By Val Whitmyre, U. C. Master Gardener
September days are usually quite warm in the Napa Valley, and night temperatures are slowly cooling. This is a good time to reassess the garden.
First, take an objective look at your property. Do you see garbage cans and old tools in the side yard? Are there ancient logs and lumber lying along your fences? Is the lawn full of weeds? Is there an old, tireless wheelbarrow half hidden by overgrown shrubbery? Are empty plastic containers scattered everywhere?
Actually, I am talking about my own yard, and I don't like what I see. Often we are blind to what others see until someone asks about the old lumber.
I must pretend that I am about to sell my home and want to get as much money as possible for this property. Tackling a few major chores would immensely improve its appearance. I think I'll take before and after photos for my own satisfaction.
The first chore is a major cleanup. I'll recycle old containers because as soon as spring arrives, I'll be bringing home lots of new potted plants.
I have to cut the old wood into firewood and stack it away from the fence, leaving a few inches of space under it for air circulation. A waterproof tarp is a must. Mice and other creatures love to hide in woodpiles. Baiting them is an option, but bait must be kept out of pets' range.
Trees will be shedding their leaves into the roof gutters, so I'll use a pole pruner to cut back the branches. Someone once told me to leave room for the birds to fly through, so now is the time to cut out crossing branches. This also promotes good air circulation and helps prevent disease. I'll head back the tips of the other branches just to shape. To prune citrus trees, I'll wait until spring.
After raking all the debris along the fences and from under the shrubs, it's time to chop up the vegetable foliage and turn it under the soil. This will return nitrogen to the soil, and by next spring, it will have added a compost-like texture to the soil. I have a large compost bin, but I never add diseased material to it. I put diseased plants in the city's yard-waste bin, knowing that the city compost reaches a high temperature.
I need more shade in the back yard, so I just planted one of my favorite trees, a Chinese pistache. This tree may be seen all along the streets of Yountville. It grows well planted in a lawn as well as in arid soil and displays brilliant fall foliage in shades of red and orange.
Another wonderful shade tree is the tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). It's also known as a sour gum tree. It slowly grows to 50 feet and isn't particular about the soil, although all plants need good drainage to perform well. The tupelo also has magnificent fall color. Check out the nurseries for other good shade possibilities.
Now it's time to reassess my yard in general. Do I really want this large expanse of lawn? No. It takes so much water and fertilizer and mowing. Also, the weeds are a constant headache.
Garden "rooms" are a wonderful substitute for lawn, each separated by shrubbery. There could be a picnic area or a secret garden for meditation and privacy, or a fountain and benches to pause during the day's work. All these ideas, plus the vegetable garden, could work on any scale.
After pacing off the dimensions, it's good to make rough sketches and peruse magazines or garden books for ideas. Sometimes permanent yard features will suggest what will work best in certain areas. My pistache tree suggests benches on a stone patio.
I will create these rooms at my convenience. When we want everything done right now, we often create irreversible mistakes. When I moved to Napa, I had to have a locust tree (Robinia idahoensis). So I planted two. The blossoms were a heavenly lavender pink, but as soon as it had finished blooming, it began to shed its leaves. This leaf drop lasted all summer, and the aggressive roots produced numerous suckers that are still coming up in my neighbor's yard, years after the trees were cut down.
Now, while the weather is warm, is the time to plant for winter color. If you wait until the nights are cold, annuals won't produce color until the spring when the nighttime soil is warm. They won't die, but they won't give you the results you want either. Good choices are pansies, primulas, calendulas and snapdragons. It's also time to start looking for special bulbs.
So much to do. If anyone asks why my yard is always "in progress," I'll say that I'm taking it slowly so I don't make any major mistakes.