THE COASTAL GARDENER:

Do you recognize yourself in any of these descriptions?

I can’t drive down a street without mentally replanting at least one or two front yards.

I keep an extra pair of pruning shears in the glove compartment of my car — just in case.

The dirt under my fingernails is layered, much like my garden. Subsoil at the bottom, topsoil above and a nice, thick organic mulch on the top.

I’ve rigged portable outdoor lights so I can garden well into the night. My mail-order plants are now sent to my work address, so my spouse won’t find out.

When watching movies and television I can’t follow the plot because I am evaluating the plants in the scenes. Seinfeld, in New York City, can’t have Ficus trees in front of his apartment.

When doing laundry, seeds and plant cuttings that were forgotten about routinely fall out of my pockets.

I go outside to take the garbage out, notice a weed, then a dry plant. Three hours later, I’m still in the garden, and dinner is ice cold.

I decide to work part time at a nursery — primarily for the 25% employee discount.

In order to get more plants as gifts, I unsuccessfully tried to convince my family to celebrate Christmas in April.

Out of room in my own garden, when the neighbor is away I sneak plants into their garden. Flower bulbs work especially well.

When returning from trips I bring plants on the plane with me. The security screeners don’t know how to X-ray them, and the flight personnel just look completely confused.

I maintain a “wish list.” I “wish” I had an Aciphylla horrida, a Beesia calthifolia, a Bravoa geminiflora, a Cardiandra formosana, a Desfontainia spinosa, an Ischyrolepis subverticillata, a Luculia gratissima, a Pycnostachys urticifolia and a Xeronema callistemon.

Close friends know I am a plant-aholic. Their responses to my gardening addiction are varied — from unsuccessful intervention, to unquestioning acceptance and even to enabler.

I’ve also been a pusher. At an early age, my children already knew the names of 10 tomato varieties. I share cutting and seeds with non-gardeners, and I “accidentally” drop mail-order catalogs in public places.

For those who answered yes to most of the above, don’t despair — you’re not alone.

There is help; a 12-step program. We’ll just take it one day at a time, and we’ll support each other. The first meeting of Plantaholics Anonymous is forming. We’ll meet every Thursday at my house.

P.S. please bring cuttings to share — but leave your pruning shears in your glove compartment. And if you have any of the plants on my wish list, please contact me privately, and I’ll pay you handsomely.

Question:

I thought I saw an Oriole in my garden. Is that possible? I’ve never seen one here before.

Andy

Newport Beach

Answer:

Definitely. Orioles are relatively common in local gardens from about April through late summer. Bullock’s and hooded Orioles are nesting at this time. Orioles have a unique song, a series of rich whistled notes interspersed with rattles, and I often hear them before I see them. Their diet consists of fruits, berries, insects and nectar from flowers.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@ rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.