SOW. PLANT. ESTABLISH.

Sep 25

4 min read

October in Lodi can still feel surprisingly warm during the day, but the cooler evenings are telling us that fall has arrived. The soil is still warm from summer, the days are getting shorter, and the intense heat is beginning to ease.

For gardeners in our Zone 9 climate, this combination makes October one of the best times of the year to get a head start on a beautiful spring garden. Instead of waiting until March or April to think about spring color, start now. Think of your October garden in three simple categories:

SOW — Seeds Now for Spring Flowers

Some of our prettiest spring flowers don't need to be started indoors. They actually benefit from being sown directly into the garden in Fall and growing through our relatively mild winter.

5 Spring Flowers to Sow Now:

California poppies — Our state flower is easy, drought tolerant and happiest when seeded directly where it will grow.
Sweet peas — Plant along a fence or trellis now for climbing vines and wonderfully fragrant spring flowers.
Lupines — Their tall flower spikes add height and a cottage-garden feel.
Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) — Delicate flowers are followed by unusual seedpods that are attractive in arrangements.
Cornflowers — Easy annuals that bring cheerful spring color and work beautifully in a cutting garden.

Before sowing, remove weeds and loosen the top layer of soil. Most importantly, don't bury tiny flower seeds too deeply. Keep the seedbed lightly moist while the seeds germinate and young plants become established.

The Spring Surprise Garden

Scatter several varieties together in an unused sunny corner and let winter do much of the work. Come spring, that forgotten patch may become one of your favorite parts of the garden.

PLANT — Bulbs and Cool-Season Flowers

Think about what will emerge from beneath the soil next spring to bring Spring color to your garden.

6 Blooms to Plant Now:

Daffodils and NarcissusAmong the easiest spring bulbs for our climate. Plant them in groups rather than single-file rows for a more natural appearance.
RanunculusIf you love cut flowers, make room for ranunculus. Their layers of colorful petals can produce spectacular spring displays.
AnemonesAnother wonderful choice for beds and cutting gardens, with flowers appearing in late winter and spring.
FreesiasTheir fragrance alone makes them worth planting. Put them near a walkway, patio or entrance where you can enjoy it.
Dutch IrisTheir tall stems add height to the spring garden and make excellent cut flowers.
Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)These small blue flowers are particularly pretty planted along borders or allowed to naturalize beneath deciduous trees.

Cool-season annuals can be planted in October such as pansies, violas, snapdragons, calendula and stock as temperatures moderate. They provide color during the cooler months and can become even more impressive as spring approaches.

The Exceptions: Tulips and Hyacinths

Our Lodi winters generally don't provide the prolonged cold that tulips and traditional hyacinths naturally receive in colder climates. Buy the bulbs now while garden centers have the best selection, but give them an artificial winter first. Refrigerate them for several weeks before planting later in fall or early winter.

Keep chilling bulbs away from ripening fruit such as apples, which releases ethylene gas that can interfere with flower development.

ESTABLISH — Improve the Garden's Permanent Landscape

October is one of our best times to improve the garden's permanent landscape - shrubs and perennials .

Our Lodi climate gives fall gardeners an important advantage. The soil is still warm while the air is getting cooler. That allows newly planted shrubs and perennials to concentrate on developing roots during fall and winter rather than immediately coping with Lodi's summer heat.

9 Shrubs and Perennials to add:

California lilac (Ceanothus)
California redbud
Manzanita
Toyon
California fuchsia
Penstemon
Salvias
Yarrow
Lavender

Don't fret if a newly planted perennial or shrub doesn't seem to be doing much above ground this winter. Much of the important work is happening where you can't see it — underground. By spring, those established roots can support a burst of new growth. More importantly, the plant will have a much better root system in place before our first stretch of 90- and 100-degree weather arrives.

Think in Layers

As you plan, don't limit yourself to choosing individual plants. Think about how your garden will look as a whole.

Start with permanent shrubs and perennials to provide structure. Tuck groups of spring bulbs between them. Sow annual flowers in the open spaces. Add sweet peas against a fence or trellis for height.

You might combine salvia and lavender with drifts of daffodils, or plant California poppies and lupines around a young redbud. A pathway edged with grape hyacinths could lead to a patch of ranunculus and anemones grown for cutting.

The result is a garden that emerges in stages rather than blooming all at once.

Don't Let the Calendar Rush You

October in Lodi doesn't always behave like autumn. We can still have very warm days.

If we're experiencing another spell of 90-degree weather, there's no prize for being the first gardener on the block to put everything in the ground. Prepare your beds, select your plants and bulbs, and wait for temperatures to moderate when necessary.

Fall gardening is a season, not a single planting day.

This October: Sow. Plant. Establish.

While you're enjoying those first cool October evenings, take another look at your garden and imagine what you'd like to see next March, April and May. Then start creating it.

Sow seeds for flowers that will awaken in spring.
Plant bulbs and cool-season flowers for layers of color.
Establish shrubs and perennials while the soil is still warm and winter rains are ahead.

A spectacular spring garden doesn't begin in spring. In Lodi, it can begin right now.