For me, the start of a new year is always exciting. It's a time to reflect on the past year's events and try to learn from things that didn't turn out as I had hoped.   

The back of my property has a utility easement that prevents me from fencing my yard. Consequently, I spent several years experimenting with remedies for keeping deer out of my garden.  I finally acknowledged that there is no substitute for a fence. 

To allow utility access but still repel deer, I chose heavy-grade synthetic mesh netting that wouldn't degrade in sunlight or extreme temperatures. For a few years, the netting worked. But this year, I learned a lesson. It's not enough to put up a fence. You have to inspect it occasionally for holes or breachable openings. And you have to latch the gate, not just close it.

Otherwise, you may walk into your garden one day, as I did, and discover a downed fence and ravaged plants indicating that deer and other critters had come for brunch. While synthetic fencing is durable, falling tree branches can take it down and skunks can chew through it. 

Last year also taught me a strawberry lesson.  For a few seasons, we have enjoyed strawberries planted from nursery six-packs. Last year we planted bare-root strawberries.  I tried to follow the instructions meticulously.  I prepped the soil, soaked the plants before planting and planted the starts at the specified depth.  A few weeks later we had a heavy rain. I thought nothing of it at the time.  But when I checked on the plants a few days later, they were all gone, apparently uprooted and washed away.  Not planted deep enough, I guess.

Kohlrabi is a root vegetable used in hearty soups and stews.  I grew three varieties from seed last year, germinating the seeds in biodegradable peat pots that I could bury in the ground when the seedlings grew large enough. I set the trays of pots in the sun and waited for the seeds to germinate. Two days later, I discovered that two of the trays had been tipped over, and many of the pots had been trampled or crushed.  I suspect raccoons, but it might have been skunks. The only way to know for sure was to replant and set up a motion-activated camera to catch the miscreants.  I replanted the two trays and set them out again without surveillance. 

The seed trays went undisturbed for weeks, and most of the seeds germinated. The seedlings survived a stay at a family member's house while I went on vacation. Then one day I went out to check on the plants and discovered that three-quarters were missing. The pots were still there but the plants had been eaten, stalks and all. 

The next day, at the farmers' market I saw a six-pack of kohlrabi. I decided to try one more time, hoping that these seedlings might be less appetizing. I also had some leftover seed which I sowed directly in the ground. When I checked a few days later, all of the plants were gone, and none of the seeds had germinated. I finally gave up on kohlrabi and planted onions and garlic in this space. 

I should acknowledge that my wife had suggested that I use a row cover to protect the seeds and young seedlings. But I am a Master Gardener, so I know better than she does.  One lesson learned is that row covers are a good idea when starting plants from seed.  Another lesson is that my wife is smart. 

After discussing me experience with other Master Gardeners, I'm convinced that the neighborhood quail flock demolished my kohlrabi. Apparently, quail enjoy plants in the brassica family, including kohlrabi, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. 

Last year something also ate my tomatoes and lemons. I have seen birds eating tomatoes before, but the lemon damage surprised me.

One night, when I went out to the garden with a flashlight to get some tomatoes for dinner, I saw something move. I turned and pointed my flashlight on a skunk checking out the tomatoes. I have never before been face to face with a skunk. Assuming it was going to spray me, I sprinted for the back door. I decided that skunks can have the run of the garden at night as long as they leave me some vegetables to harvest during the day. 

As you can see, it was an eventful year in my garden. I harvested a variety of vegetables, some fruit and flowers, and I learned more about coexisting peacefully with the creatures who also like my yard. 

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions?

Last spring I traveled to South America with a group.  One day we went to a rancho in Chile for a luncheon. I noticed purple flowers growing in the front yard and asked what they were.  No one answered me as they were all watching the Darwin foxes that had come to beg for leftovers. 

When I returned home, I sent a picture of the flowers to fellow Napa County Master Gardeners, who identified the flowers as a type of impatiens. I have been a gardener for a long time but did not know there were so many impatiens varieties.  There are hundreds of different species, a few even native to the United States.

Impatiens are sometimes called busy lizzies, poor man's orchids or touch-me-nots.  New Guinea hybrids are the ones available in most nurseries, in a wild array of colors.  They are tropical plants and mostly native to Africa and Asia.  They were named impatiens for the eagerness of the seed pod to break open.

One thing that all impatiens in common is the way they spread their seeds. This was especially true of the plants I saw inChile. When you touch the ripe seed, you can feel the energy it puts into popping and spreading the seed.  It's amazing for such a small seedpod to have so much strength.

The impatiens we see in the nursery are in the Balsaminaceae family. These have been hybridized to create blooms in a wide variety of colors. An orange one has overwintered for several years in my hothouse. 

Once I knew the family of the mystery flower, I could start looking for seeds. Species impatiens and hybrids bloom in a range of colors, including pink, red, purple and yellow. Some are bi-colored,  some have variegated leaves and others have double flowers. 

The seeds I bought germinated easily.  I have a shady corner near my house where the plants bloomed in containers from late summer through fall.  When winter set in, I moved the pots into the hothouse.  Luckily I had saved seed as the plants did not survive the hothouse temperature (usually in the 40s). Most of them have died back. Impatiens are considered an annual in our climate. 

One of my favorites came from a fellow Master Gardener.  I put the plant into a large tub and spent a few hours over the summer snapping open the ripe seedpods. It is rather relaxing to just snap a few each day. The seeds were about the size of a sweet-pea seed. I know they have been pollinated because I saw bees and hummingbirds visit the blooms.

I saved some seed and the rest I scattered over areas where I would like this impatiens to grow. I hope the seeds will germinate in spring. 

Regardless of species, all impatiens have the same basic needs. They like shade or dappled sunlight and moist roots. They provide a mass of color where other plants will not.

The species flowers do not look like the hybridized flowers. The former have long throats and the petals are of different sizes. If you want to see some of the more exotic ones, search online for images of impatiens. You will be amazed by the differences.

Impatiens gladulifera, the impaciens I saw in Chile, is a nitve to the Himalayas. I has become an invasive plant in some areas, including English parks, Eastern USA Coast forests, Washington State and Oregon and Hawaii.  

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Garden Questions?

Whenever I encounter myths about gardening, I realize that I may be guilty of believing in some of them. As a Napa County Master Gardener, I've been trained to research information and to offer only science-based advice to home gardeners. So when I read something about gardening that sounds questionable, I always ask myself: fact or fiction? 

Gardening myths and old wives' tales come from many sources. Even researching this article, I found that experts have differing opinions about the validity of many firmly held beliefs.

Myth: When you can sit on the ground comfortably with a bare bottom, it's time to sow seeds.

Truth: Taking the temperature of the soil before planting seeds or seedlings is important. For most vegetables, the soil should be between 55°F and 60°F when measured three inches deep. This warm soil helps roots to grow. But before the invention of soil thermometers, how was a gardener to know? According to folklore, farmers used their bare posteriors or their elbows to test soil warmth.    

Myth: Placing gravel or pot shards in the bottom of a container improves drainage.

Truth: For many years, I planted pots this way. But during my Master Gardener training, I saw an experiment that demonstrated that soils had to be saturated before moisture would go to the next level. Putting some plain newsprint or a fine weed block in the bottom of your pot will keep soil from falling out or slugs from moving in, but gravel or shards won't affect drainage.  

Myth: For a plant to bear fruit, you must have both male and female types.

Truth: While that statement is true for some species, many plants and trees are self- pollinating. Tomatoes are a good example. The flowers contain both male and female parts and just need to be jostled a bit or buzzed by bees to move the pollen around. I usually shake the plants daily as I pass by.

Pomegranates and most varieties of Asian persimmons are also self-pollinating. For small gardens, that's an advantage because you need only one tree to get fruit. In contrast, sweet cherries and kiwis will not produce fruit unless you have both a male and a female plant. Some apple varieties may be listed as self-fruitful, but you'll get more fruit if you have a second variety to cross pollinate.

Most garden vegetables, including summer squash and pumpkins, produce both male and female flowers. Bees make sure the pollen gets spread around. If the spirit moves you, you can help the process along manually. 

Myth: Clay pots are better for container plants than plastic pots.

Truth: It depends what's in the pot and whether you are conscientious about watering. Clay pots do not retain moisture as well as plastic pots, and they tend to wick moisture away from the roots. Clay also is heavier than plastic and more breakable. If you tend to forget to water, then plastic may be the better choice for you.

Myth: After pruning a tree, treat open wounds with a wound dressing.

Truth: University research shows that is it not necessary to put tar or other wound dressing on a pruned or injured tree. In fact, it may  be counterproductive. The tree had the ability to heal itself. Using a dressing can delay the healing or even cover up plant diseases and make them worse. Do proper pruning cuts with clean sharp tools at the correct time of year for the tree and let them air dry and heal on their own. 

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Garden Questions?

If you are not a fan of Shakespeare or Chaucer, you might not have heard of gillyflowers. But you might know these flowers by other names: sweet williams, carnations, cottage pinks or garden pinks. All these common names refer to flowers in the genus Dianthus

In classic tales, spicy, clove-scented gillyflowers were part of tussy mussies, posies and nosegays, the fragrant little bouquets that people carried to counteract the stench of the streets. Even if you do not need aromatherapy to get through the streets these days, gillyflowers' sweet scent, frilly blossoms and deer resistance are just a few reasons to grow them today.

The Dianthus genus includes 300 varieties grown as annuals, biennials and evergreen perennials. Choose carefully; some carnations can grow three feet tall, while diminutive varieties of cottage or garden pinks will only reach four inches. Dianthus may be mounded, erect or trailing. Most have silvery-blue, grass-like foliage that is attractive even when the plant is not in bloom.

Low-growing garden or cottage pinks, including Dianthus plumarius and Dianthus fragrans, are suitable for rock gardens and along paths. Their frilled blossoms range from pale pink to almost black, providing a wide range of colors to choose from.  And while many cottage pinks are in fact pink, that is not why they bear that name.

The name actually comes from an old English word for the scissors that tailors use to serrate or zigzag the edges of fabric. “Pynken” were shears that gave fabric the same ragged or serrated edges these little flowers have. Now we call them “pinking shears.”

Have you ever grown sweet william (Dianthus barbatus)? Blossom colors include deep maroons, rosy pinks and crisp whites, in solid or striking bicolor combinations. Fabulous in flower arrangements and bouquets, the large spicy-scented flowers are showy and kaleidoscopic. Up close, each plate-sized sweet william blossom reveals itself to be a whole bouquet of tiny flowers, a little universe unto itself.  

Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus) are probably the least hardy, but they also grow taller than many other dianthus. Sturdy and long lasting as cut flowers, carnations come in the deepest reds, purest whites and pinkest pinks. Yellows and soft apricot colors are also available.  

For the “not found in nature” colored carnations you might occasionally see on St Patrick's Day or other occasions, try this home science project. Purchase or pick some white carnations, trim the stems and put them in a glass of water tinted with the food color of your choice. 

Dianthus are relatively problem free. Root rot can be a problem, but you can avoid it by preparing the bed properly.

Loosen the soil to a depth of one foot. Add a two- to four-inch layer of compost. Dig a hole twice the size of the plant's container. Place the plant in the hole so that the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. I find that if I position the plant a little above the surface, it ends up just right after I water it and everything settles a bit.  

Make sure that your dianthus get at least one inch of water a week. A two-inch layer of mulch can help keep moisture in and cut down on watering, but keep the mulch away from the stems.

Tall varieties appreciate staking to keep them upright. All dianthus need at least four hours of sun to perform well. They prefer cooler weather, so they are a good spring choice for our area.  

When purchasing dianthus at the nursery, look for plants with clear green or grayish-green foliage. Avoid leggy plants in favor of more compact or well-branched specimens. Pass up plants with yellowed leaves (a possible sign of root rot) and any that have traces of wispy webs. You do not want to bring home spider mites.

You can start dianthus easily from seed. Indoors, start seeds six to eight weeks before you want to set the plants out in the garden. To sow outdoors, wait until all chance of frost has passed and the soil has started to warm. Follow the directions on your seed packet.    

Dianthus will often reward you by self sowing. Deadheading (removing spent flowers) will prolong bloom time on tall varieties. Shearing mounding plants after bloom will encourage them to re-bloom. After the first killing frost, cut the stems back to an inch or two above the soil line. Divide dianthus every three to four years as new growth begins in the spring, lifting plants and dividing them into clumps.

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710Soscol Avenue, Suite 4,Napa, 707-253-4221, or from outside City ofNapa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site.  http://napamg.ucanr.edu go to Garden Questions?