Need a last-minute gardening gift?

The Placer County master gardeners also have an excellent guide/calendar, aimed more at gardening in the foothills. "Healthy Garden, Healthy You" is the theme, and the price is $12. Find it at more than two dozen retailers in Placer and El Dorado counties; the link to the full list is here. Online and mail orders also are accepted.

Sacramento's also is $12 and can be found at several nurseries:  The Plant Foundry, Emigh Hardware, Talini's and the four Green Acres in the county, plus the Wild Birds and Gardens store. (Call first to make sure a particular store still has it in stock.) It also can be ordered online here; postage is extra.

Great little stocking gifts:

-- Seeds, but not just any seeds. Look for seeds from Hedgerow Farms, now carried at Green Acres stores. These seeds are grown in Winters, at a farm that provides California native plant seed for large-scale conservation and habitat restoration projects around the state. The retail seeds are a side business. My choice: The Central Valley wildflower mix, but they also have native milkweed seeds (showy and narrow-leaf), tidy tips, blue-eyed grass, lacy phacelia and more. Prices are 99 cents to $4.95. 

-- Wooden clothes pins. Check the local hardware store or some big-box stores for these. Usually in a pack of 36. Endlessly useful in the garden, as fertilizer or soil bag clips, trellis assistance, shade cloth clips and even plant markers. The wooden ones last much longer than plastic ones.

A gift for the whole year, easily purchased online:

-- Membership in the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. The Arboretum is a regional treasure, with its acres of native and other plants, quiet spaces to observe nature, and a top-notch Teaching Nursery. Members get deals on the fall and spring plant sales in addition to supporting all the good work that goes into maintaining the Arboretum. Plus, members get discounts and free admissions to gardens throughout North America, and discounts on purchases at select nurseries and online retailers.

For gift memberships, check this page. Individual memberships start at $48, and $72 for a family. The main Friends membership page is here.

(Psst: The spring plant sale dates have been announced! Mark your calendar for March 8, April 6, April 26 and May 10.)

Happy holidays!