Flower Gardens

On the first Thursday of every month on the In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners of Orange County (California) radio show, you’ll hear about what to plan for in the garden that month. It is February. Remember where you planted those bulbs you planted as we told you about last October on this show(!)?…

An Invitation to Garden Beauty: A Rose Pruning Primer  It’s that pruning time of year! The period from Christmas until early March (depending on elevation) is the best time to get started. Your bushes will look more attractive and produce larger flowers with good pruning, and you can shape them to the…

The topic this week on In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners is Bird-Friendly Gardens.  In studio live, we’ll have Melissa Rapp, a current UC Master Gardener AND Executive Committee President at the Sea and Sage Audubon Society. We have a past recording of a show from 2018 featuring the wonderful…

A beautiful way to add color to your garden in winter and early spring is to plant hellebores. These perennials grow low to the ground in clumps usually no more than one- and one-half feet high, with distinctive leathery, dark-green leaves. Their flowers, about two inches across, appear in clusters that…

What is the Winter Sowing method of seed starting?  An effective, simple, and low-cost seed starting method, Winter Sowing is the process of starting seeds in containers outside during the winter months. Planting seeds in clear or translucent containers, such as milk jugs, creates a greenhouse effect,…

By Trish Grenfell, Master Gardeners of Placer County Q: Last week I drove by a rooftop garden with billows of beautiful yellow daisy-like flowers falling over the top. Not only was I amazed that someone was growing plants on their carport, but what was this bright yellow flower with bountiful…

Planting annual native wildflower seeds can be a relatively easy and inexpensive way to add native plants to your garden. The best time to plant is from mid-October into November. Water during dry spells between rains for optimal germination. You can extend the bloom season by continuing to sow from December…

Planting Ideas for Late Summer Blooms  Here are some late summer flowers that will rejuvenate the look of the garden and lift any gardener’s spirits. Summer Hyacinth, Ornithogalum candicans, is a perennial bulb; plant it now for next year’s bloom. It has a blooming funnel-shaped flower, and…

In late summer bulbs of daffodils and tulips start appearing in garden stores. Everyone enjoys the lovely display they make in spring. But do you know that there are native spring-blooming bulbs that will also look beautiful in your garden? You may have seen blue dicks (scientific name Dichelostemma capitata…