Garden Jobs

Things to do in your garden this week.

Edible bulbs. When you’re out shopping for bulbs, look for starts of onions, shallots and garlic. Planted now as small bulbs, they’ll be fat and ready to harvest in late spring.

You might find several new garlic varieties at nurseries this year, including German Red, Spanish Roja and Silver Rose.

Winter color. Almost any winter- or spring-blooming annual can be planted now through December or even in January. Cinerarias might be the exception, since they are so tender to inland cold. Near the coast, even they do fine.

Nurseries should be stocked with winter- and spring-blooming bedding plants, but sometimes they carry plants in the wrong season. Use this list to make sure:

In sun, plant African daisy, sweet alyssum, calendula, Canterbury bell, Chrysanthemum multicaule and C. paludosum, delphinium, dianthus, English daisy, Iceland poppy, larkspur, lobelia, nemesia, pansy, annual phlox, ranunculus, snapdragon, stock, sweet pea, sweet William, viola and any wildflower.

In partial shade, try cineraria, cyclamen, foxglove and primrose.