February is the month of love and no where else is love more abundant than in your garden right now. “Really?” You say. “I don’t think so.” As you peer out your window  to the cold and gloomy February outdoors.

But yes, the love is all around you, deep in the heart of your plants and soil. It is waiting. Waiting to be cultivated with just a little love and attention to bud and bloom and blossom into what can be. It will become heavy with fruit and green lusciousness for you to revel in very soon.

Ok. Like all good things love (and your garden) will take some time and effort, but it is so worth it!

So when you look out and see just cold empty spaces; remember it is up to you to make things grow.

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”  Cynthia Occelli

Cash for Grass Program

We live in a desert. That is literally everybody in Southern California not just the High Desert areas. We grew up with a feeling of abundance when it came to using water in our homes and on our yards. Things need to change. We only have one earth and we need to conserve to keep it going in a healthy direction. We can do just as well with a lot less. We actually can do better!

More than half of the water used at residences and businesses that are landscaped is spent on outdoor watering. If your current  landscaping is  mostly or a large part grass, re-landscaping it into an attractive water-wise landscape is one of the best ways to help save water.

Locally here in the Victor Valley we have the Cash for Grass Program. Our local program gives you the opportunity to convert your grass into desert-adaptive and water-wise landscaping, with a monetary rebate when you do.

Of course, there are rules and restrictions to the program. You must have living grass to apply. Your grass can be dormant, but if it has been dead for a while you won’t qualify.  You can apply through your water company who will give you all the particulars.

Once approved you will get a letter with the guidelines for the program and you will get a list of approved plants to install. The list is large and quite variable for lots of different looks so you really aren’t roughing it when it comes to “making do” with a water-thrifty landscape. You do not have to remove ALL your lawn. You can keep some of your grass if you like, it is just not part of the rebate square footage.

You do not have to hire anyone to do the removal or new installations for you. There are no “approved or not approved vendors”.  You can do this all on your own if you feel you are up to the task. However, if you want professional help or advice, design or guidance, removal services or installations services, give us a call. We can do that for you.

February is the time for Insect Prevention

Getting ahead of the game is where it is at. Modern science has given us many tools to help us with preventing problems with our bodies and so too there are things we can do preventively to help prepare our trees and plants to be healthier and ward off attack from pest and disease. February is a great month to apply dormant oil to deciduous trees to coat the branches with the oil that will smother overwintering insects and larvae.

It is also a great month to apply a systemic treatment to the base of large evergreen and deciduous trees. It takes time for the product to be taken into the plant’s conductive tissues and to be distributed throughout the plant’s branches, stems and needles or leaves. The larger the tree or shrub, the longer the process takes. Which makes late winter/early spring a great time to apply protection before the new leaves have emerged. Prevention is key for insects like borers because when they get a foothold on the plant, it is harder to control them than it is to prevent them. So keep your plants healthy with some preventative measures.

February is also for Dormant Pruning

Hurry! Now is the time to do your dormant pruning for your fruit trees, grapes, cane berries, wisteria, roses and other woody dormant plants. Soon the warm weather will cause them to respond with aggressive growth and you want to “direct” their energies with the proper pruning. I like to say that by pruning, you are talking to your plants and telling them what is expect of them. It is much easier to  manage this now rather than when they are out of control in a few months.

Don’t forget this is a good month for:

Weed prevention and control before they get out of hand.

Stock your bird feeders.

Plant bare-root trees and shrubs

Break out the seed catalogues and order your seeds

Plan this year’s garden changes

Build your raised gardens and prep the soil.

We Are Here to Help You With

All Your Landscape Needs

(760) 868-6104

My Favorite Recipes

White Chicken Chili

I have had recipes for white chicken chili I have been considering trying. Chicken being low in fat and chili being full of taste and both being warm in your tummy for a nice winter meal. Pair with a salad and some corn bread and you are all set.

I had a hard time finding a recipe that doesn’t make a ton of food. There are just two of us and the hubs doesn’t want to be eating the same stuff for days and neither do I. So I took the other recipes and adapted them to the one below. It is EASY, QUICK and strangely enough, tastes cheesey (without any cheese?) What’s up with that??  I don’t know, but you are sure to enjoy this “a little bit different” chili.

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of white beans, drained

1 small can of chopped green chilies

2 cooked chicken thighs shredded (or 8 oz)

2 tablespoons taco seasoning.

Put all ingredients into a medium sauce pan and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes and serve. Makes 2-3 generous servings.

To make things a bit spicier, chop 1 small onion and sauté in the sauce pan first with a tsp of olive oil until the onion is almost translucent. Add ½ to 1 fresh jalapeno (minced without seeds) to the pan and sauté 2 minutes more and then add all the other ingredients and cook as above. Yum!