January the Garden                                     

The days have shortened, and temperatures have definitely dropped as we welcome in a “New Year”. It is a time for new beginnings, resolutions and redeeming gift certificates at your local garden center received this holiday. Winter gardens are a place to reflect and enjoy the peace that comes with the cooler shorter days. It is a time for preparing your garden for the coming spring but also a time to stop and enjoy the beauty that comes with the season.

Trees for the most part have lost their leaves for the year but can provide a dramatic addition to your winter garden. Consider spotlighting trees as an effective way to showcase their winter beauty and to brighten up the long winter nights.


 

Long winter nights can bring freezing overnight temperatures; citrus fruit, bushes and trees require special protection from extreme cold. Guidelines for how to  protect your plants will be included in weekly checklists throughout the coming months to assist you in how best to protect your frost sensitive plants. Hang larger old fashioned Christmas lights in frost sensitive trees and bushes as a creative solution for protecting them. Be sure to harvest ripe oranges and lemons before a hard freeze to prevent the fruit from freezing on the bush.

January is the time to prune your roses and other dormant plants. Check with your local garden center to see what workshops they are offering on pruning and other winter time garden activities. Watch the events section on this site to see what special events and activities are being offered at a garden center in your area.   


Watch for seasonal recipes utilizing the bounty from your garden. Pomegranates, citrus, winter squash, lettuce and spinach will be just some of the stars in the recipes featured this month in “Recipes from the Garden”.   

January is a perfect time to bundle up for long walks. Don’t forget to carry a camera so that you can snap pictures of plants and landscaping that you especially like along the way. Pictures make it easier to seek assistance from your nursery professional in identifying those plants that you may not be familiar with. Don’t forget to make notes in your garden record; a few minutes now will save you time later.

Drop by your local garden center regularly to see what new plant offerings and old favorites they have available for planting right now and most of all enjoy the quest to “Be a Better Gardener”.

                           

UpComing Events  
 

January’s Seasonal Recipes...          
January is a favorite time for soups, stews and warm comfort foods. Quick and easy dinners to warm your soul utilizing veggies from the garden and Farmer's Markets are the focus this time of year. Citrus can be used to brighten and lighten meals. Watch for recipes using winter squash, pears, pomegranates and citrus that will be featured this month in
Recipes from the Garden                        

Fun for Kids

Encourage kids to help decorate the garden with lights and bright colored cool season annuals. Help them to pot up some bright colored flowers and then to decide on the placement in the garden for their works of art.                             

Explore the garden with them and discover the beauty of the winter season together; help them keep a journal about their discoveries. Visit public gardens and arboretums with them so they can learn more about the hidden treasures that can be found in the winter garden; have them count the number of different types of birds and animals they can spot. If traveling s holiday season include a visit to a public garden to see if they can spot how gardens differ by regions. 

Garden For Lasting Memories...

Yards that once grew gardens have been replaced with hot tubs and driveways. Today’s kids are missing the joy of cutting a bouquet of flowers for their mom or tasting the sweetness of a cherry tomato picked right from the plant. Gardening is a fun activity that can be shared with children and grandchildren, even if the garden is a single container or small spot in the yard. And a garden provides a beautiful way to remember a special person or time of life.

RESOURCES

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www.youtube.com/BetterGardener -- want to find out about career opportunities in the Horticulture Industry.  Check out the CANGC Careers in Horticulture CD on YouTube.  Are you an instructor of horticulture?  You can order this CD free from the CANGC office by emailing info@cangc.org and asking for a copy.  This is also available for free to members and for a small fee of $15, non-members can purchase this wonderful look at Careers in Horticulture -- you will be surprised at the variety and scope of careers available.

The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers is a great resource of gardening information and this website is an example.  For K-6 grade ‘Planting Seeds, Growing Minds’ and for the upper grades through 12th there is ‘Investigations in Horticulture’ – both curriculums available for purchase.  Why not get one for your child’s teacher or school?  Also check out the Public Outreach link on the association's homepage of www.cangc.org.

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