At the beginning of our explorations of Happiness from Gardening, we noted that thinkers about the broader subject say that achieving one’s personal form of happiness involves (a) a sense of control and autonomy over one’s life, (b) being guided by meaning and purpose, and c) connecting with others.

Given that perspective, we have focused so far on hands-on gardening, thinking about gardening, and learning about gardening. The “learning” topic included two sections: resources and objectives.

Our next exploration addresses connecting with others.

Again, today’s column includes photos within a category of garden plants that you are invited to identify. Decide on your idea of the category before looking at the answer at the end of the column.

Let’s dive into today’s topic: Linking with other gardeners.

As you interact with other gardeners, you could be a student, a teacher or a colleague. These are all honorable roles and you might switch between them as you connect with different people.

Even skilled gardeners can become students. As I mentioned in a recent column, when avid gardeners with years of hands-on experience become master gardener trainees, their gardening knowledge becomes broader and deeper. This training engenders their appreciation for the many aspects of gardening art and science.

All gardeners can become students from time to time as they hear from experts, either participating in training, watching a webinar, or engaging in casual conversations. Learning can be joyful and not at all embarrassing, as long as the teacher is being helpful and respectful. That has always been my experience. Gardeners generally understand their own limited grasp of gardening’s vast territory and pass it along to others with humility.

When your role transitions to the teacher, having been the student should guide you to being helpful and respectful toward your student of the moment, including when sharing your knowledge with a fellow gardener.

You might also have opportunities to introduce children to the pleasures of helping plants to grow. Gardening with children is a vital subdivision of the gardening world because it both enriches the child and preserves an important part of human history. A great deal of useful information is available online for building on your background in tutoring young people. Check it out with a Google search for “gardening with children.”

Gardening societies offer excellent opportunities for linking with other gardeners for both continuing education and social contacts. Many societies are focused on popular plant genera (rose, iris, dahlia, orchid, etc.) or larger groups of garden plants (succulents, California natives, fruit trees, rock gardens, etc.).

For a comprehensive list, visit ahsgardening.org, click on “Resources,” and scroll down to “Societies, Clubs and Organizations.” Some groups are oriented to general gardening, sometimes with an emphasis on edible gardening. These include Master Gardeners and California Garden Clubs.

This column can’t list all the local chapters of gardening groups but the references to statewide and national organizations generally include links to local groups. Once you have chosen your gardening focus, search the references provided above for local links.

Participation in a local garden group certainly supports happiness in gardening, particularly by linking to other gardeners in your student, teacher or colleague roles. Each group has a unique mix of activities, generally including monthly meetings with expert speakers or other programs, show-and-tell sessions, prize competitions, plant exchanges, etc., and occasional public meetings for educational purposes or plant sales. They might also have special meetings for members only. A current example is a citrus-tasting session organized by the local chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers (a good reason to join!).

Linking with other gardeners complements the individual gardening activities of hands-on work, thinking, and learning. When the gardener adds social involvement to control and purpose, the combination meets the experts’ formula for happiness.

In our next column, we will address yet another dimension of happiness in gardening: communing with nature.

Advance gardening knowledge

As an example of learning about gardening through artificial intelligence, I selected (and lightly edited) one of the many questions that local gardeners send to the Monterey Bay chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers, and sent it to chat.openai.com/chat. The AI response is unedited.

• This year my two pomegranates are in full bloom for the first time ever. In fact, they are thick with blooms and have put on so much lanky growth, up 20 feet, that I’m wondering if it might be too much for these young trees. Should I shorten some of excessively the long willowy branches that are nearly touching the ground? Or, thin out some of the branches to allow more light on the inside?

• Congratulations on your pomegranate trees blooming so abundantly! To ensure that they continue to thrive, it’s a good idea to take some action to manage their growth.

Firstly, if the long, willowy branches are nearly touching the ground, it’s a good idea to shorten them to prevent them from becoming damaged or broken by animals or people. You can prune these branches back to a length that is more manageable for the tree.

Secondly, thinning out some of the branches will allow more light to reach the inside of the tree, promoting healthy growth throughout the tree. Selectively remove some of the smaller or weaker branches that are growing toward the center of the tree, focusing on retaining the strongest and healthiest ones.

Make sure to use clean, sharp pruning tools to avoid damaging the tree, and prune at an angle just above a bud or lateral branch. Additionally, it’s best to prune your pomegranate tree during its dormant season, which is typically in late winter or early spring, to avoid stressing the tree during its active growing season.

With proper pruning and care, your pomegranate trees should continue to bloom and produce fruit for many years to come!

This week’s photo category

Today’s column includes a fairly clear category: plants with pink blossoms. To avoid tip-offs, I omitted some cultivar names: Chitalpa ‘Pink Dawn’, Cistus argenteus ‘Silver Pink,’ and Cuphea ‘Starfire Pink.’

Almost all flowering plants include a species with pink flowers, with shades ranging from light pastel to reddish. The pink color is determined by various amounts of pigments called anthocyanins. Other pigments are carotenoids and chlorophyll. In all cases, the plant’s color display is designed to attract pollinators that help the plant to reproduce. People are also attracted to pink flowers, which they regard as graceful and elegant.

Enjoy your garden!

Tom Karwin is a past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a past president and Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 19992009). He is now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and active with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom- 566511763375123/. For garden coaching info and an archive of On Gardening columns, visit ongardening.com. Email your comments or questions to gardening@karwin.com.