Fall in the Southern California climate is a rewarding space on the calender for gardeners.

While people elsewhere must satisfy themselves with seed catalogues, memories of last summer, or dreams of the garden season ahead, we are able to continue our passion for dirt.

Bare root season is here. Say what? Bare root season.

You see, during the cold months some plants descend into dormancy. It's a great time to transplant them and allow the roots to get settled in before the first sprouts of spring (or in So Cal, late winter).

The first plants to arrive in garden centers are artichokes, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, black, boysen, olalie, and raspberries.

Buy them quickly when you see them. They and the season won't last long and besides, you need to get ready for the bare root rose season.

Roses arrive a couple weeks before Christmas (oh great ... who has time for that?) They make a nice Christmas gift.

Most good garden centers place them in containers with soil right away. They'll have roses right through the summer, but buying them now is the best idea, so you can enjoy the flowers of late spring.

Fruit trees start arriving in our area in January. Apples, peaches, plums, apricots, nuts all are available during the early winter. Please plant one or more. There is nothing more rewarding than picking a piece of fruit or a vegetable from a plant you have grown. The taste is terrific.