Whether cut or potted, these tips will help your evergreen stay fresh
Roseville offers two-month course designed for home gardeners; sign up now
Popular holiday plant comes in wide range of hues including several shades of pink
Recipe: Sweet potato latkes, served with applesauce and sour cream
Be prepared to chill: Frosty mornings return to Sacramento forecast
Green Acres offers ornament-themed container gardening workshop Dec. 16
Celebrate and support the amazing structure underfoot
Shop for unique gifts at this destination nursery (and much more)
American River Ranch hosts Saturday walks, workshop, produce stand and gift shop
The Secret Garden hosts hands-on mosaic classes in December and January
Recipe: Zest and herb combination also works in muffins
December starts with damp days but good planting conditions
Sacramento's October-November rain total tracks very close to 2022.
Sacramento, Placer master gardeners stuff these guides with useful information
First revisions since 2012 reflect rising low temperatures; Sacramento stays in same zone
See beautiful decorations and help some good causes
Debbie joins Green Acres Garden Podcast to share how to use fall harvest
Recipe: Mandarin mulled cider gets sweetness from fresh citrus
Freeze warning remains in effect through Monday morning; take frost precautions
Overnight lows near freezing put poinsettias at risk
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of Dec. 22
* Between showers this week, check on your garden’s welfare. Clean up fallen branches and other debris. Don’t let water pool near foundations.
* When working (or just walking) in the garden, be careful of soggy ground; it can compact easily. Soggy soil also will rot newly planted bulbs. Wait until the soil is moist but not dripping wet.
* Rake leaves away from storm drains and gutters. Recycle those leaves as mulch or add to compost.
* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers such as poinsettias, amaryllis and cyclamen indoors, and Iceland poppies, calendulas, pansies and primroses outdoors.
* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location; bring them inside at night or if there’s rain. (They don’t like cold, wet weather.)
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they’re dormant.
* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Once soil dries out a little, trees and shrubs can be planted now, especially bare-root varieties such as fruit trees or rose bushes. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from winter rains.
* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.