Gardening resolutions for the new year
Here’s wishing you all the joy of the season. Have a Happy New Year!
After searching the internet for a garden-relevant greeting for this occasion, I found an interesting quotation by an unexpected source, Albert Einstein, who said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
That’s a solid thought for all people and for all times, and particularly appropriate for gardeners. We learn continually from our plants’ performance, luxuriate in their ripening fruits and blossoms, and eagerly await their growth during the next season.
New Year’s Day is a traditional opportunity to commit to the pursuit some productive behavior during the next 12 months
(at least), but gardening does not begin on the first day of each year. Instead, it is a cyclical process oriented to the seasons.
With this in mind, our New Year’s resolutions might reflect Einstein’s sage advice, with seasonal updates. Let’s see where that leads us, since we recently entered the winter season (Dec. 21).
Care for your garden
Our resolutions for this season can be organized with the Three Ps: Pruning, Planning and Planting.
In a previous column, I recommended seasonal pruning of herbaceous perennials and woody shrubs and trees. Your pruning resolution could include learning the botanical names of your plants, documenting each plant’s best pruning practice, and then doing it. Explicit actions could include buying or borrowing a book on pruning or searching the internet for pruning guidance for each of your plants.
The gardener’s practical tasks in bringing a planning resolution into reality include taking a leisurely examination of your garden’s strong and weak points, and listing changes needed for improvement. Adopting a thematic approach for selected beds or areas of the garden can support a coherent planning and yield clear objectives to accomplish. Soliciting the input of thoughtful friends or studying ideas from books or websites can be helpful. The best plans, however, are your own, because they will benefit from your commitment and reward your visions.
I have regularly recommended installing new plants or transplanting existing plants early in the winter season (or late in the fall season), to allow time for the plants to develop roots and prepare to burst into spring growth. The side benefits of your planting resolutions are that seasonal rains will relieve the gardener of watering chores and maintain the plants as they do their thing.
I haven’t mentioned weeding as a seasonal task, but that also deserves attention. When I looked at recently churned up beds in my garden today I saw a fuzzy carpet of tiny weed sprouts. A few timely minutes with a hoe should be included in my resolutions.
Advance your gardening knowledge
The garden- related webinars are resuming after the holiday break. Here are two that have early notice and that are worth considering.
The Cactus & Succulent Society of America will present “Peru and the Genus Matucana” at 10 a.m. Saturday. The speaker, Graham Charles, has presented literally hundreds of talks on cacti and succulents, written numerous articles, and edited related printed and online journal.
The genus Matucana is in the cactus family (Cactaceae) and includes 20 species of mostly globular plants. It exists in nature only in Peru, mostly along the Maranon River, which is the principal source of the Amazon River. Some Matucana species are endangered, due to poaching by plant collectors.
This webinar focuses on a relatively obscure plant genus, and might be dismissed by gardeners with other priorities, but it provides an opportunity for an experienced and knowledgeable presenter to broaden your horticultural horizons. And it is free! For more information and to register, visit https://cactusandsucculentsociety.org/.
Fine Gardening magazine will present “New Plants That are Showing Promise,” at 4 p.m. Jan. 21. The speaker will be Richard Hawke of the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Here’s the description: “Richard Hawke of the Chicago Botanic Garden has spent much of his career trialing plants. Each year he puts new offerings into the test gardens at CBG and monitors their overall performance. Do these new plants have a good habit? Do they get diseases easily? Do they come back reliably after a harsh winter (or four winters)? Over the past few years Richard has developed a list of newer plants that have done quite well in the trials—plants that he feels confident enough to recommend to gardeners—and even plant in his own landscape. In this webinar you’ll find out which new plants are worthy of your hard-earned dollar.”
To register for this free webinar, visit https://www.finegardening.com/gardening-webinars
Lastly (for this column), you can explore the online photos and notes of plants in my garden. Since March 22, as a social distancing project, I have been sharing daily posts of my plants. All posts are available for viewing. Searching these posts involves a two-step process.
1. Visit http://ongardening,. com/ and click on “Facebook Page” for an alphabetical list of 265 plants that have been posted. When you see a plant of interest, copy the plant’s name.
2. Open my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/ , click on the search button (looks like a magnifying glass) and paste the plant name in the search window.
The second time will be easy! You can also follow my Facebook page to see future posts.
Enrich your gardening days
Adding a plant to your garden is a reliable approach to an enjoyable and enriching experience. A new plant from a friend, a garden center, or mail- order nursery can provide a momentary horticultural adventure, and a long-term pleasure as well.
Acquiring a new plant container from a garden center or pottery outlet can also enrich your gardening day and bring you an aesthetic beyond black
plastic nursery pots. In an upcoming column, we’ll explore the process of matching plants and containers.
Yet another enrichment of your gardening days could come from adding a good new tool to your collection. This is another topic for exploration in a future column. There are both special-purpose tools and high- quality general-purpose tools to consider, with a range of prices. As one example, indulging in a unique, handcrafted trowel by Fisher Blacksmithing might transform an everyday garden task into a special occasion.
Keep your emotions positive and your viruses negative and enjoy your garden.
Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 19992009). He is now a board member and garden coach for the Santa Cruz Hostel Society.