MY MOTHER'S ANNUAL New Year's Day count usually records some 60 plants in flower in her Northern California garden. ... Perhaps the most spectacular are the expansive drifts of paperwhite narcissus (N. papyraceus) spread out on the sloping hillside below the house.

THERE IS NOTHING like the fantasy of full-blown, flowery gardens in the middle of winter to reassure us that the earth is again spinning toward springtime. What else but a flower show offers daffodils blooming beneath spires of June-flowering delphiniums or the luxury of inhaling lily perfume five months early?

Oh, the blessed climate of California, where frost rarely if ever threatens the magnolia blossoms.

Early spring is a busy time in my garden—there is so much to do for the coming season. But no matter how much needs to be done, I spend a few extra minutes taking care of some of my newest favorite plants.

I've never understood how sustainability applies to home gardens. Is it more than using organic gardening principles?