Given that it should start cooling down any day now and make working in the garden an enjoyable task again, there are a few things that will help your plants over the winter and make your springtime garden healthy and colorful.
Bulbs usually appear in nurseries about this time. Choose some of your favorites and plant them in big flower pots and in kidney-shaped drifts at the front of your garden beds. Some excellent choices include bluebells, daffodils, grape hyacinth and tulips.
Shrubs, trees and groundcovers get a head start when planted in the fall. Nature does most of the watering for you, and plants have several months before we have freezing temperatures to send out roots. Your plants will be well established by the time spring growth starts.
University of California, Davis, has developed a website that showcases 100 tough, reliable, low-maintenance and attractive plants that will do well in our area. Find plants that will complement your landscape at http://
arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
A master gardener workshop on native California plants will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday Sept. 8, at the San Joaquin County Historical Museum at Micke Grove Park. The class is free with paid admission into the park. Please RSVP at 331-2055.
The workshop will be repeated the following Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 15, at the Manteca Branch Library. 320 W. Center St., in Manteca. The class is free. Please RSVP at 953-6100.
Free PDF publications developed by the University of California to answer questions about planting or upkeep of your garden, pest identification or eradication — even pickling your own olives — can be found at https://ucanr.org/freepubs.
• The Green Thumb is a column by Tracy’s master gardeners. University of California certified master gardeners are available to answer gardening questions from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 953-6112 or mgsanjoaquin@ucdavis.edu.
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