A lot of gardeners wisely move some of their houseplants outside during the summer to give them better light and fresher air.

Now it is time to reverse this ordeal and bring those little friends back inside and try to keep them happy for the rest of the winter.

Now that we have had a few good soaking rains, some of you might think that the gardening season is over. But as you might expect, there are at least two more good gardening months to look forward to.

At the top of my planting list is spring blooming bulbs!

It always amazes me that no matter how many times I visit the garden center, I always seem to find something that looks interesting and is calling to me to take it home and add it to the landscape.

Here are a few that caught my eye this week as I toured the nursery looking for treasures…

There is a surprising array of hardy herbs that we can grow in our northwest marine climate and not have to worry about replanting every spring. Many of them can actually be brought inside and placed on a bright windowsill for the winter where sprigs can be plucked as needed.  

When I think of ornamental grasses, I am reminded that some are hardy for our region and others have to be treated as annuals and discarded at the end of the season. Purple fountain grass for example, is a year around staple in Southern California gardens where its pinkish/purple feathery blooms just cry out to be touched.  

Let’s face it, there aren’t a whole lot of shrubs that bloom in August. Rhododendrons dominate spring and hydrangeas take front stage in early summer, but when it comes to late summer, the pickings are slim.

Of the few players that actually come into bloom this time of year, hibiscus are on the top of my list.

Now that the summer weather has arrived, it never fails that someone will ask me: “Can I still plant now, or should I wait until the fall?” 

For the record, as a landscape contractor in the Sacramento valley where it was routinely 85 to 105 degrees, I planted all summer long and never lost a single plant.