Page 54 - Sonoma County Gazette March 2017

I wanted to share a basic outline of how I go about designing a garden, in hopes of making the project a bit less intimidating for you. There are, of course, a never ending array of di erent types of gardens, but I want to focus on multi-functional, water-wise gardens in particular. That is, gardens that serve the functions of beauty, habitat, food, and medicine, while surviving our dry summers on limited irrigation.
waxy, succulent, or very tiny leaves probably don’t need much water.
I use complimentary colors to make my favorite features pop, and analogous
There is much more to learn about this subject than can t in one article, but this is a good starting place. Feel free to play and experiment. In the end, as long as you don’t release some killer invasive plant species, you won’t do any harm if you make some mistakes.
Think about textures too. Many water-wise plants have small, sage-colored leaves. Where can you break that up with grasses and other unusually shaped leaves? As you start researching, you will probably nd a lot of plants you
like. Narrow your list by requiring that each plant serve multiple functions. Is
You can also join Daily Acts for a very helpful and FREE Garden Design Workshop in Windsor, on Wednesday, March 22nd, 5:30-7:30pm. To sign up, and to nd out what to bring, check out DailyActs.org and click through to the Events page.
it beautiful and great for pollinators? Fantastic! Can you eat its fruit and use its leaves for mulch/compost? Yummy. Does it have leaves that are great for tea and provide shade for your hottest window? Perfect!
colors to create tranquility.
Choose your other
Designing Your Dream Garden
plants. This is where things usually get a bit overwhelming for folks. The key is to think at a pattern scale, rather than about individual plants, at least at rst.
With all this rain, gardening in the warm sun seems like a bit of a distant possibility. However, the da odils and pear tree blossoms are a sweet reminder that gardening season will indeed arrive this year, eventually, may it be with soggy boots and the need for a warm layer of compost to shake o the chill. While we patiently wait and thank the rain though, we can have a lot of fun designing and dreaming up our ideal gardens.
For instance, your plants need to be water-wise, but how do you tell? Some evolutionary strategies to conserve water are consistent across most water-wise plants. Plants with fuzzy,
Observe. There is no overstating how important it is to spend ample time observing the sights, sounds, and patterns of your landscape before designing. Go outside when it’s raining and see where the water ows.
Pay attention to what little corners get afternoon shade in the worst of the heat. See were the frost thaws rst
in the morning. Dig up a couple shovels full of soil.
Last but not least, just have fun. One trick is, if you see a plant that inspires you, take a close-up photo and then use the Google image search feature to nd out what it may be. Keep inspiration photos together and weed out any that don’t seem to go with the others. Imagine what it will feel like to sit in your dream garden, and you can make it happen. Intuition and playfulness are your friends here. I look forward t seeing you at the workshop on the 22nd.
Create a base map.
Master Gardeners Seek New
Trainees ~ Do you love to garden? Applications now available online at www.sonomacountymastergardeners.org. Submit by Sep 23. 707-565-2608.
Drop-in volunteer days at the beautiful Sonoma Garden Park are as follows: Tuesdays 9am-12p, Wednesdays 9am- 12pm, Fridays 9am-12pm, Saturdays 8am- 12pm ane Nakasako by email or call 707- 996-0712 ext 107.
Garden Plots Available ~ at Sonoma Garden Park. For more info, contact Lisa Quigley 707-996-0712 ext 107 or lisa@sonomaecologycenter.org.
Garden Volunteer Days, First Friday of the Month, 9am – noon. Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, S.R., Training & tools provided., Maggie Hart, Laguna Foundation 707-527-9277 x.100 maggiehart@lagunafoundation.org
Sonoma County Beekeepers’
Association Mar 3 at 7:00 pm in the 4H Building in Rohnert Park. 6445 Commerce Boulevard (behind the 24 Hour Fitness Club and Grocery Outlet). Dues is $30 per year.
WORKSHOPS,DEMOS EVENTS by DATE
Mar 1 ~ The Solution is the Soil, Learn how to mobilize your soil biology to im- prove plant and crop health. $10 6:30-8:30p, Petaluma Seed Bank 199 Petaluma Blvd. N
Mar 2 ~ Plants for Pollinators in All 4 Seasons Cheryl Veretto, shows how to have a garden that helps all pollinators to flourish. Valley of the Moon Garden Club Members $5. 6:30p - Sonoma Veterans’ Memorial Building, 126 First Street West, Sonoma.
Mar 4 Grow Your Own - Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs - For beginners and experienced. 9 -Noon. Pre-registration necessary. srcity.org 707-543-3737 Finley Community Center, 2060 W. College Ave., S.R. Sponsored by Santa Rosa Parks, Rec.
Mar 9 ~ Steele Lane School Garden Gathering and Slow Foods North Tour Followed by Garden Back Pocket Lessons.” 3:30 - 5p. Steele Lane School, 310 Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. RSVP here. schoolgardens.org/steele-lane- elementary-schools-thriving-garden- program,
Mar 11 ~ Wildwood Nursery Japanese maple pruning demonstration by Joseph Monte. 1-4p 10300 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood events@wildwoodmaples. com or 707-833-1161
Mar 25 ~ Rose Expert, Ping Lim, Speaks at Quarryhill Botanical Garden -$15/ members; $20/non-members. 10 - 11a. 707-996-3166, quarryhillbg.org.
GARDEN cont’d on page 55
You’ll need a few sheets of grid paper, as well as a ruler, pencil, and eraser. Then it’s time to measure your yard.
Help out at The Garden Park
Make yourself some tea and sit down to translate your measurements into
a scale drawing of your future garden space. Basically, that means assigning a certain distance in real-life to each square on your grid paper, so that you can shrink the garden down without losing the correct proportions. For a small yard, I usually say that every square on the grid paper represents one foot of real-life garden space. Google Maps Earth View is your friend.
You’ll want to mark which direction is north, where the sun rises and sets, and where the wind comes from. Also mark any views you want to screen or noises you want to block. From this point forward, start using tracing paper over your base map. Mistakes won’t hurt that way!
Choose and place a few Key Anchoring Features. Key Anchors are trees, sitting spaces, large evergreens, and other more permanent structures like pathways, fencing, arches, and retaining walls.
If you want greywater, rainwater catchment tanks, swales, or rain gardens, they should be planned at this stage too.
54 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 3/17
Plant Sales 2017 for GOOD CAUSES: See our 2017 Gardeners Resource Guide inserted in this edition for the full year schedule