Hot Gardens newsletter about ocean temperatures, deep watering trees

Hot Gardens Newsletter: January

La Nina Rules. A quick look at a map of world ocean temperatures reveals chilly waters off the coast of Peru — a sure sign that this is a La Nina weather year. That means low winter rainfall in Southern California, southern Nevada, and other areas of the U.S. Southwest. In other parts of the world, for example, western Africa, the La Nina conditions mean increased rainfall.

Mother Nature Needs Assistance. You will get little irrigation help from Mother Nature this winter so be sure to water your garden. Trees, in particular, need long slow drip irrigation during winter months because that is when their roots are growing. And stronger roots mean more vigorous trees when summer heat arrives. It takes more than a few minutes to get water deep enough into the soil to encourage this root growth.

While some horticulturalists advocate overnight deep watering once a month, we think that is excessive. But an hour or two of slow deep irrigation will make your trees stronger.

Arlington Garden fountain hot gardens New Arlington Garden. It is rare to see a public garden under development from the ground up, so the new Arlington Garden in Pasadena, CA may be worth a visit if you are in the area.

This 3 acre, water-wise garden is a private/public collaboration — with the emphasis on private efforts. That means the garden is not being installed all at once. Rather, trees and shrubs are being planted over a period of years by neighbors and volunteers following a master plan created by noted garden designer Mayita Dinos. She designed the Arlington Garden to incorporate several garden rooms on the site of an old estate: a Mediterranean garden, a citrus garden, a meadowlands, an oak grove, and desert garden. Because it is still new, there are plenty of bare areas, but the Mediterranean section is maturing nicely.