Sign up for a free winter ramble Sunday near Davis
The 2023 Winter Ramble was soggy but there was plenty for close observers to see in Patricia Carpenter's native plant garden. Kathy Morrison
Winter gardens are subtle but satisfying for plant lovers. The changes and activity require closer observation than other times of the year.
Patricia Carpenter, a California Native Plant Society Garden Ambassador, gives the region's garden fans a chance to enjoy those views this Sunday, Jan. 28. She'll open her secluded 1-acre native plant garden west of Davis from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday for a Winter Ramble.
The garden, on the west side of Pierce Ranch Road south of Russell Boulevard, will be open rain or shine for self-guided tours; visitors can start any time during those hours. Maps will be available for use on site.
Admission is free but registration is required. Register here.
Here's what Carpenter describes as the highlights of the winter garden:
An optional short orientation and Q&A gathering with her will be held at noon and 2 p.m. Meet at the check-in table.
Visitors are welcome to bring a lunch or snack to enjoy on site. Please leave dogs at home. Carpenter suggests wearing sturdy shoes; any footwear that can handle mud is a good idea this time of year. A composting toilet is available on site as well.
Read more about Carpenter's garden and access a map at her CNPS profile page. Her non-native garden also will be open for strolling Sunday.
For anyone wishing to start or add to their own native plant garden, Miridae Mobile Plant Nursery's truck will be at the garden entrance for sales. Check the current inventory here.
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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