GARDEN FANATIC: Thankful for respite

“Ah! on Thanksgiving day... come the pilgrim and the guest...” “” John Greenleaf Whittier

“It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce is a delectable necessity”¦ and that turkey is uneatable without it.” “” Alistair Cooke

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My personal Thanksgiving has always meant an “escape” from work and gardening, and a time for being with family and friends. The four days off are a bridge between “normal” days and the unrelenting (and unforgiving) holiday season.

We are all entitled to essential rest, and the garden will tolerate a few days of neglect. I am thankful to spend extra time with Catharine and Buster, and that my family and friends are well.

We usually associate the resting period of plants with the arrival of autumn, cooler temperatures (maybe) and the distinct possibility of rain. In temperate climates like Laguna, these periods of quiescence also coincide with shortened and decreased intensity of daylight hours.

Many plants require a break, just as we require sleep and Thanksgiving. This is necessary to prepare a plant for its life’s work, namely, to grow, flower and produce fruit. Under natural conditions, a plant may remain at rest for a period of weeks or even months.

Plants are said to be resting when they simply quit growing (not to be confused with an annual completing it’s life cycle). No matter how much we fertilize or water, Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass will not grow or turn green during their dormant period of late autumn through winter.

Likewise, once a deciduous tree loses its leaves, it will not re-leaf until environmental conditions are favorable for re-growth. Quiescence is an internal mechanism of a plant, affected by external temperature, quantity and quality of light, and available moisture. In other words, a plant “knows” when it is time to start growing again.

Many plants have adapted to their climes. They grow during the rainy season and rest during the dry season. Plants as diverse as Cirio of Baja California, orchids of the tropics and natives of our local coastal sage scrub are all examples of this adaptation.

Resting prepares the plants for blossoming and prevents them from weak and rank growth, a possibility if nature attempted to keep them in a period of activity throughout the year.

Our second Thanksgiving in Loreto will reenact my role as a pilgrim in a foreign land. It will also serve as a reminder that we are guests on this planet for a brief moment, and that being thankful surely beats being unhappy about life. Go easy on the second helpings and don’t forget to slather on the cranberry sauce. See you next time.

STEVE KAWARATANI is happily married to award winning writer, Catharine Cooper, and has two cats and five dogs. He can be reached at (949) 497-8168, or e-mail to plantman2@mac.com.