An epic moment spawned one warm morning as I opened a box and extracted a 20-volt cordless hedge trimmer. Not quite as heartwarming as Ralphie ripping into the Red Ryder BB gun box in “A Christmas Story,” but you get the idea.
My friends, you may be wondering how a hedge trimmer with a 22-inch, dual-action cutting blade stirs passion. Then again, perhaps you have experienced the proverb, “Time leads truth to light.”
Toddlers one day, high school graduates the next day. This time of year, Sacramento gardens evolve from summer heat into fall with that type of astonishing speed.
The autumnal equinox begins Sept. 22. Around that date concerns germinate about cool season gardening. Is it too late to plant? Do I have enough time to order? Up go hands in surrender and disappointment.
Extending the gardening season into fall and winter requires mindfulness and follow-through. No need to pull up tomatoes and peppers quite yet, but if you want home-grown, cool-season vegetables or to replace dead or dying perennials, shrubs and trees, roll off the hammock and get busy.
Nurseries are sensory charging ports where color, fragrance and natural light cleanse souls and awaken a sense of peace.
A spiritual sanctuary of herbaceous and woody plants, stacks of crazy-cool pots and destinations for tool aficionados, nurseries are quiet zones, like library branches.
A nursery is defined by its neighborhood, with neighbors as the heartbeat. Sacramento is blessed with exceptional nurseries. Some focus on plants and plant products. Others offer plants in addition to outdoor furniture, grills and garden décor.
I enjoy cooking and baking. Therefore, I grow ingredients. Home-grown vegetables, fruit, citrus, berries, grapes and herbs move the culinary needle.
Seasonings, like herbs, infuse layers of unique flavors and complex notes to dishes, sauces, vinaigrettes and marinades. The flavor palette bounces from sweet and savory to piney and citrusy. Dishes become personal statements, defined by which herb and how much.
Sizzling summers and mild winters merge for a lengthy local growing season. Outdoor kitchens and freestanding grills magically perform when fed with summer herbs harvested a few feet away.
Weeds are uninvited party guests. They arrive with a good bottle of Bordeaux, keep to themselves, but by morning all their friends are camping on your property.
In Sacramento, weeds are especially obnoxious. Our long growing season encourages cycles of cold and warm weather weeds that can reach towering heights or, like ground covers, hug the soil. Some, like spotted spurge, grow low and blend into the surroundings like a sniper.
The late Ray D. Everson, editor of the Indiana Farmer’s Guide magazine, once opined, “The philosopher who said that work well done never needs doing over never weeded a garden.” A statement of truth gardeners instantly grasp.
Spring is an aphrodisiac. Soil and air temperatures warm and the seasonal clock prompts a stampede to nurseries. We fall in love with flowers, vegetables and pretty pots. It’s a time of purpose and joy.
Once paradise has been rescued from weeds, spring triumphs can overshadow impending disasters. Remember, gardens, like marriages, don’t respond well to neglect.
