Buy living Christmas trees, but don't take them indoors until Christmas week. Conifers can be in a house for a week or two - any longer and they drop their needles. Good choices include the droopy, gray-needled deodar cedar, Aleppo pine and sequoia. Decorate with berries, popcorn, seeds and cookies; after the holidays, simply leave them outside and birds will "put away" the ornaments.
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"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." — Elizabeth Lawrence
Lift and Store Dahlias
Do not discard your dahlias when they have stopped blooming — lift the tubers before frosts penetrate the ground, and store them.
Lift the dahlia tubers once the first frosts have blackened the foliage. Use a fork to lift the tubers, to minimize the risk of damaging them. Cut off the old stem to leave a stump about 5cm (2in) long.
Stand the tubers upside down so that moisture drains easily from the hollow stems. Using a mesh support is a convenient way to allow them to dry off. Keep in a dry, frost-free place.
After a few days the tubers should be dry enough to store. Remove the roots and shorten the stem to leave a short stump. Label each plant.
Pack the tubers in a well-insulated box with vermiculite, wood shavings, or crumpled newspaper placed between them. Keep in a frost-free location.
A spare bedroom or cool but frost-free garage are sensible places to store overwintering bulbs, corms, and tubers such as dahlias. Avoid a very warm place, as roots will spread more rapidly if they become established, and the bulbs or tubers are more likely to dry out. Keep bulbs, corms and tubers where you can easily check them about once a month, to ensure they are all still sound. Any that start to rot must be removed immediately.
You don't have to make do with dried or frozen herbs just because it is winter. Some herbs, such as mint, chives, parsley, and marjoram, can be potted up to grow indoors or in the greenhouse for a fresh supply of winter leaves. The supply will be modest, but no less welcome.
Mint is an easy plant to force indoors, or in a cold frame or greenhouse. Lift an established clump to provide a supply of roots to pot up.
Be careful to select only pieces with healthy leaves (diseased leaves are common by the end of the season). You can pull pieces off by hand or cut them with a knife.
Plant the roots in a pot if you want to try to keep the plant growing indoors for a month or so longer. Fill a 20-25cm (8-10 in.) pot three-quarters full with potting soil, then spread the roots out and cover with more soil.
If you want a supply of tender fresh leaves early next spring, cut off the tops and put the roots in seed trays or deeper boxes, then cover them with soil. If you keep them in a greenhouse (or even a protected cold frame) you will be able to harvest new mint much earlier.
Chives also respond favorably to lifting for an extended season. Lift a small clump to pot up. If it's too large, you should be able to pull it apart into smaller pieces.
Place the clump in a pot of ordinary garden soil or potting soil, pat gently with hands, and water thoroughly. It should continue to provide leaves after those outdoors have died back, and will produce new ones earlier next spring.
If you cut down and pot up marjoram, it will usually spring into new growth, provided warmth and light are right.
Parsley is always a dependable winter herb if grown from a late summer or autumn sowing and kept on a windowsill.
Special Tips For Planting California Native Plants
When purchasing a native plant, gently slide it out of its container and check the roots. Don't choose a plant with a lot of top growth and too many roots in the can. Too many roots mean that the plant might be root bound and will have a more difficult time adapting to its new environment.
In clay soil, plant on raised terraces or on a slope with a sleeve drain.
Dig a planting hole, fill it with water, and let the water drain out.
Carefully remove the plant from the can and gently lower it into the hole. Native plants are fragile; take care not to break the crown or roots.
Before filling the soil in and around the plant, lay a stick across the hole and check how high you have placed the plant. Make sure the top of the root ball will end up 2 inches above the surrounding soil; this is especially important for native plants. Don't bury the crown in soil, or it will rot.
Backfill the hole with native soil, gently pressing it down around the roots with your hands.
Build a watering basin. Put a layer of loose mulch over the roots to keep them cool and moist.
Water deeply. Thereafter, water regularly enough to keep the soil damp but not soggy. During rains, open the berm of the watering basin to let water out.
Once the plant is established, decrease irrigation. Eventually water it only as needed in summer.
Recipe of the Week: Ham & Corn Chowder
What You'll Need:
4 cups fresh or frozen corn
4 cups chicken broth
1 or 2 large onions, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups chopped sweet green, red and/or yellow pepper
2 tbsp. fresh or dried marjoram leaves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 cups whole milk
4-6 tbsp. flour
2 cups cooked lower-sodium ham, cut into bite-size pieces
Step by Step:
In a large saucepan, combine corn, chicken broth, onion, potatoes, green pepper, marjoram, salt and white pepper.
Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender, stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flour (more flour for thicker soup). Stir into the corn mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
Stir in the ham and cook for 5 minutes or more until heated through.
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