THE COASTAL GARDENER:

Let’s say you’re a beginning gardener, but you want to learn more. You haven’t really invested too much energy or thought into your outside spaces thus far, but you’re ready to change that. The time has finally come; you want to educate yourself and be a better gardener.

Let’s see, how can we get started in our quest for gardening knowledge? A popular way to feed your new interest might be to check out this week’s shows on HGTV and other stations. They’re always instructional, and there should be lots of lessons to hone our plant knowledge and guide us in creating a great Orange County garden.

Here’s the lineup of some of the gardening shows for our new student:

PBS broadcasted two episodes of “Garden SMART” yesterday. One was a terrific profile on The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg, including a look at the Governor’s Palace and several smaller gardens. If our new gardener set the timer for 1 a.m. she would also have learned about such popular gardening techniques as hot beds and cold frames.

Rebecca Koll hosts the popular gardening show “Rebecca’s Garden.” This week’s show will teach our new Orange County gardener such valuable skills as how to preserve flower blooms after a cold frost.

Today on “The Victory Garden,” one of the longest running gardening shows on television, Australian Jamie Durie will teach our new apprentice all the ins and out of growing corn, squash and beans. At the end of October, our newfound gardener should have a lot of success with this timely advice.

P. Allen Smith, one of America’s best garden instructors always has great tutorials on his show, “P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home.”

This morning at 10, P. Allen will share practical gardening advice as he takes you on a tour of his own personal garden — overlooking the Arkansas River Valley, near Little Rock, Ark.

Paul James, television’s most entertaining garden instructor, hosts “Gardening by the Yard” on Sunday.

This week’s selection will teach our gardening undergraduate about the fall chores in Paul’s Oklahoma garden. Then he’ll plant some local favorites, such as Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and English Yew (Taxus baccata).

Be sure to put those plants on your nursery shopping list! Our new gardener has learned a lot so far. But there’s still more.

“Landscape Smart” and “Landscaper’s Challenge” are fixer-up programs, just perfect for our new intrepid gardener.

This week “Landscape Smart” will transform Gina and Todd’s backyard into a mountain retreat. Perfect!

“Landscaper’s Challenge” will perform similar wonders to Don and Christopher’s home garden near the Las Vegas strip as it becomes a lush desert oasis. Hard to decide; both sound great.

Our new gardener can hone her skills even further by reading through the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Gardening, Horticulture and Garden Design.

This month’s features include how to plant peonies, the best alliums, a Q-&-A on hostas and a profile on the ever-popular garden bulb, Siberian squill. Plenty of local practical advice there.

The moral of this story is that gardening is regional and local; more so now than ever. It’s not the fault of Rebecca, Jamie, P. Allen, Paul or any other garden educator.

In fact, they’re good gardeners. It’s just that Orange County is so completely unique in its climate and gardens that a great deal of gardening advice just doesn’t apply here.

The best advice I can give a new, aspiring gardener in Orange County is to get local advice from a trusted source. Be careful what you read and hear.

ASK RON

Question: What is the name of the tree with the huge orange flowers blooming in the median strip of East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar? It is spectacular.

Ally

Corona del Mar

Answer: Those are African Tulip Trees (Spathodea campanulata). The flowers are very large and cup-shaped. In tropical Africa, where the tree originates, these flowers hold rain and dew, making them especially attractive to many species of birds and even small amphibians. The nectar is also popular with hummingbirds.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail [email protected], or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar