Thanksgiving time is time for garden to rest

THE GARDEN FANATIC

“Ah! on Thanksgiving day ... come the pilgrim and the guest.”

-- John Greenleaf Whittier

“But God has never told us what a turkey means.”

-- G. K. Chesterton

Thanksgiving at my mother’s house marks the beginning of the

holiday season and the first of two serious turkey dinners. Our

traditional family dinner is a remembrance of the four wild turkeys

served at the first Thanksgiving feast 381 years ago. With my copious

consumption of turkey and all of the trimmings, I’m now in the mood

to write about the upcoming holidays

From my personal gardening perspective, Thanksgiving has always

meant a “rest” from gardening and a time for being with family and

friends. We are entitled to occasionally, rest and your garden will

tolerate a day of neglect. I am thankful to have a couple of days off

and that my family is well.

We usually associate the resting period of plants with the arrival

of autumn -- cooler temperatures and the distinct possibility of

rain. In temperate climates like Laguna’s, these periods of

quiescence also coincide with shortened and decreased intensity of

daylight hours.

Most plants require a break, just as we require sleep and an

occasional vacation. This is necessary to prepare a plant for its

mission, namely, to grow, flower and produce fruit. Under natural

conditions, a plant may remain at rest for a period of weeks or

months.

Plants are said to be resting when they simply quit growing (not

to be confused with an annual completing its life cycle). No matter

how much we fertilize or water, Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass

will not grow or turn green during their dormant period.

Likewise, once a deciduous tree loses its leaves, it will not

releaf until its environmental conditions are favorable for regrowth.

Quiescence is an internal mechanism of a plant, affected only

partially by external temperature, quantity and quality of light and

available moisture. In other words, a plant “knows” when it is time

to start growing again.

Many plants have adapted to their climes. They grow during the

rainy season and rest during the dry season. Plants as diverse as

cacti of the deserts, orchids of the tropics and natives of the

chaparral are all examples of this adaptation. Resting prepares the

plants for blossoming and prevents them from weak and puny growth, a

possibility if nature attempted to keep them in a period of activity

throughout the year.

It was only after my second helping of turkey that I considered

that I might be reenacting the Battle of the Bulge. However, that

momentary thought was lost in the middle of the third serving. So

much for quiescence. ... On second thought, I may have to work in the

garden just a bit this weekend; just to work things off. See you next

time.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery,

1540 S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. He is married to local artist

Catharine Cooper and has three cats. He can be reached at 497 2438,

or e-mail to plantm@lagunanursery.com.