By Cynthia Brian
“Magnificent Autumn… It is the funeral anthem of the dying year.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When I was young, I was a surfer girl. I spent many weekends catching waves in Santa Cruz, Bolinas, and Hawaii. My favorite movie was The Endless Summer. I dreamt of traveling the globe in search of the perfect ride.
Today, I surf gardening catalogs and magazines looking for the waves of new plant species and hardy specimens that are deer-resistant and drought-tolerant to thrive in our clay soils.
The first few days of autumn were refreshing. The cooler temperatures prompted me to start digging and enhancing the soil as I anticipated the joys of fall plantings. But Mother Nature had other plans and decided to shower us with an endless summer of sizzling sunshine and stifling nights. The winds have been so ferocious that I awoke to my patio umbrellas blown across my backyard. Until recent years, summer has always been a favorite season, but as our globe warms, an endless summer portends a major drought in the future. While the East Coast suffers from torrential rains, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, the West Coast endures another heat wave and increased risk of deadly wildfires.
As temperatures soared to 103 degrees, our street suffered a fire hydrant leak this week, resulting in our neighborhood’s water being shut off for twenty-four hours without warning. It was disconcerting to turn on the tap with no drip available. My empathy for those anguishing in disaster areas and war zones soared when water and basic necessities are unavailable. Water is life.
Before I provide tips on drought-tolerant plants that you may wish to include in your landscape, I want to remind you that although fire season in California is considered year-round, October is an especially monstrous month for wildfires. Make sure you have your home Go-Bag up-to-date and ready to go in the event of an emergency. It’s a smart idea to keep an additional Go-Bag in your car in case you get stranded and can’t make it home. Fill these Go-Bags with all the necessities you, your family, and your pets will need for three days, including water, protein bars, a first-aid kit, medications, masks, gloves, extra chargers, blankets, change of clothes, jacket, socks, headlamp, and a flash drive with your important documents, photos, or other digital items that you don’t have in the cloud.
When working in your yard, on red-flag days, scorching hot or windy days, refrain from using any equipment that could cause a spark: lawnmower, weed whacker, or chainsaw. Do not ignite a fire pit, cook over an open flame, vape, or smoke outdoors. Be fire-safe.
In September articles, I discussed how to prepare your soil for fall plantings (Prescription to Plant: https://lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1815/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Prescription-to-Plant.html) and also suggested plants that are deer resistant, (Dear Deer! https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1816/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Dear-Deer.html). But how do we move forward in an endless summer of heat and heavy winds?
The answer is to keep your landscape appropriately watered so that established plants and trees don’t perish. WAIT to plant anything until the weather cools. The soil will still be warm, but the air temperatures will be lower. In this scenario, with minimal watering, the roots can establish themselves and be less stressed.
If you are considering reseeding your lawn or adding sod, start preparing the soil. Turn the soil six inches, mix in compost, then WAIT for chillier weather. Double-check your irrigation system to make sure that your sprinklers will reach every part of your grass. If you are ordering sod, start now researching the type of grass you want to install and get a quote from a reputable landscaper or grower. In the past few weeks, I had to replace my irrigation controllers. I hired my handyman from HoneyHomes to help me. I also repositioned several sprinkler lines. Thankfully, everything is working perfectly now after several years of pulling hoses. If you need help, this company has qualified service people in Lamorinda and you can get a major discount with my code https://honeyh.me/eXEn. As soon as the weather cools, I’ll be reseeding and overseeding, knowing that when I turn on a sprinkler, it will work.
Drought-tolerant plants to consider for fall:
If you’ve been perusing my garden columns, you already have a list of deer-resistant plants and know how to prepare the soil with mulch and drainage that retains moisture without waterlogging. Here are a few of my favorite low-water options that can be planted before the winter cold arrives and after our endless summer has ceased. Remember, no matter how drought-tolerant a plant is, every plant needs some water. California natives will be the most tolerant, conserving more water and requiring less maintenance. Many natives are also deer-resistant.
Natives:
Manzanita
California Poppy
California lilac (ceanothus)
Muhly grass
Pink flowering currant
Blue-eyes grass
Salvia
Yarrow
California fuchsia
Blue elderberry
Shaw’s Agave
Other Drought-Tolerant Plants:
Lavender
Aloe Vera
Echeveria
Barberry
Sedum
Russian Sage
Feather Reed Grass
Black-eyed Susan
Pride of Madeira
Stonecrop
Succulents
Cacti
Many wildflowers
For a flash of annual border color, buy pansies. They use relatively little water, are low maintenance, and provide beauty in the winter.
You can create a beautiful and sustainable landscape with native and drought-tolerant plants. Biodiversity is increased, and you’ll cultivate a garden that will thrive in arid and water-scarce conditions. Save every drop of water by putting a bucket in your shower or a bowl near your sinks. I use the water for my indoor plants and patio potted plants. If you want to go the extra mile, install a rain catcher or barrel to collect the water from downspouts.
On a positive sunny note, my tomato plants are enjoying this endless summer. They have mingled with my Jacobinia Justica Carnea and continue to sprout new flowers which will provide me with tomatoes for a few more months.
As we look forward to a magnificent autumn, catch a gardening wave in this endless summer! Soon enough, the funeral anthem of a dying year will be playing, and we’ll be longing to surf the sunshine again.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing!
Lamorinda We
For more gardening advice for all seasons, check out Growing with the Goddess Gardener at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/books. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 which was just honored as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the Moraga Chamber of Commerce. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, Books in the Barnyard: Oh Deer!, from the series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store. Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com https://www.CynthiaBrian.com
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