Newsletter - March 2009

Hi,

March is in like a lion and isn't it wonderful to see so much rain? I'm a typical Californian in that when it's raining I stay inside until the storm passes. I don't know how the people of Oregon and Washington function. They do have beautiful gardens though. When I interview people for their garden designs, I'm often shown a picture of a northern garden as the goal plan. It's not happing here except perhaps in small pockets. We have too many dry months.

In my garden I did manage to spray lime-sulfur on the nectarine before blooming to control "peach-leaf curl". The dwarf tree is beginning to bloom with adorable pink blossoms, but if you get too close the sulfur aroma is still present. Ugh. I replaced a dead, columnar apple with a dwarf pear and will see if I have better luck with this variety in a container. Did you know that when replacing fruit trees, the variety must be changed? Nature gives fruit trees the ability to impede competition. Their roots emit a toxin into the soil to prevent any other tree of that same type to grow. The apple was a Malus genus and the pear is Pyrus, so this won't be a problem for the new tree. Just don't try to replace a dead cherry with another cherry and you'll be okay.

I also planted two more grape vines for the arbor. Because I'm gardening in containers on my garage roof and limited by weight, I've found that the two existing grape vines aren't adequate to cover the shade arbor by themselves. There isn't enough root space for them to develop more mass; so extra vines are the answer. Both the vines and the tree were purchased bare root. If you have bare root varieties still in their packaging, plant them immediately. March 1 is the cut-off date.

The daphne continues to perfume the side garden with its "citrus-blossom" fragrance, but I know people walking by think the aroma is coming from the blooms of the Lenten Rose (Helleborus spp.). The colors range from white to pink to dark mauve and old rose, but not fragrant. They really do open at the beginning of Lent and hang on turning green in the process until Easter. They're a nice transition from winter bergenia, to calla lilies, columbine and campanula.

There are two wonderful garden shows to attend this month. First this coming weekend is the orchid show at Ft. Mason, San Francisco. Yes, I'm biased as this is one of my favorite flowers, but I don't know how anyone can ignore the display of variety and form and not be impressed. The larger show (in two more weeks) is the San Francisco Landscape Design Show that has moved this year from the Cow Palace to a convention hall in San Mateo -- about sixteen more miles of travel for us. They say it will be the last show, which is difficult to believe. This is the place to go to if you're looking for design ideas, new plant introductions and plants galore, plus artists making anything for the garden including fountains, waterfalls, topiary cages, wrought iron, koi, wind mobiles & chimes, books, prints, tablecloths, pottery, clothing, playground equipment, seeds, bulbs, irrigation innovations and organic gardening products. In the past I've purchased an enameled bistro set for my kitchen garden window and ratcheting garden shears-a favorite tool for weak hands. If you love gardens, this is the place to go. Directions, ticket fees and other pertinent information for both shows are available on-line.

This is such a busy time. Our safe-to-plant-frost-date is March 15. If the soil isn't too soggy, its time to put out seed and starts for the summer vegetable and annual flowerbeds. But watch them carefully until after the middle of April, as we've been known to get a late "surprise" frost. It's also time to apply the first dose of fertilizer to your citrus and camellias. If the weather is nice, the yearly general application of balanced fertilizer (10-10-10, 12-12-12) can go down too. Enjoy the month.