KAREN WIGHT -- No Place Like Home

Mother Nature came through with a fabulous New Year’s gift: Rain to

satiate a thirsty garden with a few warmer days scattered between storms.

This makes January the perfect time to prepare your garden for spring

blooms, new growth and a healthy resurgence from winter’s hibernation.

Little weeds today mean lots of big weeds in the spring. Be sure to

pull theses unwelcome guests before they go to seed and begin spring

sprouting. Hand pull or hoe carefully. You have better things to do than

weed when the weather warms up for good.

Clean up the wet leaf litter and garden debris. In addition to being

unsightly, they are the perfect breeding ground for snails and slugs.

Spread snail bait around the garden in the problem areas (near the

primroses and delphiniums) so you won’t have a population explosion of

slimy nuisances in the next few weeks.

Prune your roses, dormant shade trees and vines. Cut out all of the

dead wood and the branches that cross the center of the bush. Shape the

bush symmetrically, leaving at least three strong canes. Wait to prune

your spring-blooming shrubs until after the first bloom cycle.

Water your plants even though this is not the growth season. You don’t

need to water heavily, but most trees and bushes do store water in

preparation for the summer months.

While the nurseries have a good supply of plants in bloom, fill the

holes in your shade garden with azaleas and camellias. Their fresh blooms

in shades of pinks and whites against glossy green foliage add brilliance

to your shady areas.

Plant cool-weather bedding flowers in your garden: primroses, stock,

snapdragons, cyclamen, Iceland poppies, violas and pansies. Winter

flowers show their jaunty colors for months if you keep pinching back the

flower heads.

Bare-root plants are a great investment. Watching a little nothing

grow into a grand something is a little bit of magic for your garden.

If you haven’t started your sweet peas, they are available in flats at

the nursery. You can’t miss sweet pea season, they are the best part of

winter gardening.

If you are a brave soul, order your warm weather seeds from a mail

order catalog this month. Catalogs offer a huge selection of seeds that

you won’t find at the nurseries. You may want to try a pack of white

sunflowers for your summer garden.

Fertilize now to give your plants the upper hand when the warmer

months roll around. It’s a little jump-start that you’ll be thankful for

in April.

Spring blooming bulbs such as anemone, iris, narcissus, ranunculus and

tulip must be planted now for waves of color when the weather warms.

Bulbs always look best when they are planted in masses. Beautiful pockets

of color in your spring garden are a worth the effort.

Between winter showers, when the sun is shining and the temperature

warming, go outside. There’s plenty to do outside to prepare for a

bountiful spring garden.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs Saturdays.

PO CUTLINE: Sweet peas are one of the best parts of winter gardening.

They are prolific growers, have beautiful flower clusters and smell

heavenly.