What to Expect Each Month

 
Native gardens will bloom an maintain a lush, lovely aesthetic year round if they get the right love. Their love language is a little different than that of lawns and roses – or cacti and dirt for that matter! Here is a step by step guide to keeping your garden lovely year round.

 
 

January

The New Year is a time for list making. If sprucing up your garden is on yours, borrow from our list of to-dos! We will:

Ensure rainy-season peace of mind:
• Clean gutters to prevent home damage
• Monitor run-off and water catchment systems to protect homes and slopes
• Re-stake trees to ensure support during seasonal winds
• Adjust irrigation quantity and timers
• Make sure rain sensors work
• Prevent El Nino-related disasters (checklist)

Do the heavy lifting that brings a beautiful spring:
• Cut grasses to their bases
• Evaluate empty spaces for great fill-ins
• Feed citrus and acid loving plants
• Prune ornamental shrubs, conifers, deciduous trees, roses, ornamental fruits, native and Mediterranean foliage to make room for spring growth and inspire proper form
• Spray roses and ornamental fruits with ecofriendly dormant oil and organic amending with blood meal
 
 

February

El Nino has yet to deliver a true deluge but a little rain has brought blooms out of hiding in our hillsides. If you wander into the mountains, you’ll see an Oscar-worthy show.This month, we will prepare your garden to look its best whether spring brings rain or shine. We will:

Conserve Water and Soil Moisture:
• Identify and fixing irrigation leaks
• Add mulch to retain water and build soil quality
• Change batteries on irrigation timers
• Adjust clocks on irrigation and lighting timers
• Prune Mediterranean foliage
• Reduce evaporation from lawns by raising mower heights

Prep for a Beautiful Year:
• Identify cut flowers to brighten indoor spaces
• Plant edibles to match your meal interests
• Exchange wet for dry loving plants
 
 

March

We’ll spend March making sure your garden feels garden tour-worthy… even if you are its only visitor! We will:

Bolster blooms and beauty:

  • Cut flowers for indoor enjoyment
  • Clean up garden beds with fresh, water-conserving mulch
  • Give IdealMow meadows their spring trim
  • Exchange wet-for-dry plants
  • Fill-in space with plants authentic to your community
  • Clean garden lighting
  • Ensure path and patio safety and perfection

Prepare your next meal:

  • Plant and care for Spring veggies
  • Harvest and bring them to your doorstep

 
 

April

Remember abundant foliage makes for abundant fuel. Join us in taking the following steps.

Protect Your Home:
• Keep foliage from the ground – raise low branches
• Prune to open shrubbery and reduce fuel
• Remove all dead material and weed growth
• Clear foliage away from rooflines and eaves
• Maintain proper spacing among plants
• Follow fire code restrictions within 200 feet of structures

Protect your health… and your wallet:
• Eliminate mosquito-breeding still water
• Inspect sprinklers for leaks and overspray
• Optimize drip irrigation coverage and timing
• Mulch to maintain moisture and prevent weeds
• Water by hand where necessary

Ready gardens for summer:
• Replenish vegetable and herb gardens…. Mmmm basil!
• Evaluate summer oak tree pruning needs
• Take time to smell the salvia!
 
 

May

Remember abundant foliage makes for abundant fuel. Join us in taking the following steps.

Protect Your Home:
• Keep foliage from the ground – raise low branches
• Prune to open shrubbery and reduce fuel
• Remove all dead material and weed growth
• Clear foliage away from rooflines and eaves
• Maintain proper spacing among plants
• Follow fire code restrictions within 200 feet of structures

Protect your health… and your wallet:
• Eliminate mosquito-breeding still water
• Inspect sprinklers for leaks and overspray
• Optimize drip irrigation coverage and timing
• Mulch to maintain moisture and prevent weeds
• Water by hand where necessary

Ready gardens for summer:
• Replenish vegetable and herb gardens…. Mmmm basil!
• Evaluate summer oak tree pruning needs
• Take time to smell the salvia!
 
 

June

Sustaining Your Garden
While we’ve had a bit of rain, Los Angeles is expected to be a dry county through the summer. We’ll be putting extra effort into keeping native gardens vibrant and party ready. We will:

Get ready to party!
• Deadhead to keep summer blooms coming
• Refresh container gardens for added pop
• Check oaks for pruning (July – September)
• Check lighting for efficiency and drama
• Shine up hardscapes and ready BBQs!

Invite water to stay onsite
• Eliminate run-off and overspray
• Inspect irrigation systems for leaks
• Check the coverage of drip irrigation systems
• Keep moisture in the soil with mulch and raised mower heights
• Water by hand where necessary
 
 

July

Los Angeles is expected to be a dry county through the summer, but that doesn’’t mean your garden needs to look desiccated! We’’ll be putting extra effort into keeping native gardens vibrant and party ready. We will:

Beautify for BBQs!
• Rinse foliage to keep it lovely and improve transpiration in high heat
• Prune Oak Trees to maintain form and shade
• Mulch to refresh garden beds and retain water
• Clip the prettiest cut flowers and foliage for indoor bouquets
• Set the stage with extra lighting, heating and container gardens at party time!

Protect Garden Beauty from Drought:
• Change timers to comply with local ordinances day and time restrictions.
• Manage timers for optimal watering (DYI? Check the BeWaterWise Calculator to determine the right schedule for your garden.)
• Eliminate run-off, overspray and leaks
• Water by hand where necessary
• Give mature trees a deep soak once a month
• Ensure native are not being overwatered – they dig the heat!
 
 

August

Like kids taking advantage of every last summer moment, natives are soaking up this heat! They require much less water than traditional foliage. Here is what we’ll be doing to keep them happy in the dog days of summer.

Get Ready for Growth:
• Remove volunteers, invasive plants and infectious material to reduce plants and disease
• Rinse foliage to keep it lovely and improve transpiration in high heat
• Prune oak trees to maintain form and shade
• Clip the prettiest cut flowers and foliage for indoor bouquets
• Set the stage with extra lighting, heating and container gardens at party time!

Protect Garden Beauty from Drought:
• Eliminate run-off, overspray and leaks
• Water by hand where necessary
• Give mature trees a deep soak once a month
• Mulch to refresh garden beds and retain water
 
 

September

In fall, we harvest many of the benefits of native gardens. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are needed to prepare for winter. Instead, in September, we:

Feed You and Your Home:
• Harvest fresh herbs and veggies from home gardens for fantastic fall meals
• Bring in bouquets of fall blooming cut flowers and colorful foliage

Keep It Pretty:
• Identify garden areas to fill-in with fall planting
• Evaluate fall and winter tree pruning needs
• Prune California natives that have completed their cycle of growth for the year, allowing them to rejuvenate

Watch Your Water:
• Set irrigation systems to water less often and more deeply to help existing landscapes establish tolerance to drought conditions
• Eliminate run-off, overspray and leaks
• Stay on top of changing rebate and incentive programs
 
 

October

Autumn is the best time to plant, establish, and enjoy native gardens and the season of the Theodore Payne Foundation Fall Sale. It is also important to take these maintenance steps:

Keep Thriving Gardens Structured:
• Prune conifers and other deciduous trees
• Deep-feed citrus trees
• Structure natives for December growth spurts
• Divide native grasses
• Plant native fill ins

Protect Homes, Maintain Outdoor Water Systems:
• Turn down irrigation controllers
• Adjust irrigation and lighting timers November 1
• Change controller, valve and sensor batteries
• Install and test rain sensors
• Clean gutters and checking water ways
 
 

November

Years of drought have swept the slides of the last El Nino from our minds. Well, it’s time to remember! FEMA encourages Californians prepare for flooding this year. We will:

Prepare for High Rainfall
• Evaluate the health of slope saving plants
• Clean gutters and checking waterways
• Reduce irrigation, and modifying timers
• Run through our full Disaster Prevention Checklist

Bring Beauty Home
• Deliver fresh herbs and wildflower seeds to client doorsteps
• Harvest winter veggies, like fennel, parsnips, and sweet potatoes
• Prepare you to host Thanksgiving outdoors

Cut Back Natives, Feed Fruits
• Divide grasses for rejuvenation
• Continue to cut back established natives
• Deep-feed citrus trees
• Providing bareroot fruits and roses
• Planting, mulching, planting and mulching
 
 

December

FormLA teams will keep your gardens celebration-ready this holiday season. We will:

Protect homes by maintaining outdoor water systems:
• Turn off irrigation controllers, thanks to rain!
• Clean gutters and check waterways in preparation for rain

Keep gardens structured and thriving:
• Prune conifers and other deciduous trees and deep-feeding citrus trees
• Continue to cut back thriving natives and native grasses as they experience growth spurts
• Divide grasses
• Harvest winter veggies and plant, mulch, plant and mulch!