Well-planned California gardens are irresistibly beautiful. Whether they display casual profusions of wildflowers, enchantingly untidy perennial borders, or formally arranged shrubbery, all share one basic quality: harmony between nature and the gardener’s hand. From the time the first wildflower blooms, through the bounty of early, mid- and late-flowering perennials, shrubs, and trees, the well-planned garden is a sequence of soul-satisfying pictures.

But, beautiful gardens don’t just happen. They are the result of numerous timely tasks and projects. Whether you are planting buttercups in Carlsbad, yuccas in Palm Desert, pruning roses in San Francisco, or planting California native plants at the beach near Los Angeles, the California Garden Planner lets you know when and how to do these garden tasks.

To get you started toward a successful garden, this Planner begins with a brief overview of the climatic zones and why they are important to your garden’s success. Next, you select your location from the Sunset climatic zone maps, choose the month, and the California Garden Planner automatically generates a personalized garden planner with tasks organized in these garden categories: The Annual Garden, The Perennial Garden, Shrubs & Trees, Fruit Trees, The Rose Garden, Lawns, The Vegetable Garden, and Maintenance.

The California Garden Planner was written by Landscape Architect and Horticulturist, Jan Houghton. She is also the author of three successful gardening books, Designing Alberta Gardens, The Prairie Rose Garden, and The Prairie Garden Planner. Jan owns Houghton Design Group, LLC, a residential Landscape Architecture firm in Newport Beach.