Add a rainbow of color to your water-wise garden with easy-care bearded irises
New! Banana blueberry pancakes (with one banana lots of blueberries).
After record-setting heat, Sacramento gardeners may be getting a break
Tips to rescue vegetables, shrubs, container plants and more after too much sun, heat
Free event includes speakers, demonstrations, vendors
How to give bees a hand and pollinate squash, cucumber, melon and pumpkin flowers
Placer County master gardeners also host monthly Open Garden at Loomis Library.
Visit master gardeners at the State Fair Farm, pet a live sturgeon.
New! Pick your garden favorites for a quick side dish
Remember to water; Sacramento could be in midst of record heat wave
Water trays benefit these beneficial insects in more ways than one
Early watering and extra worries define these hot days
Sign up now to learn about mosaic, terrariums, succulents and more
Lincoln and Rancho Cordova also affected, and that's just the start
Sacramento could hit 111 degrees this week; remember to water
New! Grilled apricot and feta salad with balsamic vinaigrette
July starts red hot; be prepared for record heat, high fire danger
Weather service declares 'Excessive Heat Watch' for Sacramento region
The ubiquitous tree gives summer landscapes some pop
How to replace turf, prepare soil for future planting
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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.
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