Design trends

Time to Plant Fall Bulbs

Plant tulips in sun or light shade

I’ve never had the perfect growing conditions for bulbs. I don’t get enough sun in the spring when the bulb is storing energy after blooming to ensure a good show the following year. I save last year’s bulbs and replant them hoping for the best but I get new ones each year so I’m not disappointed when spring rolls around and I get spring fever like everybody else.

This fall I’m thinking about planting those dramatic allium bulbs. Member of the onion family, their purple pom pom flowers are deer resistant, too. I see there is a variety with shorter stems which I think will be more successful given my partly sunny garden. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even have a stunning photo to share with you next year.

Who doesn’t love daffodils? I see there is a collection of more shade tolerant daffodils I might try this fall. I’m thinking they have might shorter stems which help them recover after a spring rain without having to be staked up. You remember spring rain? Fragrant miniature Hawera narcissus falls into this category. They are animal proof like all daffodils and naturalizes easily, too. Other bulbs for the shade include crocus, scilla, some tulips, grape hyacinth, leucojum, snowdrops, chionodoxa and lily of the valley.

There are so many types of tulips now. I’m always torn between classic Darwin tulips, parrot tulips and double flowering are spectacular also. There are the early blooming Fosteriana tulips and Lily flowering tulips which are elegant with graceful stems and goblet-shaped flowers with pointed reflexed petals. These are late bloomers and excellent for bouquets as are all tulips.

The ground is still a little warm to plant your bulbs. Best selection is now, however and you can store them in a cool, dry place. Most bulbs are pre-chilled before they are shipped. To make sure they have 12 to 16 weeks of chilling you can store your bulbs in the refrigerator set to around 40 degrees. Just be sure not to store them near any fruit as the released ethylene gas reduces bloom.

And in case you forget about them until after Christmas go ahead and plant them anyway. The stems will be shorter but that’s all. The flowers will still be beautiful.

Squirrels, mice and moles are observant and crafty. Once they discover newly planted bulbs, they’ll assume it’s food. Just disturbing the earth is a tip off for them. Daffodils and narcissus bulbs are toxic but if they dig them up then leave them exposed with just a nibble taken, so much for any spring flower display. Protect your bulbs with wire baskets or spray them with foul tasting repellent, letting the spray dry before planting. You can also bury the bulbs with ground up egg shells. Another way to foil squirrels is to plant the bulbs deeply, This only works if you have good drainage, however. Next year, if the squirrels start nibbling the foliage as it emerges try spraying it with hot pepper spray.

Whatever you bulbs you choose to try this fall, you will be happy you planted some bulbs come spring. And to help them bloom again the following year fertilize them at the time of planting with bulb food or bone meal worked into the soil a couple inches at the bottom of the hole. Mature bulbs respond to an early spring feeding with the same fertilizer.

Design trends

Can One Ever Have Too Many Fall Blooming Perennials?

They are everywhere at this time of year. I’m talking about those rich, deep, warm, jewel tones of fall. From trees going into early dormancy to the classic mums, I’m having a hard time resisting adding some new perennials to my little garden and deck. And the next garden I design will surely have some gold, rust, soft orange, purple or burgundy plants to echo the fall season.

Gloriosa Daisy are easy to grow and attract butterflies, bees and other insects.

Many tough perennials don’t require a lot of water once established. I like the bright flowers of Gloriosa Daisy or Black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia). These perennials are outstanding cut flowers, are tough and easy to grow. They are descended from wild plants native to the eastern U.S. but require only moderate water once established. Daisy-like flowers are not attractive to deer resistant either. Rudbeckia bloom throughout the summer and into fall. Butterflies, bees and other insects are attracted to the flowers for the nectar. As they doing the nectar, they move pollen from one plant to another.

Another perennial that blooms throughout summer and fall is gaillardia also known as blanket flower. I’ve seen this tough plant grow in neglected gardens that don’t get a lick of water. They are covered with dozens of large reddish-orange flowers with yellow edging and bloom over a long period. This plant also attracts butterflies. You can start perennials from seed at this time of year for next year’s bloom.

Chrysanthemums are so common we often think of them as temporary filler plants in fall containers and borders. But mums are perennials and can play a bigger role in your garden if you let them. Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as far back as the 15th century. Over 500 cultivars had been recored by the year 1630. There are records in Japan from the 8th century relating the mums.

Grown for years to flower only in late summer and fall, they are short day plants, setting buds when they receive light for 10 hours and darkness for the other 14 hours of the day. This is why mums bloom in the spring on leggy stems if they are not cut back. And this is how growers manipulate their blooming, adjusting the dark and light periods with shades in the greenhouse so buds will form in any month. They’re nearly constantly available in grocery stores and florists in every season.

Choose a well-drained, sunny spot to plant mums. Like many members of the aster family, mums won’t tolerate soggy ground. After blooming, trim off the old flowers and cut back plants to within a 4 or 5 inches of the ground. If you started with 4 inch pots, trim back by half.

Echinacea aka Coneflowers have many uses.

As members of the composite family Coneflowers (echinacea) have a flat landing surface for butterflies to land on. Coneflowers are one of my favorites. When they start blooming in the early summer I enjoy them both in the garden and as cut flowers inside. Some have a slight fragrance. Hybridizers have introduced beautiful shades of gold, yellow, orange, burgundy and coral in addition to the traditional purple and pure white. Because they are dormant in the winter they are good candidates for the garden that has summer sun but winter shade. They are not attractive to deer and are good additions to the low water garden. The clumps spread slowly and can be carefully divided after 3 or 4 years. If faded flowers are left in place, the bristly seed heads provide food for finches in winter.

The herb echinacea is derived from varieties of this flower. Echinacea purpurea and other varieties are used as a fortifier of the immune system, mainly to prevent flu and minor respiratory diseases by increasing the body’s production of interferon. The roots are the part of this plant used for medicinal purposes.

Echinacea was used by Native Americans more than any other plant in the Plains States. It was used to treat snake and insect bites because of its antiseptic properties and to bathe burns. They chewed the plants roots to ease the pain of toothache. It was also used for purification. The leaves and the flowers can be used in teas as well.

Apricot Sprite agastache

Some other perennials to try are agastache or Hummingbird mint. Plant near your organic edible garden to provide nectar for pollinators as well as hummingbirds. The flowers are edible as a salad garnish, in baked goods and in cocktails while their foliage can be added to herb salads or in a cup of tea.

Design trends

Controlling Erosion

All ceanothus are deep rooted and provide excellent erosion control.

That 2 1/4” of the wet stuff that a couple weeks ago was most appreciated. Turned out to be more rain than I anticipated arriving slowly so as to sink in and really do some good. The ducks in Boulder Creek are happy again.

Who knows what our La Niña weather will be like this winter but we do know that some of our rain events will come with a vengeance. It’s not that unusual for our area to get 8 inches of rainfall during a storm and that can create havoc on an unprotected hillside. Fortunately, October is a good time to do something about it.

Fall is the perfect time to plant in our area. The soil is still warm encouraging root growth and the weather is mild. Using the right plants on hillsides can help slow and spread runoff and prevent soil erosion. Mulch also protects soil from direct rain impact and slows runoff across bare soils. Covering the steepest slopes with jute netting through which plants may be installed is an added precaution.

There are many attractive plants that work well for erosion control. Often they need to adapt to shallow, poor soil and cope with less than ideal conditions all while putting down dense, strong roots. California natives are well suited to this job.

Calycanthus

Common native shrubs include ceanothus and manzanita of all types. Calycanthus or Spicebush has fragrant flowers in late spring blooming well into summer with a spicy fragrance. The foliage is aromatic when crushed and changes from a spring green color to pale golden in autumn. Decorative woody fruits last into winter making this shrub attractive year round. It thrives with infrequent to moderate watering. Combine with coffeeberry and deer grass in sunnier spots or with Douglas iris and giant chain fern in shaded spots below trees. All these plants have deep roots and control erosion.

Ribes sanguinem or Flowering Currant is another show stopper capable of controlling erosion. In the spring the long, flower clusters of this deciduous shrub will dominate your garden. Choose from white flowering ‘White Icicle’ or ”Barrie Coate” and ‘King Edward VII’ with spectacular deep red flower clusters. ‘Spring Showers’ has 8 inch long pink clusters. Grow in full sun to partial shade. This California native requires little water once established and is a valuable nectar source for hummingbirds.

Some other good California native shrubs for erosion control are western redbud, mountain mahogany, western mock orange, lemonade berry, toyon, matilija poppy and western elderberry. ribes viburnifolium, creeping mahonia and baccharis. Ceanothus maritimus, ‘Heart’s Desire’ and ‘Anchor Bay’ are all good ground cover selections and are not attractive to deer.

Symphoricarpos – Common Snowberry or Creeping Snowberry – can hold the soil on steep banks. This native tolerates poor soil, lower light and general neglect.

Smaller natives that put down deep roots are yarrow, coast aster, California fuchsia, wild grape, mimulus, buckwheat, wild rose, sage and salvia.

Bush Poppy

Bush poppy (dendromecon rigid) is another native found right here in our area and needs no irrigation at all once established. Beautiful bright yellow, poppy-like flowers cover the plant in spring. They can be propagated from cuttings taken in summer and are pest and disease free.

Low water-use non-native ground covers like cistus salviifolius, grevillea lanigera, rosemary prostratus, rubus pentalabous, correa and sarcococcas are also good low-water choices.

Remember when setting plants on a steep slope to arrange them in staggered rows. Make an individual terrace for each plant and create a basin or low spot behind each one – not around the stem – to catch water. Set the crowns of the plants high so they won’t become saturated and rot after watering and make sure mulch does not build up around the stem.

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