Plum tree with white blossoms. Photos Cynthia Brian

"The heart is like a garden. What seeds will you plant there?" ~ Buddha
The first vista I witness every morning as I traipse downstairs in my pink fluffy slippers to grab a cup of java invigorates my day. Outside my stairwell window, a tall crimson camellia tree sways in the breeze flanked by a shimmering evergreen flowering pear. Rounding the corner, I look to my right. Through the handmade stained-glass arch, winter and spring commingle. The bright cerise flowers of the peach tree frame the hillside carpeted by sprouting ranunculus, anemones, and hundreds of daffodils in a myriad of colors and textures: yellow on yellow, white and yellow, peach and white, white with white, orange and yellow. Frilly, singles, doubles, clusters . all with throats singing to the sky. Bare branches of pistache trees hug the redwoods. Butter-hued Meyer lemons hang like well-placed ornaments. I never fail to be awed by the majesty and beauty regardless of the season.
Looking out to my colorful panoramas was carefully planned many years ago when I planted the first seeds and bulbs. Bringing the outdoors in has always been a priority for me. For over two decades I practiced interior design as a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers. I believe that our landscape is an extension of our homes and as such must reflect our moods, tastes, personalities, and preferential palettes. For me, color is an essential element to my happiness. When I look through a window, I want to see my internal penchants reflected by nature. Looking out is looking in.
With less than three weeks to go before the vernal equinox, this is an auspicious time to contemplate how we want to orient our window views for the future. When you look out your windows, what do you want to see? Do you want flowering or fruiting trees? Do you want a monochromatic design? Are you like me and want to luxuriate in color? Are bulbs the surprise you anticipate yearly, or do you prefer planting annuals and perennials?
My garden is abloom with pear, peach, and plum trees. Orange, tangerine, tangelo, lemon and lime trees are filled with ripening fruit. Daffodils blanket the landscape, tulips are beginning to pop, columbine, wild strawberry, and vinca minor are flush with flowers. I couldn't finish pruning all my rose bushes because so many were still budding. Nature orchestrates a steady stream of amazement.
Although the nights are still cool, the days are warming allowing the soil temperatures to rise. Weeds are rapidly sprouting, and the ground can be worked in preparation for seeding and planting. Read garden catalogs or books for ideas on how to design spaces that will offer you years of enjoyment. I'm preparing beds in full sun where I'll scatter seeds of Lauren's dark grape poppies. Poppies can handle frost and bloom best when started in early spring. These seedlings will emerge within 14 days. The flowers will boast four-to-five inch chalice-shaped flowers in a showy port wine hue and they will self-sow for future enjoyment.
Another favorite perennial plant that I'm adding to my garden is the Lenten rose, or hellebore. These plants that feature chartreuse, white, pink, and purple flowers with evergreen foliage are hummingbird friendly, deer-resistant and water-wise. They thrive in part sun to full shade and are hardy to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
What will you plant in your spring garden as you look out?
Cynthia Brian's March Gardening Guide
RESTORE your mental and physical healthy by planting a beautiful vista outside your windows.
FILTER your indoor air with houseplants. According to NASA, 87% of volatile organic compounds are removed by live plants naturally. Now that is nothing to sneeze over!
RETHINK the design of your landscape to coincide with your interior spaces.
PULL weeds as they sprout.
PERUSE garden catalogs to plan a 2021 victory garden of healthy vegetables and herbs.
FERTILIZE lawns.
SCATTER slug and snail bait.
REACH horticultural heights with a selection of flowering trees and shrubs.
SUPPORT the Moraga Garden Club's project, Moraga for Monarchs, by helping to install a Monarch Butterfly Habitat and Education Garden at Rancho Laguna Park. Visit www.moragagardenclub.com.
FORCE branches of crabapple, quince, forsythia, and red bud by placing your tree prunings in a bucket of water in a dark place until the buds swell. Move the branches to a beautiful vase filled with warm water and enjoy the show. Change the water daily and add a few drops of bleach to ward off bacteria.
TRIM dead foliage from your ornamental grasses using sharp hedge clippers.
PICK up camellias blossoms that have fallen to the ground. Decaying blooms harbor petal blight.
AERATE your lawn. The soil is compacted from winter rains and foot traffic. Leave the plugs to add nutrients back into the grass.
SPRINKLE poppy seeds as spring advances.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing!

back
Copyright Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA