The Mountain Gardener: A gardener’s 12 days of Christmas

Here is a Christmas carol medley written especially for readers here in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Here in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Take a look at all the holiday lights
Atop community trees that are beautiful at night.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Berries on every shrub
But the prettiest sight to see is the nandina that will be
On your own front door.
Dashing through the snow, you could have used a sleigh
Earlier this month, it would have been the way.
Some plants were taken by surprise, others survived in loam
Oh what fun it is to live in the mountains we all call home.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to garden in sand, silt and clay.
I’m dreaming of a green Christmas
With a compost bin in every yard
Where the toyons attract robins
And children grow veggies and like to eat their chard.
Yes, I’m dreaming of a green Christmas
With every sustainable garden I design
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases delight.
On the first day of Christmas, my garden gave to me
A warbler in a pear tree
…
And on the twelfth day of Christmas, my garden gave to me
Twelve monarch butterflies,
Eleven acorn woodpeckers
Ten black-tailed deer
Nine western turtles
Eight red-legged frogs
Seven cottontail rabbits
Six Anna’s hummingbirds
Five-fingered ferns
Four calling birds, three chickadees
Two Stellar’s jays, and a warbler in a pear tree.
Bay nuts roasting on an open fire,
Frosty nights nipping at your nose
Native plants being grown to admire
And we don’t need that garden hose.
Everybody knows a garden and some mistletoe
Helps to make the season bright
Lots of rain makes the garden grow
And sunlight prevents the dreaded blight.
And finally…
All I want for Christmas is a warm compost pile and an herb garden near the kitchen. Merry Christmas from the Mountain Gardener!
• Jan Nelson, a California certified nursery professional at Plant Works in Ben Lomond, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at ja******@ao*.com.