Few things can improve your quality of life like a well-manicured landscape. With the year-round pleasant weather we enjoy throughout Southern California, we have a bevy of choices and options to beautify our homes. But, as with anything else in life, having a plan now can help ensure success later, so here are a few helpful tips for how to get your Southern California garden ready for spring planting:

• Assess your environment. The topography and terrain of Southern California are as varied as the types of plants that call it home. Be sure to select the plants that thrive in your environment, be that desert or seaside or lush inland valley, and your garden will be sure to succeed. If your heart is set on a non-native plant or one that requires specific conditions, be sure to consult your local nursery or garden store and get the help you need ahead of time.
• Determine potential threats. Your garden is attractive to more than just you. All manner of pests will eye your plants as dinner, and the lusher they get, the more they will bring in. To combat bugs, fight fire with fire! Helpful and beautiful insects like ladybugs and lacewings will prey on destructive ones, so be sure to include marigold and chamomile to entice them to make your garden their home. And if bigger threats like rabbits or deer make an appearance, apply one of any number of liquid deterrent products to their chosen foods. It will make them think twice next time they come looking for a snack.
• Keep your soil in good shape. Plants need more than just water to thrive. Make sure they get their nitrogen to ensure their growth and blooming is right on schedule. Always treat the ground with the appropriate amount for the types of plants you have, and remember to consult local experts on the specific levels of care your garden or flowers need.
• Plant appropriately with shade plants or full-sun plants.
• Maintenance: short on time, select plants that require low or easy maintenance

Bird garden? Butterfly garden?

There are places in this country right now that covered in ice and snow, where darkness and gloom are the order of the day. Meanwhile, here in Southern California we have ample opportunity to grow and enjoy virtually any type of plant virtually any time of year. It would be wrong not to take advantage of our great climate and environment, so check out what Sunset Magazine has to say about how to prep your Southern California garden for spring.