Fertilize and mulch and weed

o7When I am dead, I hope it is said, ‘His sins were scarlet, but his

columns were read’.

f7 -- with apologies to Hillaire Belloc

o7To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

f7

-- Elbert Hubbard

One of the pleasures of being a gardener is greeting fellow

gardeners in town. From the Farmer’s Market to the village streets,

conversations invariably move directly to the latest control for

worms or exchanging tales on the quantity and quality of tomatoes

harvested. It’s not that we’re struck solely by the lure of gardening

-- the lore is equally important.

To escape from spinning gardening stories for a moment, I decided

to relax by sitting in at a Design Review hearing. After all, only

lawyers, architects, engineers, geologists, applicants, neighbors and

other interested parties would be in attendance. My colleagues Ilse,

Suzanne, Eve, David and Caren are amiable and veterans of countless

projects. We settled in to hear testimony concerning the merits and

evils of development, depending on one’s point of view.

I studied the audience casually -- architects earnestly prepping

for their five minutes of fame, wives nagging at husbands not to make

any more compromises and neighbors putting on their game faces. They

glanced quickly at me, not realizing they’d be in the next week’s

column. My thoughts drifted to the inevitable during the break --

gardening.

After the rush of spring blooms, it is difficult to maintain color

from shrubs, which often become quite drab by the end of August.

Enter the bedding plant, the savior for those of us who enjoy the

“idea” of flowers and enjoy a splash of color in the garden. From a

practical point of view, bedding plants are easy to buy, easy to grow

and are the easiest way to a colorful garden.

By designing your garden with flowers of colors that please you,

your garden will be appealing and renewed. There is still plenty of

time to include marigolds, zinnias and cosmos in your garden. Keep

flower beds and containers well-filled and neat by removing spent or

dead flowers and foliage, and your entire garden will appear as trim

and well tended as Catharine.

During the upcoming holiday weekend, fertilize and mulch and weed.

Also, water lawns and trees deeply for the anticipated warm weather.

You’ll be glad you did.

The pace became more frenetic as the hearing was running late.

Concern over view equity, lot coverage, and mass filled the chambers

with palpable anticipation. Mindful that we sought to reduce

animosity, the board decided that all of the evening’s projects

should be built in either Corona del Mar or Newport Coast.

Applicants and neighbors alike were thrilled that discord was

finally resolved. See you next time.

o7* Steve Kawaratani is happily married to local writer,

Catharine Cooper, and has three cats. He can be reached at 497.2438,

or E-mail to [email protected].

f7