PEEKS [Home Improvement] A Garden for All Seasons Our gardens were blasted by last summer's heat and burned by this winter's frost. Here are some tips for protecting yards and gardens against both extremes. April 2007

Don Huntington

Our East county growing areas endure a much greater fluctuation of climate than do coastal areas. The air will be much colder at 3 a.m. on some February mornings and much warmer at 2 p.m. on some July afternoons than coastal areas that are only 50 miles or so away.

The three-digit heat and blistering sunshine exacted a heavy toll on many of the bushes, trees, and flowers growing in our yards and gardens last July - just as the frosts took their toll this January and February.

Nature often takes with one hand while giving something back with the other. Besides burning and destroying plants, winter frosts also kills destructive pests and weeds that might, otherwise take over.

You can protect sensitive plants against the vagaries of the weather by brute force methods.

It's uncomplicated though perhaps annoying to have to shield plants against the cold with plastic sheeting or bubble wrap. And equally uncomplicated and annoying to keep drip systems or sprinklers running fulltime as protection against the heat.

However, through careful planning you can take a number of much less intrusive steps to keep your yard or garden green and protected from both the frost and the sunshine that otherwise will burn leaves and flowers and, in some cases, kill sensitive vegetation.

Use Appropriate Plants

Plan now to plant bulbs and other plantings that will resist frost. The paper whites that we planted years ago were unaffected by the cold, for example. Each morning their white blossoms greeted us among the frost. Grape hyacinths are hardy winter plants. Other plants include crocuses that will bloom in cold soil where the seeds and roots of other species remain dormant.

If you don't use chemicals in your lawn, try planting some bulbs throughout the lawn. During the months when you don't mow, these will provide lovely color accents until the spring growth returns.

Even during the first mowings you can mow around these, if possible, to make your colorful lawns last as long as possible. Imagine your dead-looking winter lawns and garden spaces brightened by the bold jewel tones of scattered crocuses. Choose varieties with yellow and white and mix blue and purple varieties for a bouquet effect. You can make your winter lawns a source of interesting and lovely colors.

Or plant some grape hyacinth to create some rich Dutch and cobalt blue accents around your property. These hyacinths are so hardy that they are sometimes found growing in profusion around abandoned properties.

Check with one of the local nurseries in a few months to find these to plant next fall. Just remember that moderation is no virtue when it comes to bulbs. The more clusters of these things you plant the bigger and brighter your late winter and early spring show will be next year.

Other kinds of plants are just as hardy when it comes to three-digit temperatures. Cactuses might thrive in warm, sandy sunlit areas of your property, for example. These resist the frosts of winter and, of course, can endure all the heat and drought that our East County can throw at them.

Check with your local nursery for recommendations about species of plants that are appropriate to our area.

A better idea than choosing plants that will resist extreme temperatures is to make adjustments based upon discoveries you make about the nature of your growing space.

You can make best decisions about what to grow on your property and where to grow it by becoming an expert on your environments.

Know Your Growing Space

Spend some time in your yard or garden over the course of the next twelve months noting the angles of the sunlight from one time of day to another. You might find areas of relatively moist shade on one side of your property and dry sunshine on the other. Observe how these change as the seasons progress.

In particular, spend time in your garden at various times of the day and in differing weather conditions. Patterns of shade and wind might affect one part of a property differently than another place perhaps located only a few feet away. If you walk around your property on a cold morning your body might be able to sense contrasting areas of relative cold and warmth.

If your property includes varying elevations then be aware of the principle that cold air behaves like a fluid in that it tends to sink and to pool in low places.

In the same way, depending upon wind direction, any fences or walls will in effect create dams and eddies where cooler air will collect, while slopes will drain off cold air. Narrow areas between walls or hedges will funnel the air thus increasing its velocity.

Also, note any areas that escape frosts that might attack other parts of the property. In this way you will be able to identify locations associated with varying amounts of light, water, temperature, and wind and will thus be able to select appropriate plantings for specific areas. Remember that both wind and sunshine will dry out soil.

Also, remember that areas planted beside south- and west-facing walls and fences may be much hotter than other areas in your property.

Hot pavement and concrete structures, as well, can radiate withering heat over nearby growing things, and these would be good areas to plant drought resistant plants.

However, during cold sunny and winter days the same structures may radiate sufficient heat to warm nearby plants that would, otherwise, perish. The areas would provide good spots for less frost-resistant plants.

Place drought resistant plants near hot driveways and pavement and paint dark walls with a light color to radiate heat in cool areas.

A more radical idea is to place large mirrors in shaded areas. If arranged artfully, they add light to dark areas and provide onlookers with an illusion of depth.

Check on how soil conditions change. Note, for example, areas in which soil remains moist following precipitation after the rest of the property has dried. During the winter you might notice morning fogs and afternoon sunshine - conditions that foster mildew and fungus diseases, which can be alleviated by a mixture of half strength Bordeaux. Apply only in mild temperatures. Think about your garden or yard as a friend. You should become familiar with its quarks and idiosyncrasies in order to identify its weaknesses and strengths - the things your property likes and doesn't like.

This kind of familiarity will remove the element of randomness from your planting and growing activities.

Moments that you spend observing the patterns of light, wind, and heat in your garden, will lead you to more success and fewer failures, and you'll have the satisfaction of deeper understanding of how things work.

Once you've learned the nature of your property you can take steps to reshape the microenvironments.

For example, you can try to alter or control the effects of wind by constructing or eliminating barriers.

Stopping all air circulation is not always the best choice. Roses, for example, thrive in sunny breezy areas and may show more signs of disease in any place where air circulation is poor.

In order to slow the air you can erect a fence that has a woven or lattice construction. Or, even better, you can tame the wind by creating a barrier of shrubs or trees.

Plant vegetation that will assist in its own well-being and that will be hardy enough to resist the rigors of frost and heat.

Here is one example from the many that we could have used: citrus trees prefer warm climates but our little dwarf orange tree gave us delicious fruit every morning throughout the entire February frost period. If frost damage does occur, the damaged foliage actually protects the healthy growth below.

Plant young trees as soon as threat of frost is over. Space these about 20 feet apart.

Use Containers

An elegant way to have green things growing year-round is to use containers for growing plants. That way you can move the growing things around keeping them away from the heat and cold that would otherwise harm or kill them.

Soil in containers tends to dry out rapidly, especially those in smaller containers.

To make things worse, terracotta containers absorb more water, so you may have to water your plants every day. You can add special gel to your soil and use foam-based compost to reduce the evaporation rate of containerized plants.

You can slow absorption by terracotta if you simply put the entire container inside a plastic container. Or for a more elegant solution, use basket liners with water-retention properties in both pots and baskets.

Be sure to buy frost-resistant terracotta. Or buy some galvanized buckets. They will never crack.

If you have read this far in the article you probably have the soul of a gardener.

I hope the observations you have read will encourage you as you prepare for the hot and cold seasons lying ahead of us.