Happy first day of summer! Here's a bucket list for the next 3 months

Ah, summer is here! The solstice arrived in California at 1:51 p.m. today.

Sacramento gets to enjoy 14 hours and 51 minutes of daylight today; that amount will slowly drop as the summer progresses. By the time the fall equinox arrives Sept. 22, we'll be down to about 12 hours of daylight.

Here's a completely arbitrary bucket list for gardeners to glean some special moments from the next three months.

1. Go out to your garden after sunrise -- but no later than 9 a.m. -- and just stand there, watching. Avoid the temptation to deadhead or water or pick or weed right now. Give yourself a full 5 minutes (or more) of just observing. Listen to the bees already at work and the mockingbird singing overhead. A hummingbird may happen by, or maybe a dragonfly. This is nature and you're part of it -- how wonderful! Do this at least once a week until fall.

2. Pick something you're growing and eat it right there in the garden. (No fruit or vegetables? Well, nasturtiums, marigolds, and mint and basil flowers are among common edibles.)

3. Plant sunflowers if you haven't already. If you have some, plant more, if only for the birds and squirrels.

4. Choose seeds for a cool-weather garden early, while there is still a good selection. This seed-starting period always creeps up on gardeners -- for most crops, it begins in August. Decide to grow something you've never tried before. For me last year it was bok choy.

5. Designate one spot for a "moon garden." Choose white-flowering plants, ones with silvery foliage and/or some with fragrant night flowers. Make sure the one plant or several will be lit by the moon, not blocked by fences or side of the residence. Shasta daisies, candytuft, sweet alyssum, calla lilies and impatiens are among white flowers easily found. Common yarrow and chaparral yucca are California natives with white blooms. Silver foliage plants include lamb's ears, dusty miller and Russian sage, while fragrant plants that would work include nicotiana, evening primrose and star jasmine.

6. Visit a public garden or neighborhood park you've never been to. Make notes on the plants. Which ones work together? Any summer-dormant natives? Are there a lot of birds? Which plants are the bees drawn to?

7. When a heat spike is expected, bring a bit of the outdoors inside: Early in the morning, cut a selection of flowers (especially roses), small branches, vines and the like that will probably get blown out or crisped later in the day. Put them in a vase or other arrangement to see while indoors. You grew it, now enjoy it!