Gardening Blog Every Other Week or So

​Clearing the garden of dead leaves and perennial trimmings used to be de riguer at this time of year, but our garden wisdom has changed.  While some gardeners are “neatniks” needing swept-clean garden surfaces and perennials trimmed-back to ground level, we’ve learned that it’s much more sustainably supportive of our garden soil and beneficial insects and pollinators to leave those dead bloom stalks as fodder for overwintering beneficials and birds, and the other plant debris as mulch covering soil surfaces.  (To read more, click on "Blog.")

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This Month in the So Cal Garden 
See "Monthly Tips" for tasks and tips of what to do in Southern California gardens this month, and why this is the best time to do them.

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• Looking for some information on a specific topic?
• Type a term or phrase into the SEARCH BAR on my Blog page, on the right side above "Archives".
• Peruse the many references that come up.
• Or, email me at GardeningInLA@gmail.com 

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​​Gardening Problem?

• For thorough research, email the University of California Los Angeles County Master Gardener Helpline at mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu ​
• For my thoughts (although I may not be able to answer quickly), email me at GardeningInLA@gmail.com

​Upcoming Events

• Submit your events, use the online form - click here. 
• Currently-listed events submitted by individuals, and a list of venues - click here.
• Currently-listed events I've compiled from Botanic Gardens and Other Organizations - click here. 
• My upcoming schedule of presentations  - click here and then scroll down to the right.

Major-Topic Blog Articles

Click on the article title and date it was posted.

FALL 

• Fall Bulb Planting for Spring Color - 8/21/21
• Holiday Decor From Your Garden - 11/19/19
• Cool-Season Plant Problems and Solutions - 3/14/21
• Collecting “Dry” Non-Hybrid Seeds for Sowing and Sharing - 8/25/19
• Repotting Shady Ferns and Begonias, and Sunny Succulents - 8/1/19
• Now’s the Perfect Time for Seeding and Transplanting - 10/9/18
• Collecting Seeds From Your Garden - 9/11/17
• Starting Lettuce and Other Seeds - 9/12/19

• Propagating Begonias From Cuttings - 10/29/16

WINTER

• ​Frost Threatens – How to Protect Our Gardens - 12/1/19
• Holiday Décor From Your Garden - 11/19/19

• Dormant Fruit and Rose Pruning During Hot Weather - 2/7/18

• ​Talking About Preparing for Frost During 85-Degree Weather - 12/12/17

• Pruning – Why and Where To Cut - 2/11/17
• Nipped By Frost? - 1/27/17

• Choosing Bareroot Roses, and Pruning Established Ones - 1/26/16​
• Dormant Pruning – Deciduous Fruit Trees, Cane Berries, Grapes - 1/19/16

SPRING

• Cool-Season Plant Problems and Solutions - 3/14/21
• ​Happy Spring!  Transplanting Tomatoes Technique - 3/21/20

• Starting Lettuce and Other Seeds - 9/12/19

• Ten Tomato Transplanting Tips – Also for Other Plants - 4/10/18
• Start Watering The Garden - 2/7/22
• Watering -- When, How Much, and Methods - 3/19/22

• Wildflower Wonders - 4/26/17
• Salvaging Lettuce and Greens When They Bolt (Go to Seed) - 3/18/17
• Planting Tomatoes - 3/7/17

• Harvesting Herbs For Fresh and Dry Use - 4/26/16
• Fruit Trees:  Don’t Thin Blossoms; Do Shorten Branches - 3/1/16
• ​Pruning Ornamentals and Their Resprouting Almost Immediately - 2/17/16

SUMMER

• Warm-Season Plant Problems and Solutions - 3/28/21

• Oh, Those Crummy Bugs! - 7/18/20
• Tomato Growing Problems & Solutions - 6/17/20

• Recuperating and Dealing With More Heat - 8/6/18
• ​How Deep Is “Watering Deeply”? - 7/21/18
• Yes, It Was Definitely Too Hot! - 7/11/18

• Saving Seeds From Non-Hybrid Vegetables - 8/3/16
• Summer Heat – Solarize Pesty Soil - 7/24/16
• Trimming and Rooting Blooming Plants - 7/13/16
• Amaryllis From Seed to Bloom - 7/4/16
• The Perfect Moment To Harvest - 8/24/15

• Why NOT to Prune Tomato Plants - 7/13/15
• Propagating Plumeria - 7/24/22​

GENERAL

• Container Gardening - 10/11/21
• Home Composting - Garden Gold From Kitchen & Garden Waste - 11/11/20
• Repurposing Household Throwaways Into New Garden Tools - 8/16/20
• Are You A Beginning Gardener? - 5/2/20

TRAVEL

• Ruth Bancroft’s Cactus and Succulent Garden - 11/24/17
• Prince Charles’ Highgrove Organic Garden - 8/16/16

• Chelsea Flower Show – What We Can Grow, and Can’t - 6/19/16
• Renee’s Garden Seeds Growing Grounds - 11/30/15

• Luther Burbank, Master Breeder - 9/23/15

• Heirloom Expo Learning Delights - 9/15/15

  

Gardeners always recognize one another
because they know that 
​in the history of  each plant
​lies the growth of the whole world.
                              -- Paulo Coelho

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Welcome!
Yvonne Savio has been “playing” in home gardens, community gardens, and school gardens for some 60 years in both Southern and Northern California.  She retired in 2015 as Master Gardener Coordinator for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County, following 21 years developing the program and providing the information and photographs for the Master Gardener website.  From 1994 to 2015​, Yvonne taught 1,183 Master Gardeners who then helped 1.3 million Los Angeles County residents to garden more sustainably, with emphasis on encouraging limited-resource and underrepresented residents to grow more of their own food.  With this www.GardeningInLA.net website, she provides gardening resources for the greater Los Angeles County area and beyond.