and the forecast for the next few offers little relief. What to do in your natural garden.
The dry season is when every principle of Re-wild is on display. Since our activity in the garden is still minimal, native plants look as “natural” as they ever will, and we celebrate their natural beauty by basically leaving them alone. Just a little weeding and of course watering as needed, but mostly watching, as they mimic their botanical counterparts out yonder in the wild places.
As we build and maintain our mini-ecosystems, we create living narratives and leave dynamic marks for everyone to utilize, appreciate, interpret, read, remember, and hopefully emulate, in both present and future.
The spring flew by, didn’t it? Hard to believe we soon will be dealing with long days, hot weather and our plants’ summertime water needs.
The cool (never extremely cold) and consistently wet winter/spring season has allowed us to put our gardens on autopilot. Even brand new plantings have required very little extra attention. Our storms have stacked up evenly over the last six months or so, totaling 20” of rain to date (TOLN reading), with more on the immediate horizon. Rejoicing in another easy year to be a naturist gardener.
Our climate zone is called Mediterranean, but maybe we should start referring to our weather as uniquely “Californian.” We get our rain in winter and spring. But in between what we call “rain events,” we can have some of the most beautiful days imaginable. It is not uncommon to appreciate a perfect 78 degree beach day, only to be immediately followed by cold blustery winds, heavy rain, and snow levels below 3000 feet. Three or four days like that and when it clears, we’re back to the beach! No where on earth is quite like this.
“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
