Bare Root

"New Year is the direct descendant, isn't it, of a long line of new years?" -- with apologies to Ogden Nash "Each year we see Breeds new beginnings." -- Matthew Arnold Today is the sixth day of a new year. Last Sunday, westerners celebrated the 2,050th New Year's Day since Caesar decreed the first day of the year as Jan. 1. Happily satiated after travel in Baja, I have been busy enjoying wonderful gardening weather (I missed the rain). This weekend would be the ideal time to begin planning that new rose garden.

STEVE KAWARATANI "On Valentine's Day, millions of men give millions of women flowers, cards and candy as a heartfelt expression of the emotion that also motivates men to observe anniversaries and birthdays: fear." --Dave Barry "Birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it Let's do it, let's fall in love" --Cole Porter Valentine's Day was initially observed with the exchange of romantic greeting cards, called valentines. Through skillful marketing (retailers needed a sales boost in February)

STEVE KAWARATANI "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." -- Oprah Winfrey "January made me shiver ... " -- Don McClean The onset of the New Year has found me getting back to the garden, to loiter and unwind and defrost from the demands of the holidays. Problems are solved there, commitments reaffirmed and new challenges invented. My occasional bouts with moodiness dissolve to make room for calmer introspection.

The Garden Fanatic "Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." -- OSCAR WILDE "A bargain is in its very essence a hostile transaction ... ." -- LORD BYRON Although I freely dispense advice weekly in this column, I also have the pleasure to visit gardens and dispense advice (although not for free!). As a businessman, I hope that gardeners will support local nurseries. As a pragmatist, I am aware that many shoppers are influenced by cost and believe that bigger will offer a better price.

THE GARDEN FANATIC "Each age has deemed the new-born year The fittest time for festal cheer." -- SIR WALTER SCOTT "On the road again ... " -- WILLIE NELSON The days moved so quickly ... the holidays have yielded to a new year. Admittedly a little worn, Catharine and I are defrosting from the demands of the holidays in Baja. Old commitments will be reaffirmed and new challenges invented. Your questions for the Plant Man, for this first month of the year included: Q: What is the most important garden job this month?

THE GARDEN FANATIC "The rose is a rose, And was always a rose." -- ROBERT FROST "By persistently remaining single, a [wo]man converts herself/himself into a permanent public temptation." -- WITH APOLOGIES TO OSCAR WILDE The earliest of roses bloomed with single flowers -- brightly colored, with five to eight petals and hips that provided medicinal qualities. These precursors to our modern roses needed to develop prickles (thorns)

"Thy moon-kissed roses seem: better than love or sleep … " -- Ernest Christopher Dowson "And I will make thee beds of roses." -- Christopher Marlowe In "Love's Labour Lost," Shakespeare noted that everything has a season … and perhaps a rose was more appropriate during the month of May. He could not have anticipated that his species roses would evolve into hybrids some 300 years later, and that many new introductions made their debut during this week's Tournament of Roses Parade.

Steve Kawaratani "Now that your rose is in bloom ..." -- SEAL "Reign endless, rose ... " -- HERMAN MELVILLE The roses in Laguna's summer gardens are at their peak now, and more can be selected for their bloom and delightful fragrance (something you can't do during bare-root season). Your favorite nursery should still have ample variety .... from the antique roses of yesterday to today's disease-resistant English, hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses.

STEVE KAWARATANI "To decide... [is] to be in control of your life." -- Abbie M. Dale "'More!' is as effective a revolutionary slogan as was ever invented ... " -- Eric Hoffer One of the great challenges in being a garden columnist is deciding what plants to write about. I often ask Catharine, who not only possesses exquisite taste, but is attuned to the pulse of the garden, her opinion. She unequivocally told me recently, "This is the summer for roses!"

THE GARDEN FANATIC "To decide ... [is] to be in control of your life." -- ABBIE M. DALE "'More!' is as effective a revolutionary slogan as was ever invented ... " -- ERIC HOFFER One of the great challenges in being a garden columnist is deciding what plants to write about. I often ask Catharine, who not only possesses exquisite taste, but is attuned to the pulse of the garden, her opinion. She unequivocally told me this morning, "This is the summer for roses!"