Welcome, incredibly, to November, the start of holiday feasting, eggnog abominations and prime planting season in Southern California, especially for sweet peas, greens and native wildflowers.

This is the best time to plant most California native shrubs, flowers and trees, giving them time during our cool, and, one hopes, wet winters to send deep roots into the ground in preparation for our summer heat.

Seedings of lettuce, beets, arugula, kale and other greens will fuel your soups and salads well into spring. And planting even a small patch of sweet pea seeds will reap abundant bouquets of ethereal flowers next spring, with an undefinable, unforgettable fragrance that fills a room. You can even grow them in pots!

Below is a big list of plant-related activities, but first I want to fo

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