Those of you with lawns fall into two groups.  Those that need a recreational space for the kids and those who don’t. If you’ve been thinking that this is the year to go lawn-free here are some tips.

After removing the turf, start by looking at your pathways as they become focal points. A curving flagstone path layed down over gravel will allow excess water to soak into the earth rather than run off.

Layer plants on berms arranging low growing varieties like lavender, santolina and creeping rosemary at the base and taller ones like salvia Hot Lips, ornamental grasses and ceanothus at the top if your area is sunny.  Shady gardeners can use tall plants like red-flowering currant with dicentra eximia at the base. Group plants to give them a sense of mass and use different textures and foliage colors for contrast. Make sure the plants you choose will stay the size you envision without much pruning.

with ground covers or permeable gravel over week block fabric to conserve moisture.

Now marvel that your water bill will be less than a third of what you once used for the lawn.

While you’re out in the garden between rain storms:

* Revitalize overgrown or leggy hedges by cutting back plants just before the flush of new spring growth.
* Fight slugs and snails now with an iron phosphate bait like Sluggo before they start feeding on your young seedlings and new transplants.
* Spray for peach leaf curl one last time before buds begin to open. Do not spray 36 hours before rain is predicted.
* Begin sowing seeds of cool season vegetables outdoors. If it’s been raining heavily, allow the ground to dry out for several days before working the soil. Plant seeds of beets, carrots, chard, lettuce, peas, spinach, arugula, chives kale and parley directly in the ground. Later in the month start broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Indoors, start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant so they will be ready to transplant outdoors in 8 weeks.

Fertilize.  Perennials, shrubs and trees will get their first dose of organic all-purpose fertilizer for the season. Wait to feed azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons until the last flower buds start to open. Roses will get a high nitrogen fertilizer to give foliage a boost and next month, I’ll feed with a high phosphorus fertilizer to encourage blooms.
Cut back woody shrubs  To stimulate lush new growth on plants like Mexican bush sage, artemisia and butterfly bush cut back to within a few inches of the ground. Don’t use this approach on lavender or ceanothus, though,  only lightly prune them after blooming.  Prune fuchsias back by a third and remove dead, crossing branches and interior twiggy growth. Container fuchsias can be cut back to the pot rim.
Feed chelated iron to azaleas, citrus and gardenias to green up their leaves. Cool soil makes the leaves of these plants yellow this time of year. 
Divide perennials. My garden is shady all winter and I have better results if I transplant and divide plants in late winter. Agapanthus, asters, coreopsis, daylilies, shasta daisy and liriope are plants that tend to become overcrowded and benefit from dividing.

The flowering trees and shrubs of tropical Maui are behind me and I’m back in our temperate rain forest of redwood trees and all things green.  Sure, a few early blooming shrubs are flowering this time of year and are a welcome sight but I look for color in other places. If you’re looking around your garden now and seeing mostly green, here are a few suggestions to brighten things up.

Native to moist places from Northern California to Alaska,  the Red-twig dogwood is stunning in the fall with its  brilliant red foliage. In the winter, dark red stems provide a nice contrast to evergreen plants. This multi-stemmed shrub grows rapidly to 7-9 ft high and spreads to 12 ft or wider by creeping underground stems and rooting branches making it good for holding banks. Shade tolerant with small fruits that attract birds follow 2" clusters of creamy, white flowers in the summer.

Looking for a plant that’s deer-resistant, beautiful and has edible stems, too? Plant a few cherry rhubarb among your other perennials in a sunny or partial shady spot. Leafstalks have a delicious tart flavor and are typically used like fruit in sauces or pies. The leaves are poisonous, however, which is why deer avoid them.

If a tree has showy bark in winter it earns it keep in the garden. Marina strawberry tree has rich, reddish brown shredding bark on branches that tend to become twisted and gnarled with age. This evergreen tree is also pretty in the fall and winter when rosy pink flowers appear at the same time as the strawberry-like fruit. It’s a good garden substitute for its relative, the native madrone, and performs well in a wide range of climates and soils.

I also like my Coral Bark Japanese maple in winter for its striking red twigs and branches. Upright and vigorously growing in fits into narrow spots. I really like the bright yellow fall foliage, too.
 

Gardening in our microclimates might be challenging and it’s no different here in Maui. Yes, despite the balmy weather, the rainfall here limits what plants thrive. You can drive 5 minutes from an area that receives 400" of rainfall per year to another spot 10 minutes away that gets only 19" per year. Then drive another 15 minutes and you’re in a desert-like area with annual rainfall of 10" while the east side of the island, in Hana, is getting 83 inches.

Gardeners in Maui in several ways just as we do. One way is to grow the right plant in the right place. For example, at 4000 ft elevation near the volcano, 55,000 lavender plants  of 45 varieties grow happily in rocky soil. Olive trees – brought over from Santa Cruz – dot the fields. Interesting to note that the lavender plants provide a natural pesticide against the ants that invade the protea flowers. Proteas do well here. Reminded me not to miss our spectacular show of proteas  at the UC Arboretum in April and May. If you’ve never walked through this free garden it’s a treat not to be missed.

If you think all the soil here is of volcanic origin, think again. Of the 12 types of soil in the world, 7 different orders occur here.   The state of Hawaii, as a whole, has 11 types, more than any other state in the United States. By comparison, Maine has only 4 types while the Santa Cruz Mountains has a whopping 9 orders just in our little corner of the world.  Yes, folks, that’s right. No wonder gardening can be a challenge where we live.  What thrives up the road from you doesn’t always grow the same in your yard. Knowledge of soil behavior and nutrients is important where ever you garden.

Maui has a native pea, a native coffeeberry and a native huckleberry just as we do.There is even a native hydrangea although the type we are most familiar with was brought over from Japan in 1790.  Mostly, you see flowering plants introduced from other parts of the world.  Since the 1800’s, people have been bringing all types of plants to the island just like early settlers did to our area. Many of the plants that we commonly grow like the Princess flower ( tibouchina ) and strawberry guava are invasive here. Others like blue plumbago bloom in the drier areas and behave themselves. Gardeners here face the same problems as we do and strive not to dilute the native gene pool.

The rain in Maui is distributed throughout the year which is different than our Mediterranean climate. Before you get jealous, though, this allows slugs, white fly and fungus to proliferate year round. I see mealy bug under most of the plumeria leaves. This intoxicatingly fragrant tree is easy to propagate and grows everywhere on the islands. If you get at least 6 hours of hot sun per day and keep them inside or a greenhouse above 50 degrees at night they will bloom even in our area.

I’ve enjoyed my time in Maui but there’s no place like home.

Redwoods in Maui?  I first heard about them at the Nature Center in .  A sign there said they were grown for commercial reasons in Hawaii. So now that I’m here on the island of Maui I just had to see them for myself.

I knew that redwood from our forests was used in the early 1900’s for surfboards. They were tough and durable but also heavy so the boards were redesigned in the 1930’s combining redwood with balsa.  Balsa was hard to get in large quantities so the boards were constructed of both- with balsa at the center and the rails of tougher redwood to strengthen the board.

But how did redwoods come to be planted in Maui?  Like our area that was clear cut in the 1800’s for lumber and to fuel the lime kilns so too the forests of Maui were harvested in the 1700’s.  Sandalwood, exported to China for its fragrant aroma, became the island’s first cash crop. Millions of trees were logged from the mountain forests. The men of the farming class were forced to cut trees, first on the lower slope and then farther up into the mountains, to pay for the chief’s acquisitions of weapons, warships and European imports.  Further damage was done by livestock brought by westerners  – pigs, goats, sheep and especially cattle. 

When the watershed was destroyed, the water disappeared for sugar cane, too. Reforestation started in the 1920’s when nearly two million trees were planted annually.  Fast growing species like redwoods, cedar, sugar pines and eucalyptus were planted to increase the watershed.  While these introduced trees and shrubs prevented catastrophic destruction, they produced sparse forests with fewer species than the complex, multi-layered systems created by native forests.

Fast forward to 2007 when the area was devastated by a wildfire.  Hawaii is not an area that is renewed by fires like California. It destroyed most of the forest. The redwood trees survived however. This area must suit redwoods as it is draped in clouds and fog at 6000 feet and many of the trees planted in the 20’s and 30’s are over 100 feet tall. Now the area is replanted with native trees as well as 57.000 redwood seedlings that received a blessing at planting time.  More redwoods were replanted because they are less prone to spread fire.

So if you’re in Maui up near Haleakala crater in Polipoli State Park check out the quiet, serene Redwood Trail.  Some of the trees probably came from redwood seedlings from our area.

I hear it all too often, "My new neighbor just cut down all the trees and shrubs between our properties and now they can see right into out house. What can I plant? "   Sometimes, the problem is a road or water tank that needs screening.  Maybe you want a well-planned hedge that will also offer needed food and shelter for wildlife and of course, you’d like it to be super low maintenance. Whatever your goal, hedgerows, as the English call them, are endlessly variable. If you’re planning a living fence of contrasting colors and textures, consider these factors.

Many people only think of plants that remain evergreen when they need screening. However, if you use one-third deciduous plants to two-thirds evergreens they will weave together and you won’t be able to tell where one leaves off and another begins. This makes mature hedges secure borders, especially if you throw a few barberries or other prickly plant into the mix.  You’ll also get seasonal interest with fall color and berries for wildlife. 

Pittosporum, photinia and English laurel make great screens and hedges but what other plants can you use that would be beautiful, productive and practical in all seasons?

Many times a screen may start in the sun but end up in mostly shade. For your sunnier spots why not mix in a few dwarf fruit tree for you to enjoy,  ceanothus and Pacific wax myrtle for the birds, barberry for beautiful foliage and fall color, spirea, rockrose, escallonia and quince for their bright flowers and fragrant lilacs for cutting in the spring?  The shadier side can include Oregon grape for fragrant, yellow winter flowers, snowberry for those striking white berries in the fall,  bush anemone, oak-leaf hydrangea, viburnum and native mock orange or philadelphus lewisii for blossoms in the spring.

To keep down maintenance, mulch around your plants and install drip irrigation. there won’t be any pruning to do if you choose plants that grow to the height you want. Mixed hedges appeal to bees, butterflies and songbirds while also providing flowers, berries and color throughout the year for you to enjoy.

How close should you plant a mixed hedge? If you want a quick, thick screen space plane 2-4 feet apart. This gives them room to breathe and develop their own shapes. Fast growing plants can be space 4-5 feet apart and will usually full in within 5 years.

Provide the for the fastest results. By this I mean amending the soil at planting time, mulching, fertilizing several times a year and watering deeply when needed especially during the first three years after planting when young plants put on a lot of growth. Formal hedges are fine for some gardens but think of all the added benefits you’ll get planting a mixed hedge.

I’m beginning to see the stirrings of life on some plants and although I’m enjoying some down time after the holidays there are several tasks that it’s time to do. If we lived where the snow drifts were 10 feet high, we could procrastinate a while but here in California, the game is afoot.

My first priority is to prune the roses before they start leafing out which wastes plant energy. I want them to produce lots of roses not just a few exhibition size so I prune shrubs moderately. Remember your goal is to keep the center of the plant open for good air circulation. Aim for a vase-shaped bush with an open center by cutting out crossing canes, spindly, weak, broken or diseased stems as well as dead wood. Cut back the remaining stems by about one-third, cutting canes at a 45-degree angle, just above an outward facing bud. Don’t worry whether you’re pruning job is perfect. Roses are super forgiving and you can trim them up again later. I once helped prune the rose garden at historic Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto. To revitalize the old shrubs we sawed out most of the beefy canes. I didn’t think they could recover in time for the big May bloom but they did and were spectacular. Roses are like redwoods,-you can’t kill one-they’re the energizer bunnies of the plant world.

Climbing roses require little pruning. Cut out extra stems if there are too many and also cut back long established canes to about the place where they are slightly thicker than a pencil. Then cut each side stem down to several inches. This will cause the cane to flower along its complete length for a beautiful spring display.

Remove any leaves that may still be clinging to the bush. Rake up debris beneath the plant and discard to eliminate overwintering fungus spores. It’s a good idea to spray the bare plant and the surrounding soil with a combination organic horticultural oil to smother overwintering insect eggs and a dormant spray like lime-sulfur to kill fungus spores. If you usually only have problems with black spot you can use a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda with a few drops of light oil in 1 quart water and spraying every 7 to 10 days.

Other tasks to do in the garden in January:

-Cut back hydrangeas if you haven’t already done so. Apply soil sulfur, aluminum sulfate or other acidifier if you want to encourage blue flowers.
-Prune fruit, nut and shade trees and spray with horticultural oil and lime sulfur or copper dormant spray. Don’t use lime-sulfer on apricots, though.
-Cut back summer flowering deciduous shrubs and vines.  Don’t prune spring flowering varieties like lilac, flowering cherry, plum and crabapple, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, weigela and spirea until after flowering or you can cut some during flowering to bring in cuttings for bouquets.
- honeysuckle, potato vine, morning glory, trumpet creeper and pink jasmine by thinning now or even cutting back low to the ground if  they are a big tangled mess.
 

One of my New Year resolutions is to get my garden certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. It will be fun for me and would also be a good school project for your kids. They can keep track of all the birds, butterflies, dragonflies, insects, mammals, lizards and frogs that come to visit your yard. Once your backyard is certified by NWF, you can order and display an attractive Certified Wildlife Habitat sign to convey your commitment to wildlife conservation and the environment and help spread the word to your neighbors.

All species of wildlife need the basics of food, water, cover and places to raise young. We can help conserve our natural resources like soil, water, air and habitat for native wildlife by gardening in an environmentally friendly way.  Here are some of the simple steps I’m doing in my small garden garden to reach this goal.

To provide food in my shady garden I plan to include Ca. native snowberry, pink flowering currant and mahonia for berries that attract birds.  Hummingbirds will find nectar from coral bells, western columbine and fuchsia-flowering currants. I also keep my feeders up year round for them.

Butterflies will like like Santa Barbara daisy, sweet alyssum and columbine. Plants that will attract beneficial insects are Ca. rose, coast live oak and ceanothus. Although I try to plant natives for their beauty and toughness, I believe that finding the right balance by mixing natives with non natives can enhance benefits to wildlife.

Next, I provide clean water for drinking, bathing and reproduction. I don’t have room for a pond but I do have bird baths that I keep filled year round. I’m also planning to make a puddling area for butterflies.

Wildlife need places to find shelter from the weather and predators. I keep some areas of my garden orderly but leave some less manicured. I plant in layers providing a canopy or tree layer, a shrub layer and a ground cover layer. This provides a large range of sheltering, feeding and nesting sites. Keep in mind, wildlife need to feel safe in their surroundings. They tend to steer clear of large, open spaces. I find most of the wildlife that visit my yard start at the wooded area in the back and work their way up through dense shrubs, wild berries, a dead tree and a small log pile.

Evergreens and deciduous trees provide nesting areas for birds. The rock wall and leaf pile are favorite spots for mice, sakes and salamander to lay their eggs or raise young. Butterfly larvae find food on host ceanothus, huckleberry, oaks, bleeding hearts, foxglove, sweet alyssum, ornamental strawberry, dogwood, viburnum, crabapple and red flowering currant. I’d plant a wisteria for them if I had more sun.

I conserve our valuable resources by doing simple measures like mulching, using drip and soaker hoses, planting low-water use plants like natives suited to this area, using organic pesticides only when necessary and using organic fertilizers.

In my little corner of the world, I’ve created a beautiful wildlife garden. Visit the National Wildlife Federation at NWF.org to get started on your own certification.

Bareroot season is here.  This is the time that you can add to your garden inexpensively.   Bare root plants are carefully dug up at growing grounds  with their roots bare, meaning that most of the dirt around the roots has been removed. One of the primary advantages of bare root plants is that they tend to have an extensive, well developed root system as a result of being allowed to develop normally.  When the trees are handled well, the root system is left intact, and the tree, shrub, vine or berry will have a better chance of rooting well and surviving when planted.   Bare roots don’t have to adapt to any differences between container soil and the soil in your garden.  They are also cheaper to ship because the lack of a dirt ball makes them much lighter and this lightness makes them easier to handle and plant, too.   

You might be interested mainly in growing ornamental plants like shade trees or a flowering plum, cherry or crabapple. Maybe you want another fragrant lilac to cut for bouquets or a  purple wisteria vine to cover the arbor. Planting something new while it’s available in bareroot is one of the easiest things you’ll ever do in the garden.

If growing something to eat is your goal, think of the first fruit  that comes to mind. This is the tree you should start with.  Already have a few fruit trees but want to add more? Why not add another variety this year that ripens later so that you extend the harvest season throughout the summer?  It’s no fun when everything ripens at the same time and you become a slave to the garden- picking, canning, drying, cooking, bribing the kids to take extras to the neighbors.

Remember that fruit trees need at least  6-8 hours of full sun during the growing season. Don’t worry if you don’t have much sun in the winter time, the trees are dormant then anyway.  Citrus trees, however, are green year round and never lose their leaves so you won’t find a bareroot lemon tree for this reason. 
 
What fruit tree varieties can you grow here in the mountains?  Well, almost  everything. We have well over 500 per winter. Most of us get 700-900 hours.  What does that mean?  Well, many fruit trees, lilacs, and peonies need a  certain number of hours during dormancy where the temperature is 45 degrees or less.  You can give a plant more cold in the winter and it’ll like that just fine but not less.  Those in Santa Cruz can grow Fuji apples, for instance, but not Red Delicious.  We can grow both.

What else can you add to your garden to eat? Blueberries offer more than yummy berries to eat.  They make beautiful hedges 4-6 ft tall with gorgeous fall color. They are self fertile but it you plant two types like a Berkeley, Bluecrop or Blueray together you get even more fruit.   Other edibles that are available now are asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, boysenberries and raspberries. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to add to your garden’s bounty.    
 

I love the holiday season. Every year I decorate a plant or tree outside my window where I can see it from inside the house. I use edible ornaments that attract small songbirds.  Both fruit-eating and seed-eating birds will appreciate the dietary boost during the lean winter months.  For the fruit-eaters string garlands of dried apples, bananas, hawthorn berries, cranberries and grapes onto sewing thread.  You can also thread them onto wire loops with raw whole peanuts in the shell.  Wire orange slices to the branches.

Seed-eaters relish stalks of ornamental wheat tied to the branches, along with ears of ornamental corn.  The favorite of all the "ornaments" is peanut butter-coated pinecones encrusted with wild birdseed mix and hung with florist wire.  Millet sprays tied to the branches are a hit, too.  Look around your garden for berries that you can use to decorate your tree as a present for the birds. 

While you’re in the decorating mood,  take advantage of this opportunity to .  Cuttings from fir, redwoods,  pine, holly, mahonia, strawberry tree, toyon and cotoneaster parneyi make fine additions to your wreaths and swags.  But don’t whack off snippets indiscriminately.  To reveal the plant’s naturally handsome form, prune from the bottom up and from the inside out.  Avoid ugly stubs by cutting back to the next largest branch or to the trunk.  If the plant has grown too dense, selectively remove whole branches to allow more air and sunlight to reach into the plant.

Be sure to strip the foliage from the portions of the stems that will be under water if you are using the cuttings in a bouquet.