Under the Solano Sun

It's not too early to start thinking about your spring garden in November. It's such a busy indoor month with all the holidays fast approaching. So, a bit of planning will keep our gardens healthy as we begin to shop, cook, decorate and celebrate and reap happy dividends in the spring.

It's quite interesting how certain plant geneses received their names; did the person discovering said plant in the wilds gives it their own name? Was the plant family named after a colleague or a friend or, perhaps, even after a loved one?

Even though summer has ended, there's still a ton of tasks for gardeners this month. In October you should continue to clean up any fruit that has fallen to the ground and to remove any fruit mummies left on the tree to help minimize diseases.

I started growing milkweed a few years ago when I heard about declining numbers of Monarch butterflies. I planted Narrow-leaf Milkweed or Asclepias fasicularis, a California native. This plant is a perennial that dies back every winter but comes back in spring.

At first, I thought that I would postpone this entry until I found and fixed an irrigation leak which was actually identified by the Benicia water company. It is not visible from the surface, so I was surprised. But I have been losing enough water that I have been concerned.