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Learn do's and don'ts of landscape makeovers

Get expert advice on front-yard renovations in new webinar

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 12, 2021

A water-efficient garden can be as colorful as you want, with the right plants.

This beautiful collection is at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, in the appropriately

named Water-Efficient Landscape. Photographed in mid-September 2019.

(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Thinking about tearing up that thirsty lawn and starting over? Get some expert advice on water-efficient makeovers before you dig.

“Do’s and Don’ts for Front Yard Renovations,” a new webinar presented by the Regional Water Authority (RWA), tackles the basics of landscape transformations with an eye toward environmental stewardship as well as beauty.

Set for noon Thursday, Jan. 28, the one-hour online workshop is free to Sacramento-area residents who are customers of local water suppliers. But interested attendees need to register in advance.

Leading the discussion will be local water-wise landscape experts Soleil Tranquilli, Cheryl Buckwalter and Marcia Scott. Sacramento Suburban Water District hosts the presentation.

According to the RWA, this webinar is about a lot more than saving water: “We renovate our front yards for various reasons: Maybe the existing landscape is overgrown, lacks color, and requires too much work. Maybe it’s time to spice up your curb appeal. And, maybe you want to lead by example, showing friends and neighbors that your landscape is both beautiful, water-efficient, and a magnet for birds, bees, and other pollinators.

“Taking time to plan your landscape renovation can help you avoid design, irrigation, and plant pitfalls,” the RWA added. “This workshop will guide you through the design process, including essential elements to consider. It will cover irrigation basics for healthy plants, how to avoid costly mistakes, and provide sage advice for what to do and not do during your renovation.”

Register at: bit.ly/FrontYardRenov

Upcoming RWA webinars include: “Young Tree Pruning” (noon Feb. 4); “Landscape Design with Cost in Mind” (noon Feb. 25); “How Much Water Does Your Landscape Really Need?” (noon March 25); “Drought Tolerant/Mediterranean Climate Gardens” (noon March 31); and “Creating a Pollinator Garden” (noon April 14).

Find out more and sign up at: https://bewatersmart.info/webinars/ .

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

gardening Sacramento workshop water-efficient plants pollinator plants garden design Regional Water Authority January landscaping

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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