Ready for growth in the New Year

STEVE KAWARATANI

“The year is going; let him go ... “

-- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

“Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let

every new year find you a better man.”

-- Benjamin Franklin

The end of the year has found me wondering where this year went.

Of course, I muse about this every year, just as my father and his

father did as well. Catharine surmises it’s a family preoccupation.

With a great deal of certainty, however, I anticipate next year will

likely not be any shorter in duration.

I have noted that the days are growing longer since we passed the

winter solstice. Perhaps not quite enough to get a little gardening

in after work, but certainly our spectacular Laguna sunsets are

arriving a little later each day.

My automatic irrigation timer has been turned off since our early

autumn showers. Rain had been falling consistently enough to save

some money on our water bill. It wasn’t until last week that I had to

unwind the hose and give a few of the needy plants a little soaking.

Keep your sprinklers on “rain,” because this storm should have

brought enough precipitation to maintain garden moisture into the

second week of the new year.

Resolutions are always part of vowing to be better. This includes

being one with your garden. How about remembering to fertilize your

lawn monthly and keep those pesky dandelions out of the front

flowerbed? It would be noble to maintain a reasonable height to your

hedge, so the neighbors can see Main Beach (they really are nice

people).

I will try to do my part to keep the air fresh and clean in Laguna

Beach. According to the Sierra Club, “Wood smoke is the ‘other’

secondhand smoke.” It is hard to get away from smoke during the

cooler months, because neighborhood smoke seeps indoors, even if you

don’t burn wood in your fireplace. Because all smoke is harmful to

the respiratory system and can cause long-term health consequences,

consider converting to a gas-burning fireplace, which provides

superior heating and is nonpolluting.

Patience is not only a virtue, but also a refreshing goal. I’ll

wait to start my tomatoes until April, to ensure the plants will

enjoy warmer temperatures and will yield better fruit. And I’ll

complain less when Laguna becomes more congested during summer.

I’ll listen better as well, understanding that when I can’t hear

the birds singing, their feeders are likely empty; that when my wife

says dinner is ready, she really means it; and when 500 neighbors

oppose a project, that speaks volumes too.

Baja beckons again. Time moves slowly there, and a day really

feels like a day. So out with the old and in with the new. And of

course, happy New Year in your garden. See you next time.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery,

1278 Glenneyre, No. 49, in Laguna Beach. He is happily married to

local writer, Catharine Cooper, and has two cats. He can be reached

at (949) 497-2438, or e-mail to landscapes@ln.coxatwork.com.