Celebrate Earth Day with the Earth Gratitude Festival
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EARTH GRATITUDE
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Positive Results: 
Drought Design
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by Cynthia Brian
“That which surrounds you is within you.”
~ Karl Schmidt
Days of heat followed by days of near-freezing cold! Out of nowhere, a beautiful hailstorm covers the ground in white pebbles. The weather forecasts sunshine or cloud cover, but no rain in future days. According to the New York Times, the seven hottest years on record globally were experienced in the last seven years. The atmospheric river of December provided a respite and a hopeful prospect for drought relief. January, February, and March are traditionally the wettest months here in California, but this year, January and February were the driest in years and March isn’t looking much better. Maybe the Irish leprechauns will exert their magical powers to make it rain on St. Patrick’s Day!
DESIGNING FOR DROUGHT:
As I gaze upon my peach tree blossoms intermingled with crabapple buds blooming much too early, I admit that I am basking in this early spring. Although I am an eternal optimist that imagines positive outcomes, if we want our gardens to survive and thrive, we need to design for the drought. Here’s how to get started now to be ready for whatever transpires as the months warm.
CHECK FOR LEAKS
Make sure that your outside pipes are insulated against freezing. Water expands when it freezes causing pipes to burst. Even a tiny 1/8 crack could spew 250 gallons of water per day. If you witness wet spots, water running along driveways, or puddles, investigate for a leak. Check hose bibs for drips, replace washers, and routinely inspect automatic sprinklers and connections.
AMEND THE SOIL
The foundation of every garden is the soil. The ideal soil drains quickly while storing water. For drought toleration, add several inches of rich, organic compost to encourage deep root formation while trapping moisture. Make your compost by adding kitchen scraps, eggshells, coffee grinds, tea leaves, shredded newspaper, leaves, lawn clippings, fish bones, aged manure, non-diseased weeds, and other organic matter to a bin or pile. Do not use human, dog, or cat feces. Don’t disturb the lower levels of the ground to allow worms and micro-bacteria to do their jobs of aerating and feeding the earth. In a drought, double and triple digging techniques are not recommended.
WATER WELL
To stay healthy, most plants need at least one inch of moisture per week. The best way to save your plants as well as conserve water is to water deeply and infrequently.
The penetration of the water encourages deeper roots that are more resistant to drought conditions. A good rule of thumb is to water until the dirt has a hint of shine. Lawns and bedding plants require a drink to a depth of six inches while perennials, trees, and shrubs need closer to twelve. Plan to irrigate either early in the morning or evening when absorption will be maximized, and evaporation minimized. Just as humans rejuvenate from a good night’s rest, plants do most of their growing at night. Traditional overhead sprinklers can lose half of their effectiveness to evaporation, run-off, and overspray. Drip and soaker hoses are the best bets for deep soaking to the root zone. Soaker hoses may be covered with mulch making them invisible. When water is restricted prioritize rationing by watering:
- Newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials.
- Newly seeded or repaired lawns.
- Plants with exposure on windy sites or in sandy soils.
- Flowering vegetables.
MULCH
Three inches of much will insulate your plants from the heat, cold, and elements. Mulch keeps the ground cooler, maximizes water retention, reduces evaporation, and improves the appearance of your landscape. Mulch includes pine needles, straw, leaves, wood chips, bark, and even gravel. As it decomposes it becomes compost and enriches the soil. When that happens, it is time for a new top layer of the mulch of your choice.
WEED
Weeds steal moisture and nutrition from neighboring plants. Pull or cut down unwanted weeds.
STOP FERTILIZING
If you plan to fertilize this season, do it now while the weather is still cool, and dew is apparent. Feeding while it is raining is the best prescription for plant wellness. If you fertilize without sufficient water, the roots will burn, and the plants will die. Fertilizing encourages new growth and new growth will stress your already stressed specimens. As the weather warms, refrain from fertilizing again until rain is forthcoming.
PLANT FOR DROUGHT
I’m a big believer in bulbs. In our temperate climate, you dig a hole, plant, forget, then be awed when bulbs pop up and bloom. Daffodils, calla lilies, freesia, hyacinths, Dutch iris, and many others are all excellent spring-blooming bulbs that require minimal care and reap huge bloom benefits. For summer flowering, plant gladiolus, Naked ladies, agapanthus, Asian lilies, tuberous begonias, dahlias, iris, and canna. Succulents offer a magnificent maintenance-free drought investment. Succulents come in many shapes, sizes, and colors with beautiful blooms and little water requirements. Sedums are spectacular as groundcovers or upright attracting bees and butterflies. Jade, echeveria, Senecio, haworthias, aconitum, and ice plant all have varied textures and attractive flowers. Unlike cactus, succulents don’t have thorns, making them a favorite for rock gardens.
Don’t forget to plant edibles. A small four-foot by eight-foot bed can be planted with plenty of nutritious vegetables and herbs to feed a family of four. Decide what you enjoy eating and plant only those to avoid watering vegetables that you won’t consume.
Surrounding me now is plenty of sunshine and within I feel sunny and bright. Yet, I’m counting on the luck of the Irish to bring a bit of Emerald Isle precipitation to the shores of California this St. Paddy’s Day! In case there isn’t that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I’m designing for drought.
Goddess Gardener Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for March
ü FERTILIZE hungry lawns to strengthen roots, resist cold, heat, and high traffic when weather is wet. This feeding will help combat the stress of drought.
ü AERATE your lawn. The soil is compacted from winter rains and foot traffic. Leave the plugs to add nutrients back into the grass.
ü CONTINUE to protect frost tender plants
ü POUR chamomile tea around the base of newly planted seedlings to eliminate fungus growth.
ü CUT boughs of camellias to use in a bowl or arrangement.
ü PAMPER yourself with an exfoliating and moisturizing facial from your garden. Squeeze lemon juice from your Meyer lemon tree into a bowl and mix with lavender petals and ¼ cup olive oil. Home brewed spa experience in 20 minutes.
ü CONTINUE to compost, compost, and compost. This is the single most important ingredient of growing a great garden. Buy an inexpensive compost bin from your local waste service.
ü SPADE six inches of rich compost into your vegetable garden in preparation for the next season’s plantings.
ü SCATTER a canister of California poppy seeds for a carefree, drought-tolerant golden showstopper.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD and special savings.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Erin go Bragh!
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Top of the morning to you!
“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright
Happy hours that stay with you all the year long.” Irish blessing.
My first introduction to the Emerald Isles arrived when I was seven. First grade was the beginning of my education since pre-school and kindergarten did not exist in our neck of the woods. A new school had been constructed with young teachers dressed from head to toe in black with white collars who arrived from a faraway land called Ireland. These exotic nuns told the most marvelous tales of a land where mischievous little people known as leprechauns lived in tiny houses, worked as shoemakers, and hid their gold in pots at the end of the rainbow.
Magical green shamrocks blanketed the fields and dales that were used by the legendary St. Patrick in the 4th century to explain the Holy Trinity to those he wanted to convert to Christianity. Best of all, we learned he had driven out the snakes.
Rattlesnakes were everywhere on our ranch so the thought of being able to run barefoot through a field of clover sounded spectacular. By the age of nine, letters were flying across the pond to my pen pal in Dublin and, finally when I was eighteen, I visited her in this mythical landscape to become an adopted Irishwoman. Since then, I’ve spent many days traversing the island, soaking up the hospitality of the people and the beauty of the stones, seascapes, landscapes, cottages, and shamrocks. Most charming are the tiny doors built at the base of trees where the leprechauns live.
Shamrocks grow in my garden in the colors of pink and yellow. There are over five hundred species of Oxalis, known as sorrel or shamrock. Many people consider them a weed because they do multiply. Because I love the Irish lore, I love my spreading shamrocks. They grow from a small bulb and in March sprout mounds of beautiful green clover-shaped leaves with flowers that open at the top of the morning and close at the end of the day. I started my collection by growing shamrocks indoors in a pot and eventually moved the plants outdoors. When the foliage turns yellow and begins to die, cut the leaves to let the plant sleep. Next season, the shamrocks will burst forth again. The tiny bulbs or tubers can easily be moved or transplanted elsewhere. Be aware that shamrocks can become invasive. If you have a small yard, it may be best to keep them in a container. Or designate one area of your garden for the shamrocks and don’t allow them to escape.
Wear green on March 17 and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a pot of shamrocks on your table. They may not bring you a pot of gold, but shamrocks are a reminder that once we can travel again, visiting the land of leprechauns is at the end of the rainbow.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Erin Go Bragh!
Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for March
Since I’ve been writing this column since 2008, I often mistakenly assume that readers understand that I encourage the use of organic and safe garden practices for feeding, fertilizing, spraying, or eliminating pests. There are always ways to create a beautiful garden without the use of toxic chemicals, insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides. Keeping our children, pets, and wildlife safe and healthy is of the utmost importance. Whether I specific an organic method or not, please always use eco-friendly products. By doing so, we’ll also heal our planet.
ELIMINATE SNAILS: Non-toxic to children, chickens, and other pets, Sluggo and Natria are two organic baits containing iron phosphate which naturally occurs in soil. Non-ingested bait degrades and becomes part of the soil.
Other ways to purge snails and slugs include:
- a. Handpicking them. I often go out at night with a flashlight and a bucket. If you have chickens, ducks, or geese, they’ll feast on escargot. Otherwise, at the risk of sounding cruel, you must kill them. We do the snail stomp. Put on boots and dance around. Other ways include drowning them in a bucket of water.
- b. Trapping them. Snails like to hide in damp, dark refuges under flowerpots, boards, or plants. Gather them in the morning after their nightly raid.
- c. Beer bowls. Snails are attracted to the fermenting yeast of beers. If you put out saucers or shallow bowls of beer, they will fall in. They don’t get drunk. They drown in the beer.
- d. Copper barriers. Copper bands or strips are probably the most effective barrier to keep snails and slugs out of pots and plants. It is work-intensive and more expensive, but especially useful around trees.
- e. Decollate snails: These predatory snails have been used in Southern California to control young small brown snails in citrus groves. However, they cannot be used in Northern California as they would endanger other mollusk species.
Once you have killed your snails, you can add them to your compost pile where their moist bodies will decompose quickly. The shells will take a bit longer but will add nutrients as they compost.
UPGRADE your outdoor living to be a place that encourages peacefulness and solitude. Create an area where you can work and listen to the sounds of nature.
SUPPORT National Farmworkers Awareness Week March 25-31 by purchasing produce from socially responsible vendors.
TRY a solar-powered sonic mole deterrent that emits vibrations through the ground to keep these velvety creatures at bay. Moles do produce unsightly molehills and undermine plants with their shallow tunnels which can cause roots to dry out. They also do positive chores by feeding on slugs.
STORE garbage cans out of reach of scavengers. Don’t feed wildlife. Skunks, raccoons, and coyotes have become frequent neighborhood visitors and can be dangerous.
FEED your lawns. Healthy soil grows healthy strong grass. Top your lawn with ¼ inch of compost or use a slow-release organic fertilizer that disseminates their nutrients through animal, plant, and mineral matter. It is best to fertilizer before rainfall.
TURN on lawn sprinklers to check the heads have not been covered by new growing grass.
DESTROY weeds and poison oak without toxic chemicals.
For weeds in sidewalk cracks, borders, and areas where lawns, flowers, and other plants won’t be affected, mix one tablespoon Dawn dishwashing detergent, a cup of salt, and a gallon of regular white vinegar in a pail. Pour into a spray bottle and spray on the weeds on a sunny day. The sunlight works the magic. Be careful where you spray as this solution is harmful to grass and plants. It will kill your weeds.
For poison oak or super-tough weeds, buy a gallon of 30% white vinegar and put it in a spray tank undiluted. Spray poison oak as it emerges in spring and do it on a warm, sunny day. The 30% white vinegar is very potent and will kill everything it touches. It is the safe and effective alternative to using Round Up for a similar amount of money. It also is useful for cleaning brick and stone patios, driveways, greenhouses, and hothouses. It will dissolve calcium, mineral, and lime buildup.
SPRING for spring on March 20th. Enjoy the rebirth of our gardens and start digging deeper.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing. Happy Spring!
Photos and mores: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1502/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Top-of-the-Morning.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Looking Out!
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“The heart is like a garden. What seeds will you plant there?” Buddha
The first vista I witness every morning as I traipse downstairs in my pink fluffy slippers to grab a cup of java invigorates my day. Outside my stairwell window, a tall crimson camellia tree sways in the breeze flanked by a shimmering evergreen flowering pear. Rounding the corner, I look to my right. Through the hand-made stained-glass arch, winter and spring co-mingle. The bright cerise flowers of the peach tree frame the hillside carpeted by sprouting ranunculus, anemones, and hundreds of daffodils in a myriad of colors and textures: yellow on yellow, white and yellow, peach and white, white with white, orange and yellow. Frilly, singles, doubles, clusters…all with throats singing to the sky. Bare branches of pistache trees hug the redwoods. Butter-hued Meyer lemons hang like well-placed ornaments. I never fail to be awed by the majesty and beauty regardless of the season.
Looking out to my colorful panoramas was carefully planned many years ago when I planted the first seeds and bulbs. Bringing the outdoors in has always been a priority for me. For over two decades I practiced interior design as a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers. I believe that our landscape is an extension of our homes and as such must reflect our moods, tastes, personalities, and preferential palettes. For me, color is an essential element to my happiness. When I look through a window, I want to see my internal penchants reflected by nature. Looking out is looking in.
With less than three weeks to go before the vernal equinox, this is an auspicious time to contemplate how we want to orient our window views for the future. When you look out your windows, what do you want to see? Do you want flowering or fruiting trees? Do you want a monochromatic design? Are you like me and want to luxuriate in color? Are bulbs the surprise you anticipate yearly, or do you prefer planting annuals and perennials?
My garden is abloom with pear, peach, and plum trees. Orange, tangerine, tangelo, lemon, and lime trees are filled with ripening fruit. Daffodils blanket the landscape, tulips are beginning to pop, columbine, wild strawberry, and vinca minor are flush with flowers. I couldn’t finish pruning all my rose bushes because so many were still budding. Nature orchestrates a steady stream of amazement.
Although the nights are still cool, the days are warming allowing the soil temperatures to rise. Weeds are rapidly sprouting, and the ground can be worked in preparation for seeding and planting. Read garden catalogs or books for ideas on how to design spaces that will offer you years of enjoyment. I’m preparing beds in full sun where I’ll scatter seeds of Lauren’s dark grape poppies. Poppies can handle frost and bloom best when started in early spring. These seedlings will emerge within fourteen days. The flowers will boast four-to-five inch chalice-shaped flowers in a showy port wine hue and they will self-sow for future enjoyment.
Another favorite perennial plant that I’m adding to my garden is the Lenten rose or hellebore. These plants which feature chartreuse, white, pink, and purple flowers with evergreen foliage are hummingbird friendly, deer-resistant, and water-wise. They thrive in part sun to full shade and are hardy to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
What will you plant in your spring garden as you look out?
Cynthia Brian’s March Gardening Guide
- RESTORE your mental and physical health by planting a beautiful vista outside your windows.
- FILTER your indoor air with houseplants. According to NASA, 87 percent of volatile organic compounds are removed by live plants naturally. Now that is nothing to sneeze over!
- RETHINK the design of your landscape to coincide with your interior spaces.
- PULL weeds as they sprout.
- PERUSE garden catalogs to plan a 2021 victory garden of healthy vegetables and herbs.
- FERTILIZE lawns.
- SCATTER slug and snail bait.
- REACH horticultural heights with a selection of flowering trees and shrubs.
- SUPPORT the Moraga Garden Club’s project, Moraga for Monarchs by helping to install a Monarch Butterfly Habitat and Education Garden at Rancho Laguna Park. Visit www.moragagardenclub.com.
- FORCE branches of crabapple, quince, forsythia, and redbud by placing your tree prunings in a bucket of water in a dark place until the buds swell. Move the branches to a beautiful vase filled with warm water and enjoy the show. Change the water daily and add a few drops of bleach to ward off bacteria.
- TRIM dead foliage from your ornamental grasses using sharp hedge clippers.
- PICK up camellias blossoms that have fallen to the ground. Decaying blooms harbor petal blight.
- AERATE your lawn. The soil is compacted from winter rains and foot traffic. Leave the plugs to add nutrients back into the grass.
- SPRINKLE poppy seeds as spring approaches.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing!
More Photos: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1501/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Looking-out.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Let the Sun Shine!
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“When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” Lyrics to Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension
Astrologers don’t agree that it is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, but one thing is certain, until February 18th, we are living under the sign of Aquarius. It has not felt like winter as the sun has been shining daily with only sporadic bouts of drizzle. In the past two weeks, gardens have burst into bloom as the days are warmer and brighter.
Here, in my yard, spring has sprung a full month ahead of schedule. The peach tree buds display their glorious magenta hues, the daffodils stretch their necks to the heavens, and camellias didn’t take a bloom break. Throughout our neighborhoods, evergreen pear trees are in full flower. Birds are feathering their nests, the frogs have begun their mating croaks, and worms are busy loosening the soil.
Our reservoirs are not yet at capacity and we desperately need more rain. Since the groundhog went back into her hole, I’m hopeful that we will still get much-needed precipitation.
Cynthia Brian’s Garden Chores for February
Roses
Pruning: Roses need to be pruned to allow for them to thrive. You’ll need pruning shears, loppers, a pruning saw, and gloves. Cut out dead or woody stems as well as any diseased or damaged stems. If you have rambling roses, allow them to ramble unless you need them contained. With climbers, cut the previous year’s flowering shoots. For hybrid teas and floribundas, prune the stems by 2/3. With shrub roses, cutting back to a 1/3 for single flowering and 1/3 to 2/3 for repeat flowering. Pruning will ensure a beautiful, long-lasting blooming season. Keep in mind if you want smaller plants, you may prune harder. Make sure to nicely shape your bushes. If you have the room, select canes to plant elsewhere or give to a friend. You can plant the canes directly in the ground or in pots to root. Dip canes in a rooting powder before planting.
Bare-Root Planting: Through early spring you can plant bare-root roses.
- • Make sure the soil isn’t frozen or water-logged.
- • Choose an area that receives a minimum of four hours of sunlight daily. The more sun, the better your bush will grow.
- • Rehydrate your bare-root in a bucket of water overnight.
- • Remove weeds and rocks from the area where you will dig the hole and loosen the soil with a garden fork.
- • Dig a hole with a spade approximately 16” x 20” or whatever is necessary for the roots to spread.
- • Add a few handfuls of compost or rose soil to the hole.
- • Remove the rose from the bucket and place in the hole. Keep the bottom of the stems need to be 2-3” below the top of the hole.
- • Replace the original soil, the tap down with your foot.
- • Water.
Other Goddess Gardener Tips
- FERTILIZE your trees, shrubs, and ground covers.
- SCATTER snail bait around your garden.
- APPLY a systemic insecticide to roses to prevent the first flush of aphids in the spring.
- SPRAY roses, citrus trees, fruit trees, evergreen pear trees, and crape myrtles with dormant oil to protect again fungal disease.
- PICK UP and discard fallen camellia blooms.
- CUT a branch from a budding peach tree to watch the flowers unfurl.
- PLANT a few of my favorite specimens:
- • To attract hummingbirds: Fringe-love lies bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) boasts striking red hanging plumage. Columbine (aquilegia) is a perennial with clouds of bell-shaped flowers in several colors. A loquat tree offers flowers that hummingbirds crave.
- • Drought-resistant, no maintenance ground cover: Pink Knotweed
- • Shade plant with distinctive colors: Hellebores
- • For Borders: Bergenia
- • A shrub that cascades: Purple potato plant
As we leave the sign of Aquarius and enter the horoscope of Pisces, let’s pray that the lyrics from the Age of Aquarius ring true throughout 2021.
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the minds true liberation
Let the sun shine, let the sun shine in! And, please let it rain this month.
Happy Gardening! Happy Growing!
Photos and more: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1426/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Let-the-sun-shine-in.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Prune, Plan, Peruse
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“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
~ George Moore
Like most of us who have been sheltering at home for the past eleven months, traveling to foreign lands has not been part of my normal activities. At first, I was immensely disappointed to cancel my 2020 exotic trips, especially the one that would have reunited me with my European pen pal with whom I’ve been corresponding regularly since I was nine years old. That’s a long time to have maintained a close relationship across thousands of miles.
But, like so many, this past year has found me digging even deeper into communion with nature. I have been inspired by its majesty and motivated to respect our alliance with a stronger devotion by spending many hours outdoors in contemplation as well as work-mode.
A week ago, the hills were still golden brown but with the recent heavy rains, a lushness and verdancy have finally appeared. February nights bring increased frost and freezing temperatures. We must cover our tender plants with burlap or cloth as protection.
The most necessary garden chore this month is pruning our fruit trees. It is essential to prune your peaches, pears, prunes, plums, apples, and apricots while the trees are dormant in winter. Sweet cherries are pruned in summer as they are susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases. All other fruiting trees need to be pruned to allow for increased sunlight to penetrate the branches which will in turn yield higher quality fruit. Pruning helps battle diseases while developing a better form for a healthier tree.
The tools you’ll need are a lopper, hand pruner, pruning saw, and long-handled pruning shear. You may need a ladder if your tree is especially tall but be very careful when using any ladder. Make sure to have a second person with you to hold the ladder since the ground may not be level. Sterilize your tools with alcohol or bleach mixed with water to avoid spreading any disease from plant to plant.
By removing unnecessary limbs, you will be able to shape the tree while providing better access for any necessary spraying. The increased sunlight promotes a larger size of fruit with a uniform ripening time. Insect infestation and other diseases are reduced through pruning because after a rain shower, the limbs will dry more quickly. Pruning appropriately will provide a more beautiful canopy without topping the tree. The sugar content of the crop is increased with the airflow and sun. Harvesting is easier. Pick up a book on pruning to read about the best methods for your various tress or watch online tutorials. If you feel out of your league, hire a professional arborist. Always gather the trimmings from the ground. When dry, use as kindling, shred for mulch, or add to your green bin.
Although this month is not the time to plant annuals and perennials, it is the perfect time to plant any bare-root specimens including roses, berries, and fruit trees. Check out the selection at your favorite nursery or garden center. Follow the directions on the packaging for soaking the roots, light pruning, digging the holes, and filling. By late spring most bare-rooted plants are established and flourishing.
Besides pruning and planting bare-root, February is a terrific time to plan for all-season enjoyment and splendor. Recently a delivery was made by someone who hadn’t been to my garden since the summer before the pandemic. His first comment to me was: “Your landscape is so beautiful and colorful… it’s like falling into a chapter of Alice in Wonderland.” I expressed my thanks for his sweet compliment, although in my mind I was thinking “winter is the ugliest time of the year in my garden.”
I decided to look at my yard through a different lens…fresh eyes, as if returning from a vacation. Sometimes when we rarely leave our cocoon, we fail to recognize the evolution of the cycles of attraction. As I walked around my property, I saw what he saw—a hillside covered in sweet-smelling narcissi, rows of pink Bergenia, waves of purple sage, shimmers of calendulas, bushes of azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses, trees of camellias, groves of ferns, mounds of nemesia, orchards of citrus, crocus, calla lilies, and daffodils popping, and the soaring orange plumes of birds of paradise all in full glorious bloom. Even in the middle of winter, my garden is teeming with interest and vibrancy.
Take a walk around your garden and make notes of where you need more wit and whimsy. Know where the sun rises, moves, and sets throughout your landscape. Do you need to add or extend irrigation? Do you have a favorite color palette, or do you prefer a cacophony of color authentically unique to you?
Once you understand your wants and needs, pour a cup of tea, cover yourself with a cozy throw, and peruse a multitude of garden catalogs that showcase bulbs, annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, grasses, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Research what plants will be best suited to your terrain and micro-climate. Make a wish list noting the months to order, when to plant, and when to expect the show. By creating a calendar of flowering events, your garden will boast attractive appeal all year long. For a dramatic night environment, make sure to add outdoor lighting and lanterns to highlight trees, paths, fences, and walls.
Here are a few catalog favorites that you can order:
White Flower Farm: www.WhiteFlowerFarm.com
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds: www.KitchenGardenSeeds.com
Plant Delight Nursery, Inc.: www.PlantDelights.com
Bluestone Perennials: www.BluestonePerennials.com
The Whole Seed Catalog: www.Rareseeds.com
Renee’s Garden Seeds: www.Reneesgarden.com
Proven Winners Shrubs: www.ProvenWinners-shrubs.com
David Austin Roses: www.DavidAustinRoses.com
Your general state of happiness is connected to how much you enjoy your home. With these garden catalog treasures, you can travel the globe without leaving the safety of your house. Prune, plan, peruse, and dream on.
Happy Gardening! Happy Growing! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Photos and More: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1425/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Prune-plan-and-peruse.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Nature Renewal
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“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” – Mahatma Gandhi
I popped the crunchy pods of my just-picked sugar snap peas into my mouth as I uttered a prayer of gratitude for the food I grow to nourish my family and the gardens I cultivate to nourish my soul. The past few weeks have brought the fragility of life into focus amidst the mounting death toll from the pandemic and the anxiety aroused by the political rampages.
We need to return to our roots to savor the sweetness of life. For me, Mother Nature has always provided renewal and refreshment in her simplicity and order. When I’m feeling stressed, I go outside to walk, listen, see, smell, touch, and taste…to reconnect with my senses and revive my spirit.
I picked a few stems of jonquil which are now sitting in a vase on my desk as I write this column filling my nostrils with their elegant perfume.
My step increases its bounce as I taste the tangy citrus of my newly ripe Navel oranges. Back in my vegetable garden, arugula, sorrel, Swiss Chard, assorted greens, and beets await my culinary menus. Orange and yellow calendula flowers season my salads and the unusual hued flowers of osteospermum elevate my chi as they decorate my hillside.
My journal indicates that this week in January the roses are to be pruned. My bushes are still filled with buds and blooms that enhance the landscape and my heart. I will complete this task when it is colder next month. Beauty is required as a tonic for joyfulness.
Winter is a time to regroup, to rest, to repair, to rethink. Deciduous trees are now bare, an indication that work in the garden is winding down, at least for a month or so.
We can use this period to dream and decide what projects and plantings we may want to engage in throughout the year. What’s on your list of things that you’ve always desired in your backyard but never had the time, money, or inclination to accomplish? A sampling of suggestions to fill your vision boards could include:
Planting a pollinator garden or a cutting garden
Making a meditation meadow
Rebuilding a patio or deck
Erecting a retaining wall
Growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits
Retrofitting regions for relaxation and reading
Adding a trellis, gate, arbor, or gazebo
Creating compost piles or buying compost bins
Improving a perennials plot
Hanging hammocks for summer enjoyment
Switching to succulents
Increasing native populations
Including a play structure
Paving a path with gravel or crushed granite
Installing a pond, fountain, waterfall, or other water feature
Increasing your library of garden guides
Removing a junk pile
Stacking wood for a fireplace or firepit
Enlarging bird habitats
Replacing irrigation systems
Reseeding lawns in spring
Building a rain garden
Starting a small vineyard
Buying patio furniture and chaise lounges
Planning a rock wall
Assembling an animal enclosure
Painting the fence
Shooting photos of your plants and the wildlife that visit
Ideas are endless as we daily take time to pause, brainstorm, and learn something new. Foster enthusiasm for the new year by paying attention to the enrichment of the natural world.
Reawaken your senses and restore your passion. Design your future farm. Breathe!
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing.
Cynthia Brian’s Mid-January Gardening Guide
- RECORD your landscaping escapades by writing in a garden journal online or in print. Your journals will track trends and seasons for the forthcoming years.
- CLEAN your garden tools in a bucket of vinegar and water for 20 minutes. Remove your tools and dip a sponge in a bowl of baking soda. Scrub off the rust.
- SPROUT onions and chives in your kitchen by cutting the greens, then putting the roots in a glass of water. Within a week you’ll have fresh greens for your salads and soups. (Change the water daily)
- START yams or sweet potatoes by rooting in a glass jar with water. This is a simple, fun growing opportunity for kids! When lush leaves emerge, it’s time to plant outside to produce more yams or potatoes.
- REPLENISH bird feeders with nutritious seeds keeping our avian visitors nearby while supplementing their dietary requirements during the cold season.
- READ seed and bulb catalogs or magazines that feature gardens.
- HARVEST sugar snap peas, arugula, Swiss Chard, greens, and Brussels sprouts.
- REDUCE watering on houseplants as they rest for a winter’s nap.
- RESOLVE to spend a minimum of thirty minutes per day outside. Studies indicated that every person needs at least fifteen minutes of outdoor sunlight daily for necessary Vitamin D replenishment.
- REFRAIN from heavy pruning of your rose bushes until buds and blooms are finished.
- PLANT a container of aloe to use on burns and bites.
- RECONNECT and be renewed by nature.
Photos and more: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1424/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Renewal-by-nature.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Trend in the Garden for 2021
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“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right!” Oprah Winfrey
HELLOOOOOOO 2021! We have been holding our collective breaths for the past ten months desperately anticipating a new beginning with a new year.
Are you feeling a renewed enthusiasm for living? Are you ready to dig in?
Every year the Garden Media Group releases information on what trends are formulating for the next season of horticulture. 2021 has been dubbed “The Great Reset”, which is aptly titled given that we are still sheltering-in-place, connecting with loved ones and friends mostly online and by phone. The world is connected through this shared experience of a global pandemic as we impart information to help one another cope and prosper.
2020 was deemed the year where gardens, open spaces, and nature, in general, became a priority for maintaining wellness in body, mind, and spirit. Roomier homes with large backyards or acreage were in high demand as social distancing developed into the norm. Gardens became the bridge to building confidence and resilience while connecting communities and neighborhoods.
In 2021, the great outdoors will become even more critical as classes of all creeds move outside. Expect to experience yoga, dance, workouts, art, cooking, entertainment, and activities for kids scheduled in outdoor spaces. It is no longer necessary to be tethered to the high cost of living in big cities as working remotely allows employees to be closer to family and fresh air.
Research indicates that over 16 million people started gardening for the first time during the pandemic and many of them are under the age of 35. More than half of American adults are spending at least two additional hours outside today than before the outbreak started. In 2021, gardening will become a part of everyday life and will infiltrate school curriculums. Currently, 67% of adults are growing or plan to grow edibles. Berries are the most prevalent plus 52% of people are growing vegetables, 33% growing herbs, and 31% growing fruit.
What’s trending up for 2021?
- Increased online sales of plants and garden products which offer convenience, speed, and safety.
- Parks, trails, and open spaces will become an integral part of daily life.
- Interiorscaping will become a new buzzword as stores and businesses bring the outdoors in.
- Greater demand for houseplants for every room, especially home offices.
- Tropical plants will grace new “garden rooms” indoors.
- Certified wildlife habitats and pollinator gardens are spreading.
- Educational courses, how-to-videos, and garden consultants will become routine learning tools.
- A surge in home cooking and the fear of food scarcity means growing one’s own fruits, vegetables, and herbs is a necessity.
- Canning and preserving food for the future will be re-popularized.
- Children will be introduced at a younger age to the treasures of nature.
- Miniature plants to grow on windowsills, under grow lights, or under glass for those living in small apartments without yards will be more readily available.
- We will live with nature and protect our eco-systems to save lives.
The benefits of gardening are innumerable and will grow even more fashionable. Increased health, decreased stress, improved wellness, and stronger bodies through garden chores will lead to happier more balanced lifestyles.
In 2021, we will embrace nature as part of our being. Nature is not something “out there” in the wilderness. Nature will thrive in our backyards, on rooftops, balconies, porches, and windowsills. Our very existence will depend on creating a sustainable balance between humans and all creation.
My hope is that we will all finally understand that there are no mistakes in the garden. Failure is fertilizer to grow anew. Just garden.
Happy New Year with revived cheer. Let’s get it right!
Cynthia Brian’s Garden Guide for January
DETACH ornaments, lights, and tinsel from your Christmas trees and leave them on the curb on your garbage pick-up day. Flocked trees can be cut up and put in the green bins.
BEWARE of wild boars on the rampage. Boars are causing major damage to landscapes and are a danger to people and pets. Fish and Game offers information. For local assistance with wildlife control including boars, coyotes, turkeys, deer, and more, contact licensed and insured Full Boar Depredation, https://www.fullboar-llc.com.
LOWER your anxiety with the Japanese practice of shrinrin-yoku or forest bathing. Take a walk in nature and you’ll immediately experience relaxation.
REMOVE wrapping from any holiday gifted plants to allow for drainage.
PRUNE deciduous fruit trees, bushes, flowering shrubs, and cane berries. Roses can be heavily pruned towards the end of the month.
SPRAY your second application of a dormant spray aimed to kill the many overwintering insects and diseases after you have pruned.
PICK a few sprigs of narcissus to perfume an entire room.
PLANT all bare root fruit trees, perennials, berries, and vines. They cost less and will adapt quickly to their new home.
ADD acanthus to your landscape for lush greenery and interesting spring floral spikes.
BUY healthy meal kits with farm-fresh ingredients from Sun Basket if you aren’t growing your own. https://bit.ly/2DipPsT
BUILD a river rock dry creek to direct run-off rainwater.
ORDER bare-root roses from your local nursery or find beautiful, fragrant cultivars at www.DavidAustin.com.
BRIGHTEN your winter landscape with sweet peas, society garlic, and guara (which looks like floating butterflies).
CONTINUE wearing your mask, social distancing, and washing your hands.
Happy Gardening! Happy Growing! Cheers for 2021!
Read more and see photos: Read more and see photos: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1423/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Garden-trends-for-2021.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Home (and garden) for the Holidays!
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By Cynthia Brian
“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year!” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
One sentiment was universal this season in the holiday cards and emails…hope for a safe, healthy, prosperous future. 2020 has been a year of enormous challenges, chaos, and crisis amid a frightening pandemic that rendered many people feeling hopeless and helpless. Even with shelter-in-place mandates and Zooming taking the place of “being there”, resilience will rule the roost as we celebrate at home during the holidays.
Gardening has seen a rise in popularity throughout this year as people craved fresh air while social distancing. Farm fresh food graced the city tables after fruits, vegetables, and herbs were planted by first time gardeners. Green thumbs were grown!
Every day those who tend gardens work hand in hand with Mother Nature. As the Grand Dame, she is always in charge. Gardeners are her faithful stewards, nurturing the land that feeds our bodies while clothing our spirits with beauty, fragrance, and spiritual wellness. As the earth settles down for its winter nap, we also slow our pace in our outdoor spaces with preparations for the at-home holiday celebrations and a new year.
Being in a garden provides relief from stress and lowers blood pressure. Gardening transports us to another realm where nature charts the course. Even looking at a beautiful photograph of nature will enhance your mood and elevate your joy.
I have spent more hours in my garden these past few months than ever before. No matter how well I know my landscape, it is ever-changing, never ceasing to amaze and awe me. My body is getting extra exercise from hauling redwood chips to my barren hillsides to stop erosion and enrich the soil.
When it began to rain, I fertilized and planted more perennials including guara and golden breath of heaven plus more bulbs for next season. Jonquils are already blooming with their heady fragrance wafting through the chillier air. Azaleas and rhododendrons have burst into bloom and the cyclamen pops with luminous colors.
The delicate orange persimmons dangling from the almost leafless branches and the glimmering red pomegranates masquerading as ornaments hanging on the tree fill me with wonder at their annual holiday display. Both delicious and nutritious, they are my December garden gifts.
This is a good time to cut branches from redwood, pine, fir, or other low-hanging conifers to swag staircases and doors with fresh garlands. This practice accomplishes two goals: 1) you get free, fresh holiday greenery and 2) you are preventing future fire-laddering by removing the branches.
For those unable to celebrate in person with families scattered far and wide, this will be a quieter, less ebullient Christmas. Yet the magic of the season will buoy hearts as we anticipate a vaccine allowing us to gather in 2021.
Devote a few hours to hoe, hoe, hoe and the melancholy of the past ten months will help you carol ho, ho, ho even while you observe the holidays home alone.
Waving a magical virtual wand over your home and garden, I wish you a blessed, safe, and healthy holiday.
We’ll be together again next year with faith, hope, and love!
Happy gardening. Happy growing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for December
- FERTILIZE trees, shrubs, and ground covers.
- APPLY snail bait to areas where slugs and snails do damage.
- SPREAD elemental sulfur to citrus, azalea, rhododendron, camellia, and hydrangea to lower the soil PH.
- DEEP feed smaller shrubs to accelerate growth in the gaps of hedges.
- ADD a swath of fluorescent red, white, or pink cyclamen to add pops of color to the winter landscape.
- DEADHEAD roses to extend blooming until heavy pruning in January or if you prefer, allow the rosehips to form. Rosehips are a source of vitamin C and can be harvested for tea.
- STUFF stockings with gardening goodies including a hand trowel, gloves, seeds, and a garden guide. Growing with the Goddess Gardener offers twelve months of helpful advice and comes with free seed packets and a relaxing CD. https;//www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store
- CUT branches of berries from heavenly bamboo, cotoneaster, holly, or pyracantha to add to mantels and wreaths.
- RAKE leaves from lawns to keep them from matting.
- MOVE mower to a higher cutting level and don’t mow when the ground is too wet.
- PROTECT tender plants from frost and freeze by moving potted plants inside or close to the house.
- BUY camellias now in the colors to suit your landscape décor while they are stocked as blooming specimens in nurseries.
- CUT back chrysanthemums to six inches after blooms fade.
- PLANT any remaining spring-blooming bulbs.
- CELEBRATE your home and garden for the holidays!
Photos and more: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1422/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Home-and-garden-for-the-holidays.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
Tiny Sprouts!
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“The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives. I rejoice when I see anyone, and especially children, inquiring about flowers, and wanting gardens of their own, and carefully working in them. For love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies, but always grows and grows to an enduring and ever-increasing source of happiness.” Gertrude Jekyll
Watching the wide-eyed wonder of children during the holidays is an additional dividend of the magical season of Christmas. The twinkling lights, the tantalizing aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg, the joyful caroling tunes, and most of all, red-nosed Rudolph prancing through the night sky leading his herd of reindeer to the chimneys of good little girls and boys.
December is a great month to spark children’s enthusiasm for gardening. The rewards go far beyond reaping a harvest of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Not only do kids get to dig in the dirt, but it is also a plus if they get dirty.
Since families usually erect a Christmas tree or Hannukah Bush, it is fun to let each child grow her own tree. When my kids were young, we bought one-gallon pines, spruce, and firs to plant a Christmas tree farm. They watered, pruned, protected, and prepared the trees to be cut for our festivities. Although the trees never matched the symmetry of ones purchased from a lot, once they were festooned with all the homemade ornaments, they were uniquely beautiful. Most of all, the children were proud that they had grown this special tree all by themselves. They also each decorated a small growing Christmas tree for their bedrooms with sparkling lights on a timer that went off at bedtime. After the holidays, the tree went out to the patio, to be tended by them.
Teaching kids to garden instills responsibility, patience, love, creativity, tolerance, hope, and imagination. Their minds expand and they learn a deep appreciation for living organisms. By introducing them at a young age to the natural world, we are showing them how to respect and honor the environment. When we scrape vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grinds, fish bones, and other biodegradable items into a pail that we add to our outdoor compost bin, we are demonstrating the value of enriching the soil with natural, nontoxic substances. Ask your child to help you shovel woodchips into a wheelbarrow to add to the yard before winter storms arrive to prevent erosion, keep the soil warm, and provide an appealing appearance to your landscape.
Every child needs to learn where her food comes from. Healthy eating habits are learned from the ground up. Add packets of seeds to a Christmas stocking with instructions for a private pot or plot to be planted in the spring. Stuff in a small field guide about growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Encourage dreaming of what crops to plant in the spring. You’ll be amazed at what kids will eat when they put in the effort of growing it. Brussel sprouts? Check! Broccoli? Check! Spinach? Check!
Children are naturally curious and by keeping your nature talks short and fascinating, you’ll develop a gardener for life. Gardening is fun and it’s an excellent way to keep our bodies and spirits in optimum shape. While you are sowing the seeds of growing in the minds of young sprouts, you’ll also be planting resilience and acceptance. Failure is fertilizer. When something doesn’t grow, we throw it on the compost pile to grow a new garden next season. As a metaphor for life, our children are all going to flounder and fail. The teachable moment from Mother Earth is that there are no mistakes if we learn the lesson and fertilize for the future.
Whether you are a big or tiny sprout, my gift is to pass on my love and knowledge of gardening with you. Dig it with your kids!
Wishing you a jolly December of magic and marvel!
Cynthia Brian’s Goddess Gardener Tips for Gardening with Kids
GIVE each child a pot or a plot of land to grow whatever they desire. When you give them the responsibility, they will rise to the task.
BUY size-appropriate tools. A hand trowel, rake, shovel, wheelbarrow, and bucket expressly for gardening chores gives a child a sense of accomplishment. Don’t forget the garden gloves!
SUPPLY seeds that are easy to grow. Include vegetables such as carrots, radishes, beets, and lettuces, and some pretty flowers like sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, and calendulas.
MAKE it fun by showing them how to use chopsticks to plant seeds.
BUY small two-to-four-inch containers of herbs for a windowsill garden. Dill, mint, sage, parsley, and oregano are simple to grow and can be snipped for pizza, spaghetti, and soups that put smiles on their faces.
GROW thornless succulents including ice-plant, aloe vera, echeveria, and jade that require very little water or care.
PLANT theme gardens with your kids. Everyone loves butterflies and a Butterfly Garden will encourage kids to watch the evolution of nature from creeping caterpillar to graceful flyer. Include alyssum, butterfly bush, coreopsis, asters, salvias, Lamium, milkweed, penstemons, lavender, and snapdragons. Other ideas include a Pizza Garden with everything except the pepperoni and cheese, a sensory garden of plants with texture, taste, smell, sound, and beauty. Or how about a 24-Hour Garden where each of the plants blooms at a different time? Use morning glories for the A.M., four o’clock for the afternoon, evening primrose for early evening, and moonflowers for the night. If you have the room, one of my favorites is a Pie Orchard with peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, and a berry patch. Or two gardens my own kids loved were the Christmas Tree Farm which they left-over small pots of live trees, spruce, pine, and fir, and the Halloween Cemetery of various types, colors, sizes, and textures of gourds and pumpkins.
SHARE plant and seed catalogs with your little sprouts. Let them select photos they find enticing and read to them the descriptions. Follow up with a socially-distanced, masked-wearing field trip to a nursery or garden center to investigate the various specimens.
ALLOW kids to experiment and design their own spaces. Rows don’t have to be in straight lines. Eliminate adult ideas of perfection and instead shoot for enthusiasm and curiosity.
GIFT a magnifying lens to your child so she can get up close and personal with leaves, flowers, stamens, and bugs.
MARVEL at the soil workers. Examine the worms and insects.
WALK around your fall landscape to choose colorful leaves for festive displays and to press into Christmas cards.
HELP them decorate for the holidays with natural berries and branches. Pyracantha, cotoneaster, and holly are filled with red berries. Wear gloves and offer help with the prickly holly and pyracantha.
BE CREATIVE by making garden art from steppingstones to scarecrows! My daughter painted a funny face on a broken rake that still guards our vegetable garden.
DOWNLOAD FREE coloring books to let kids color their world. There are 7 different ones, all with botanical art that is simple and appropriate for little sprouts. https://bit.ly/39CnSDv
Happy gardening. Happy growing. Happy December.
Photos and more: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1421/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Young-sprouts.html
Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.
Buy copies of her best-selling books, including, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store. Receive a FREE BONUS of an inspirational music DVD.
Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures.
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
