After sunny days, change is in the air; rain's due Thursday
Elk Grove garden store hosts family fun along with sale
Celebrate, learn about and purchase California natives
Just in time for fall color, a new self-guided tour teaches about varieties on campus
Fun outdoor events at the Carmichael nature center this weekend
Indoor plant store in Davis draws shoppers via social media
Try mandarins in an easy parfait dessert
Frost could be in the forecast. Make the most of clear days in the garden.
New location replaces locally owned business's first store
Frosty weather can endanger trees and fruit
Enjoy live music and plenty of mandarin-flavored foods
Find handmade arts and crafts (and food) in time for holiday shopping
See mums of all types and learn how to grow them, too
Treat features fruit and a special ingredient
Make the most of soft ground and clear skies
Prepare for frost with these handy tips
Find native plants at find out farms
Find gift ideas, food and plants galore
Sacramento-area textile artists model their one-of-a-kind creations, then hold big sale.
We also have tips on how to seed them without a mess
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 24
In between rainy episodes this week:
* Keep your gutters and storm drains cleared. Watch out for leaning trees or weakened branches; if you spot trouble, call an arborist.
* Remember to turn off the sprinklers or other irrigation. Be careful walking on or working with wet soil; it can compact easily.
* On rainy days, do some indoor gardening. Tend to houseplants. Sort seed packets. Start seed indoors for cool-season veggies and flowers.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Rake and compost leaves, but leave at least some healthy leaves in planting beds for nesting insects and foraging birds. But dispose of any diseased plant material. For eample, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* If you decide to use a living Christmas tree this year, keep it outside in a sunny location until Christmas week. This reduces stress on the young tree.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* After they bloom, chrysanthemums should be trimmed to 6 to 8 inches above the ground. If in pots, keep the mums in their containers until next spring. Then they can be planted in the ground, if desired, or repotted.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers such as California poppies and plant spring bloomers such as as sweet peas, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.