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Updated Oct 9th, 2008
By Robin Corwin - LCF Outlook
Winter Preparation
My dog, Maggie, and I have
had lots of fun watching local
squirrels hoarding walnuts.
They’ve been scampering about,
taking the nuts up into stashes
they’ve set up in tall trees. The
other day, we watched in amazement
as a number of crows routinely
stole the squirrel’s nuts and
then purposely dropped them from
telephone wires attempting to
crack them open on the pavement
below. We watched as one crow
performed this feat three times
before it was successful. A worker
at Descanso tells me that squirrels
there can be seen placing unyielding
nuts on the tarmac and waiting
patiently for garden vehicles to
come by and crush them open.
Just goes to show that our local
wildlife is busily preparing for
winter. As gardeners and homeowners,
we should be too. Will
your home and garden be ready for
the winter storms to come? Have
you cleaned out your gutters?
Checked large trees for thinning
needs? (Thinned trees are better
able to handle strong winds without
toppling, as the winds can pass
easily through them.) Have you set
up a system for collecting rainwater?
Rainwater is wonderful for
watering house plants and all those
plants under eaves that don’t get
serviced by seasonal rainfall.
There’s lots for “busy squirrels”
to do now. Many plant sales
are held in October and November
at botanic gardens and local nurseries.
Great bargains abound this
very weekend — Saturday, Oct. 11
and Sunday, Oct. 12 — at the
Huntington Botanical Gardens, the
Theodore Payne Foundation, the
Fullerton Arboretum and the
Sepulveda Garden Center. Those
especially interested in native
plants should check out Theodore
Payne and the Sepulveda Garden
Center. Theodore Payne features
native plants and seeds and the
Sepulveda Garden Center is hosting
the California Native Plant
Society’s annual sale. The
Fullerton Arboretum sells both
natives and other plant species,
and the Huntington sells all kinds
of flora. Checking these gardens’
web sites or telephoning them will
give you the hours of each sale.
Theodore Payne also lists all the
plants in their vast inventory
online so you can see if they have
a plant you want before you go.
A “25% off all purchases” sale
at Pasadena’s Burkard Nursery
begins Friday, Oct. 10, and runs
until Monday, Oct. 13. Armstrong
Garden’s annual Pre-sale Rose &
Fruit Tree catalog is now available
for pickup at all their garden centers.
So much to do, so little time.
Better get busy.
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