Winter in the Water Efficient Landscape Gardens

Winter is a wonderful time to visit the water efficient landscape (WEL) demonstration garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, which is open to the public seven days a week and is wheelchair accessible. Master Gardeners will be in the garden with tips and information during our first 2012 workshop on January 21 from 9am to 12pm, and at the open garden on February 25 from 9am to 12pm.

Much of the garden is resting. Hibernating. Simplified. The deciduous trees and shrubs are leafless, and brightly-blooming, warm season herbaceous perennial blossoms have faded into the earth. Formerly waving bronze sedge and golden grasses are withered and dry, and frost-blackened, slimy annuals are composting into mulch. The mocking birds and scrub jays are harvesting and caching berries and acorns.

Winter is the time to appreciate and admire red and golden trunks, twigs, berries, and branches, as well as evergreen shrubs and trees that in other seasons provide background and structure. It is also a good time to review and correct drainage issues (using dry creek beds and or rain gardens, permeable paving, mulch, and raised beds), edit out overgrown and less hardy perennials, prune dormant roses, trees and shrubs, and plan for the coming year.

The gardens demonstrate many water-wise plants that thrive in our Sacramento winter. Especially lovely now are the the solitary berry clumps on the Chinese pistache, and dried cloaking scarlet oak leaves (the scarlet oak leaves drop only when pushed off by young spring leaves). Fog-freshened evergreen manzanita, ceanothus, coffeeberry, and pigeon point coyote bush shrubs in the native garden are especially healthy and attractive (another reason to plant natives...they shine in the winter!). Other evergreen winter charmers are the mock orange (Pittosporum tobira ‘Wheeler’s Dwarf’), perennial spurges (Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii, Euphorbia myrsinites), early blooming rosemary, bush germander (Teucrium fruitcans, a UC Davis All-Star), and native coast silk tassel catkins (Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’).

The gardens feature natives, commonly available perennials, trees, and shrubs, along with plants from other Mediterranean climates that all do well with less water during our long, hot, dry summer days and tolerate our chilly, damp Sacramento County winters. Most plants are labeled and many are UC Davis Arboretum All Stars.

Lepechinia hastata
Pitcher Sage (Pakaha)

This easy, fast-growing native shrub from Hawaii does well in semi-shady, well drained areas of our garden. It requires little water. Spreading by underground rhizomes, it has felty, gray-green leaves and tall flower spikes bearing magenta tubular flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds. The flower spikes were blooming late into December. The plant is said to be deer resistant and hardy to 0ºF. It grows 4 to 5 feet high by 2 to 3 feet wide.

Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Howard McMinn’
Vine Hill Manzanita

This durable, California native, UC Davis Arboretum All-Star, upright shrub with handsome red bark, glossy leaves and winter blooming delicate pink blossoms does well in our native garden. It accepts a wide variety of soils, handles pruning, can be grown in part shade, requires little summer water, and attracts hummingbirds and beneficial insects. Can grow 6 to 8 feet high by 6 to 8 feet wide.