GREEN THUMB –
Over and over again I hear this from my clients, "I do not have a green thumb, how am I going to keep my plants alive?" I will say that there are ‘gifted gardeners’, but these people simply know the formula for keeping plants alive and having a beautiful garden…the formula is this: good soil and regular watering. Good soil means that rich compost has been added, and regular watering means that a good irrigation system is in place. The rest is a matter of knowing which plants do well where – and that is the work of reading up on your plants or hiring a good landscape designer!

POTTED PLANTS –
Because of the extremely hot summers that we experience in Sacramento (and other places), potted plants should have ‘legs’ or blocks to lift them up from the pavement. This allows air flow under the pot and helps to keep the soil and roots cooler. When I design potted plants into the landscape, I make sure that we add drip irrigation lines that go up through the base of the pot; this way the plant gets watered with the regular timed session, and leaving town is no longer a problem!

DRIP IRRIGATION –
Consider modifying your existing irrigation system to drip irrigation. Certain areas such as lawns and ground covers will require the overhead spray of a regular irrigation system (although for ground cover areas there are drip-sprays). In many cases you can get up to 200 plants on one valve, and you will be saving many gallons of water, and dramatically cutting down on the weed population. A good reference is The Urban Farmer Store – Drip Irrigation Handbook – www.urbanfarmstore.com

DRY COBBLE STREAM –
A dry cobble stream is a wonderful accent for a landscape. If you are building a landscape without a lawn, a great way to delineate the planting areas is to add a dry cobble stream. You can also run a drainage pipe under the cobble. The more natural the look, the better; try adding a few moss rock boulders to the stream and a scattered planting of drought-tolerant plants.

DISPOSING of Old Pesticides –
If you have old, leftover pesticides in your garage, don't just throw them out with your regular garbage.

They need to be dropped at a Hazadous Waste Facility.

There are three in the general Sacramento area:

Sacramento North Area -
4450 Roseville Road / 875-5555

Sacramento Recycling & Transfer Station -
8491 Fruitridge Road / 379-0500

City of Folsom:
Pick-up service is available
(only for Folsom residents) / 355-8397