It’s Almost Fall Planting Time!

 Living in Santa Clarita we are blessed (or cursed) with a long summer, but if you learn to manage it properly your garden can thrive. By avoiding planting during our super hot months of August and September and using them instead to plan, you can take advantage of the opportunity to plant in October and yes, even later in the year. Here are a few things that I like about autumn plants and planting:
• Autumn plants give you an extra pop of color. What a relief after it’s been hot and crackly looking all around you. It feels like it’s never going to end, the hills look burnt (and sometimes they are burning). To achieve your year-round California Garden (or anywhere for that matter) it is a great time to take advantage of some of the plants that you couldn’t get when you planted in March.
• Planting as it cools off during autumn will allow your plants to adapt easily and grow quickly. We are lucky enough to really have two planting seasons (and plenty of fudging in between). Don’t waste your cooler days (when they come).
• My favorite planting times for ground covers are March and October; they establish well and really grow vigorously. Take advantage of October by planning now in September!
In case you were wondering, here are a few of my fall favorite plants. Caryopteris, Asters and don’t forget Sedum, give ‘Autumn Joy’ or ‘Brilliant’ a try. These sedums can bloom in both spring and autumn, if you cut them way back after they bloom. If you do that chances are that they will come back up and bloom again, now that’s low maintenance!
Julie Molinare is a Certified Landscape Designer living in the Santa Clarita for over 15 years. Julie taught the Introduction to Landscape Design Class at CSUN Tseng College of Extended Learning and is owner/designer of The Grass Is Always Greener Designs.
To reach her, please call 661-917-3521 and visit online, www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net. Make sure to visit the blog page to sign up for information and garden reminders.