GARDEN FANATIC:New Year’s garden resolutions

“A new year is unfolding — like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within.” — Anonymous

“A happy New Year to all the world!” — Charles Dickens

The last week of the year has found me wondering where this year went. Of course, I muse about this every year — just as my father and his father did as well. Catharine surmises it’s a family preoccupation. With a great deal of certainty, however, I anticipate next year will not be any shorter in duration.

I have noted that the days are now longer since we passed the winter solstice. Perhaps not quite long enough to get a little gardening in after work, but certainly our spectacular Laguna sunsets are arriving a little later than before.

Resolutions are always part of vowing to be better (different?). This includes being one with your garden. How about remembering to fertilizer your lawn monthly? And keep those pesky weeds out of the front flowerbed. Maintain a reasonable height to your trees, so the neighbors can see Main Beach (they really are nice people).

My automatic irrigation timer has been turned off since last Friday’s rain showers. That’s where it will stay until spring, as I will unwind the hose and only water when the plants require a decent soaking. Getting off the timed schedule and on to the needed schedule will not only conserve water, but save money.

I will try to do my part to keep the air fresh and clean in Laguna Beach. According to the Sierra Club, “Wood smoke is the ‘other’ secondhand smoke.”

It is hard to get away from smoke during the cooler months, because neighborhood smoke seeps indoors, even if you don’t burn wood in your own fireplace.

Because all smoke is harmful to the respiratory system and can cause long-term health consequences, consider converting to a gas-burning fireplace, which provides superior heating and is nonpolluting.

Patience is not only a virtue, but also a refreshing goal. I’ll wait to start my tomatoes until April to ensure the plants will enjoy warmer temperatures and yield better fruit. And I’ll complain less when Laguna becomes more congested during summer.

I’ll listen better as well, understanding that when I can’t hear the birds singing, their feeders are empty. That when my wife says dinner is ready, she really means it. And when 500 Lagunans oppose a project, that speaks volumes, too.

Loreto beckons again. Time moves slower there, and a day really feels like a day. So out with the cold and in with the warm. And of course, I wish you a happy new year. See you next time.