Holiday color in the garden

As we approach Thanks- giving, I begin musing about what the holidays may bring. And I am again pre-holiday, apathetic. Years past would bring the stress of having to plant the garden with poinsettias and placing a wreath on the door. This year, there are no such anxieties as I strive solely to satisfy my appreciation of the season.

Although Christmas may be an over- sanguine target for garden perfection, the fall and winter garden has its considerable charms. Seasonal planting habits and a certain cautiousness lead many gardeners to use the same commonplace plants every holiday. I say try planting something different, because we’ll still be enjoying the plants long after Frosty has melted.

As a starter, I will be planting pineapple sage, Salvia elegans. Not only will it provide the requisite showy red flowers, the leaves can be used to flavor the eggnog and garnish my mother’s holiday fruit salad. This hardy perennial grows to 2 to 3 feet, and does well either in planting beds or containers.

Nearly everblooming in Laguna, scaevola “alba” provides showy white flowers as a ground cover or planted in a hanging basket. Other scaevolas can be found in nurseries, varying in color from blue to purple. They all require very little care and prefer full sunlight.

To provide berries for a natural wreath, plant California holly, Heteromeles arbutifolia. A native to our environs, it is covered with red berries from November to January. Growing naturally as a dense shrub or pruned into a small tree, California holly is useful as a screen or hillside planting.

Related to the snapdragon, garden penstemon, Penstemon gloxiniodes, brings a showy display of pink, rose, lilac and white flowers throughout the year. They thrive in well-draining soil, and will grow either in full sun or partial shade. Sprawling in rock gardens, penstemon can also be trimmed as an attractive border plant.

You must plant Iceland poppies, Papaver nudicaule, this month, for color by Christmas. I know some of you will say it is a bedding plant, not related to the preceding recommended plants. But technically, they are perennials and I just can’t resist their spectacular and brilliant flowers.

The ghosts of holidays past always visit me during Thanksgiving, when I am vulnerable with a belly full from overzealous eating. They warn me to throw away the Christmas catalogs filled with stuff I can’t afford or need. To not consider placing a dead tree in my home to induce yuletide spirits. And finally, be sure to get out in the garden over the weekend and have some fun (and burn off those calories and stress). Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!

STEVE KAWARATANI won’t be home for Thanksgiving... he’s looking for his mojo in the desert. If you have any ideas call at (949) 497-8168, or e-mail to plantman2@mac.com.