December

Co-President's Letter

I love the colors of fall. The trees are raining leaves in brilliant colors. I am not distressed at all by piles of leaves on sidewalks and gutters as my mother is. What a treat I had recently while attending the District trip to Placer County. First was a two hour tour in Myo-wa-en (meaning Garden of Inspiration and Harmony in Japanese). Owner and innovator Boonie Lang opens her garden only two weeks each spring and fall to special interested groups. In 1986 she worked with a noted Japanese designer who at age 93 came from Tokyo to assist her in creating this magnificent garden for her dwelling. The garden encompasses elegance, beauty, subtleness, balance, a layering of color and form, mystery, and a spiritual feel as you meander through maples, pines, camellias and so much more. Next we visited High Hand Nursery in Loomis. The local artisans who had shops in the converted 110 year fruit packing shed gave us a great opportunity to find a treasure or two. The tour of the nursery and greenhouse gave us much more momentum to fill the crevices of the bus for our journey home!

As we move into December and prepare for winter holidays, I wish each of you a wonderful season. Our meeting on December 13th will begin at 6:30pm to allow more time to socialize, enjoy the potluck offered by our fabulous cooks, and pick up some decorations from the Holiday Boutique. Our program is an overview of public gardens in our area that we can visit. What a gift from our Program Committee!

Enjoy! Tina Higashi, co president

December dreaming ........in the garden

.........busy schedules and inclement weather may limit your time in the garden this month. That's OK, it will all be there for you in January.

.........if you have not planted your bulbs yet, try to schedule it in after a good rain or to give yourself some relief from the holiday rush. Just be sure to plant them sometime, they won't bloom in the bag! Don't forget you can put them in pots and keep them watered on a patio or back corner and then you can move them wherever you want in the garden when they bloom next spring. If you have squirrels, cover the pots from their curious digging with old screen.

.........my leaves are almost done falling (I hope!) so it is time to clean them out of the top of plants and also if they are really matted around the base of a plant so rain has a hard time getting into the ground. Leaves make good mulch if the moisture can penetrate the ground.

.........next month is rose pruning time and if you are new to it or are a bit rusty, why not join the Pleasanton Gardens work party on Jan. 5 and work right along with more experienced pruners. There are plenty of roses there for everyone! Make it a day and learn about fruit tree grafting that afternoon in the meeting room.

.........take pictures on a cloudy day to see the "bones" of your garden and what you might want to change in the coming months. Gardens can look attractive all year round.

.........do you have avid gardeners among your family or gift exchanging friends? Don't forget magazine subscriptions or memberships (maybe to some of the gardens we'll see at this month's program) as gifts that keep on giving all year long.