TIME TO GARDEN; LANDSCAPING BLOOMS WITH WARM WEATHER.Byline: Steve Carney Daily News Staff Writer You notice one. Then a few more. Then you realize they're everywhere. New leaves burst from once-skeletal branches. Trees and bushes flaunt shades of glowing green that dispel the gray of winter. Flowers in bloom. Thursday's warm air carried the scent of new growth. Spring is here, inciting people to join the riot of color and fragrance, adding their own plants and flowers to the rebirth. ``It's gorgeous. It inspires me. It makes me want to grow things,'' said Barbara Winters of Chatsworth. Squinting squint v. squint·ed, squint·ing, squints v.intr. 1. To look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight. 2. a. To look or glance sideways. b. in the sun at Green Thumb Nursery in Canoga Park, she was loading her cart with long-stalked Calla lilies to plant at home. She said she wanted ``something to make me think of renewal.'' The calendar said spring started nearly a month ago. But for many folks in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. region, it sure didn't feel that way until the sun warmed their skin and chased away a late cold snap. Though it isn't as dramatic as in snowbound snow·bound adj. Confined in one place by heavy snow. snowbound Adjective shut in or blocked off by snow Adj. 1. northern climes, the change still makes a difference. ``This is why we live in California. It's perfect weather,'' said Dawn Coombs Coombs can refer to:
She was loading flowers and succulents into her trunk for the garden her son's fourth-grade class tends at Woodlake Elementary School. ``People are bound to plant. They're plant-hungry,'' said Cal Wright, a landscaper at Green Thumb who has been in the business 50 years. ``A day like today - oh, man, they're in here. I'm sure this whole week we're going to be busy.'' If the sun is what's bringing people out, then he's probably right. Another warm and breezy day is expected today, with the high near 90, according to meteorologist Bruce Rockwell of the National Weather Service. The lows will be about 50 degrees, and the temperature is expected to reach 93 on Saturday. There won't be any rain in the next five days, and probably far beyond that, he said. ``It is always possible, but it would be a freak thing,'' Rockwell said. ``All the rain has been wonderful,'' said Erik Nelson, 61, of Reseda. ``But now that the sun is out, hopefully things will grow.'' He said his roses are blooming, so he bought some small Heidi cherry blossom plants to line the perimeter. And to accent his vegetable garden, he got seeds for Persian cornflowers - bright purple blossoms with spindly petals. ``People are landscaping their places and really getting into it,'' Wright said. ``A lot of people are coming in for azaleas; they're in bloom. Mums are in bloom. We sell roses like crazy. These people buy roses like we're giving them away.'' But all the blooming is making some people crazy for another reason. Pity those folks with hay fever. ``This is a good year only for allergists,'' said Dr. Jacob Offenberger, an allergy expert with offices in Granada Hills and Studio City. Last year's El Nino rains created new growth, and this year's La Nina brought warm weather that induced all those plants to bloom ahead of schedule. Also, the lack of rain has kept the air thick with pollen from grass and trees, creating what Offenberger called ``megadoses'' of the sneeze-inducing dust. ``This year everything germinated,'' he said. ``Last year we said was the worst. This year we've seen more and more.'' He advised against early-morning walks, because the pollen settles down about 10 a.m. He also suggested seeking help from a doctor if over-the-counter allergy remedies no longer give relief. La Nina has affected spring in another way - the dry weather has diminished Mother Nature's usual wildflower wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. display. ``We're not exactly having the desert flowers we've had blooming in the past,'' said Lana Longwell, an interpretation ranger at Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park, 1,022,703 acres (414,050 hectares), S California. Lying between the high Mojave Desert and the low Colorado Desert, this park has a unique ecosystem in which are preserved rare Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia . People used to flock to the park this time of year to view the yellow bladder pod and creosote creosote (krē`əsōt), volatile, heavy, oily liquid obtained by the distillation of coal tar or wood tar. Creosote derived from beechwood tar has been used medicinally as an antiseptic and in the treatment of chronic bronchitis. blooms, and the red blossoms of ocotillo cactus. Now, she said, ``if they are coming, they're disappointed.'' Native flowers are still plentiful in many locales, however. To help find them, the Theodore Payne Foundation  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . for California Wildflowers and Native Plants in Sun Valley has its wildflower hotline, (818) 768-3533. The red maids and blue larkspur in the Santa Clarita woodlands are especially nice, as are the California blackberry and purple nightshade nightshade, common name for the Solanaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and a few trees of warm regions, chiefly tropical America. Many are climbing or creeping types, and rank-smelling foliage is typical of many species. in the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. , the hotline said. Some people are determined to have such beauty in their own back yard, though. Patti Smith, 48, of Encino said the warm weather fired her desire to return to her garden, and she and her husband said they played hooky Wednesday to go to the nursery. They were bringing home some delicate purple foxgloves and bright African daisies. ``I just want lots of color, and maybe the feeling of getting my hands a little dirty,'' Smith said. ``I've had the craving to do it.'' And Debra Stark, 44, of Tarzana said the return of good weather signaled she should complete her garden, ``which is a never-ending process.'' ``The sun, the sense of spring - it's time to plant,'' she said. ``It seems like the rain is over. It just seemed like now is the time.'' COVER UP That warm sunshine is an invitation to go outdoors to play, to snooze, to garden. But the New York-based Skin Cancer Foundation is warning people that - while it's a good idea to cover up before getting in the sun - their clothing might not offer the protection they expect. T-shirts and other thin garments give about the same coverage as an SPF (1) (Stateful Packet Firewall) See stateful inspection. (2) (Sender Policy Framework) An e-mail authentication system that verifies that the message came from an authorized mail server. 6 or 7 sunblock sunblock Public health An opaque substance, usually formulated from zinc or titanium oxides, designed to completely prevent solar radiation from reaching the skin. See SPF rating. Cf Sunscreen. only. The foundation recommends a sunblock of SPF 15 for optimal protection from sunburn sunburn, inflammation of the skin caused by actinic rays from the sun or artificial sources. Moderate exposure to ultraviolet radiation is followed by a red blush, but severe exposure may result in blisters, pain, and constitutional symptoms. and skin cancer, and says proper clothing offers even better coverage. It recommends: Long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Tightly woven or knit fabrics. Unbleached cotton, wool or polyester. Loose-fitting clothes, rather than those that hug the skin. Dark colors such as blue or black, or bright ones like red or orange. PLANTING TIPS Cal Wright at Green Thumb Nursery in Canoga Park and nurseryman William Clark offer these tips for spring planting: With the bright sun, now is the ideal time to plant roses. Other good plants for the sun are petunias and marigolds. This is a safe time to plant replacements for all that bougainvillea bougainvillea or bougainvillaea (both: b  'gənvĭl`ēə) [for L. A. and hibiscus that died in the cold weather. For the shade, put in hydrangeas, camellias, gardenias and azalea azalea (əzāl`yə) [Gr.,=dry], any species of the genus Rhododendron, North American and Asian shrubs of the family Ericaceae (heath family) that are distinguished by the usually deciduous leaves. . It's prime time for tomatoes right now. Also corn, beets, onions, scallions, lettuce and spinach can thrive if planted now. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes PHOTO (1 -- color) Sales are strong on spring flowers, such as this pack of impatiens impatiens (ĭmpā`shēĕnz'): see jewelweed. impatiens Any of about 900 species of herbaceous plants in the genus Impatiens (balsam family), so named because the seedpod bursts when slightly touched. Garden balsam (I. from Green Thumb Nursery. John Lazar/Daily News (2 -- color) Patti Smith of Encino takes a close look at a yellow ranunculus Ranunculus a very large plant genus of family Ranunculaceae; the buttercups. All of them should be regarded as potentially poisonous. The species listed below have been reported as causing poisoning in animals. at the Green Thumb Nursery in Canoga Park. Tina Gerson/Daily News Box: (1) Cover up (see text) (2) Planting tips (see text) |
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