November is perhaps the perfect month to plant California natives or drought resistant plants.

Consider bush anemone, ceanothus, wild mock orange, manzanita, flannel bush, and matilija poppy.

This is also the month for the best selection of Christmas cactus.

The widest selection and newest colors of poinsettias will be available right after Thanksgiving; look for "Chianti," a new wine color poinsettia, and "Shimmer," a new pink variety. Although red is the traditional color of poinsettias, breeders have been developing other colors in response to public interest.

The Fall and Holiday Seasons are the best time to think about gardening indoors. The choices are plentiful and the lighting indoors is bright but not too hot — perfect for developing window ledge or sill gardens accented by topiaries or standing indoor trees.

Pick a spot in your living room, dining area, family room or kitchen opposite a source of good lighting or against a window. Arrange a plant stand, shelf, sofa table, or cubicles to form a "stage" for your garden.

Next choose plants such as spathiphyllums, crotons, anthuriums, variegated ficuses, African masks, or colorful dracaenas as the "stars" or taller features on your "stage."

Then choose your supporting cast of plants — cascaders such as ivy, grape ivy, pothos, bridal veil, creeping charlie, spider plants or wandering jew.

Colorful additions include African violets, gloxinias, indoor azaleas (topiaries in 6" pots), Christmas cactus, amaryllis, paperwhite narcissus, mums, coleus, rex begonias, kalenchoes. Consider cyclamen and poinsettias at Christmas.

Arrange the plants in colorful groupings (mixing leaf texture and colors). Use your imagination in choosing containers — glazed pots to match your room color or bird nest baskets to match a rustic country decor or stainless steel for an architectural look. Metal trellises, shepherd's hooks, and ornamental plant stakes work well in larger standing plants.

Use a well-draining potting soil such as Dr. Earth Potting Soil or G & B Potting Soil. Fertilize monthly with a liquid fertilizer such as Organic Advantage Plant Food and water weekly. Make sure no plant is standing in water; drain well.

Trim and deadhead plants to promote fresh growth. Use organic insecticides, such as Safer Insecticidal Soap or Schultz Home & Garden Insect Spray, to control pests.

With a little imagination, creativity, and care, your indoor garden can be just as impressive as your outdoor garden.

You don't need to be a botanist to coax flowers into bloom for the holidays.

It's simple, especially when they're Hippeastrum bulbs. Although marketed in the winter as amaryllis, most belong to the genus Hippeastrum from South America.

For the largest number of flower clusters, select the largest bulb. Plant it in a well-draining pot, 6-8 weeks before you want the trumpet-shaped flowers to appear. Make sure the upper third of the bulb is peeking above the soil and water sparingly.

Then stake the flower stalk for support, put a bow on it, and voilà! Don't you wish all your holiday preparations were this easy?