SAGE ADVICE

SAGE ADVICE: GEARING UP FOR THE COLD

November 18, 2022

While many of us dread the colder months, the cooler temperature provides many benefits in the garden. As the weather gets cooler starting your spring garden may be easier than you thought. Colder months provide many benefits for plants allowing them to grow strong. Camp & Camp offers a handful of tips for gearing up your gardens for the colder months ahead.

SOWING IN THE COLD

While the leaves start to fall, and plants go into hibernation the colder months offer many advantages in the landscape. With the weather cooling down this is the time to begin planting your winter and spring crops. Cooler weather allows for plants to develop a good root system. Sowing your plants in the process of “pre-planting” planting seeds during the colder months. Ideally this practice is best before the first frost so anytime between late October to December is the best to use this method in your garden. Self-sowing veggies include beets, carrots, cucumbers, squash, peppers, and tomatoes. Herbs include basil, chamomile, cilantro, dill, and parsley. There are many benefits of this practice including saving money, time, pest resistant, and reduce labor in the garden. Overall, sowing in the colder months grows a more resilient garden.

WILDFLOWERS AND SOWING

This winter is the time to get ahead on your spring garden. Perennial wildflowers could be “pre chilled” or exposed to a cold and moisture. Sowing your seed this winter could lead to a full bloom spring garden. To do this just rake the ground to remove any debris. This allows for the ground to be exposed and allowing ice or snow (depending where you live) to sit on top of the seed aiding in the sowing process. To create a vibrant field of wildflowers, start out by making a seed mix with some sand in a bucket. Make sure to use sand, this will help distribute seed evenly on the ground. Spread your seed mixture around lavender, sage, or yarrow shrubs to add a pop of colors in your garden. Addition of wildflower to your garden will attract pollinators likes bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and ladybugs to help boost those veggies in your garden. Below are a few wildflowers that could be added to your seed mix this winter.

1. Scientific Name: Eschscholzia californica Common Name: California Poppy

California’s state flower is resilient it will grow strong in spring through summer. This four petaled is self-sowing and will form a clump habitat. Requires low to regular water and grows best in full sun.

2. Scientific Name: Echinacea purpurea Common Name: Berry Coneflower

This wildflower will bloom tall in compact mounds from all throughout summer. The large fragrant flower plant requires moderate waterings and grows best in full sun.

3. Scientific Name: Rudbeckia fulgida
Common Name: Black Eyed Susan

This daisy like perennial is self-sowing is a great cut flower and attracts butterflies. Requires full sun and moderate to regular waterings.

4. Scientific Name: Lupinus (multiple)
Common Name: Lupins (multiple)

Lupins have a large variety, if you’re not ready to commit to a lupinus shrub trying out perennial seeds could be a great option. Lupins require little to no water and thrives in poor draining soil and some bloom as soon as February into the summer months.

SAGE ADVICE: FALL GARDENS AND PLANTING TIPS

October 24, 2019

While the bounty of summer gardens may behind us, homegrown goodness can still be enjoyed by planting a fall garden full of vegetables and herbs. Camp & Camp offers a handful of tips for your autumnal gardens.

Eat Your Veggies

Fall gardens can grow the best cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower you’ve ever tasted. Rustic greens including arugula, mustard, and turnips also make great fall garden crops. If you’re running late, you can try direct-seeding fast-growing varieties of broccoli, kale or kohlrabi. Fall is also a great time to plant perennial vegetables and fruits (the kinds that come back year after year) like asparagus and strawberries. While you won’t get to harvest until spring (and not until the second spring for asparagus), the cooler fall temperatures give the plants a chance to become well established.

Herbs

Also, planting perennial herbs like mint, thyme, oregano, sage, chives, lemon balm, lavender, and rosemary in the cooler fall weather allows the plants to develop a good root system and avoid heat stress while becoming established.

Soil

Your fall garden provides an opportunity to manage soil fertility, and even control weeds. They taste great, their broad leaves shade out weeds, and nutrients they take up in fall are cycled back into the soil as the winter-killed residue rots. If you have time, enrich the soil with compost or aged manure to replenish micronutrients and give the plants a strong start.

Ayesha Curry’s “Herb/Spice garden” rack, Alamo

This article offers some great tips on planning a fall garden, from soil to sunlight, and what to plant when.

Camp & Camp has also compiled a list of plants that keep well in fall and winter, requiring less water use and holding well during the colder elements.

Fall & winter-friendly plants:

Red Twig Dogwood
Red Maple
Japanese Maple
Cercis
Berberis
Cottoneaster
Ginkgo Biloea
Crepe Mrytle
Crataegus

SAGE ADVICE: Fabulous Foliage: Combining colors, textures and foliage for a beautiful garden

April 23, 2019

As Spring flourishes with flower color, blooms in a carefully crafted garden may extend floral sequences past the term of the season, with strategic Summer bloomers maintaining interest extending well into the next season.

To attain optimal impact for color and texture in your garden throughout the coming seasons, Pamela Winther, Principal at Camp and Camp, suggests adding these candidates to your garden in clusters, borders or highlights.

· Buddleja

· Heuchera sanguinea

· Helleborus

· Spiraea bumalda “Gold flame”

· Salvias

· Nepeta “Walkers Low”

· Achillea millefolium “Paprika”

· Echinacea purpurea

· Lavandula

· Hemerocallis

· Ornamental grasses

· Phlomis fruticosa

· Hepeta “Walkers Low”