Page 58 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2018

Low-Water Lawn Alternatives
Apr 21 ~ Harvest for the Hungry Garden
What if you could have an earth-friendly lawn that was low-maintenance, soft to play on, and saved you money on your water bill? You can! There are some great water-wise alternatives now that fulfill the same role as a lawn, while reducing water use, fertilizer and herbicide use, and time spent on the lawn- mower.
Fruit, vegetables, ornamentals, garden art, books, tools. 9-2p, 1717 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa, harvestgarden.org
I was pretty surprised to learn some of the scary statistics associated with
the classic lawn. For instance, 600 million gallons of fuels are used each year
in the US to power lawn maintenance equipment. That could fill seven Rose Bowl stadiums. Even scarier, 17 million gallons of that fuel and oil end up on the ground (and therefore eventually in our water), which is enough to fill 340 railroad tank cars. Studies have found that dogs exposed to herbicide-treated lawns can double their chance of developing canine lymphoma and may in- crease the risk of bladder cancer in certain breeds by 4-7 times. According to the EPA, lawns account for a whopping 1/3 of American’s total water usage. Yikes.
Apr 22 ~ Windsor Garden Club's Spring Plant Sale - Herbs, vegetables, drought tolerant starts, flowers and succulents. 10-1p, Windsor Town Green, windsorgardenclub.org
Apr 22 ~ Petaluma Bounty Spring Plant Sale - Vegetables, herbs and flowers9- 3p, Bounty Community Farm, 55 Shasta Ave, Petaluma, 707-364-9118, Suzi Grady, petalumabounty.org
If you’d like to get ideas for better alternatives, Daily Acts, with support from the City of Petaluma, is offering a free evening workshop called “Re-Imagining Your Yard: Low-Water Lawn Alternatives,” to be held at the Petaluma Regional Library on Monday, April 23rd, 6 - 8pm. You’ll learn the pros and cons of dif- ferent drought tolerant plants and seed mixes that can take foot traffic, create
a tidy aesthetic, and provide habitat value. We’ll also discuss how to prepare for planting. For inspiration, we’ll bring live samples of our favorite lawn-like plants for you to see and touch.
Apr 27,28 ~ Graton Community Club
Meanwhile, here is a sampling of some great lawn alternatives you could try:
Apr 14, May 5 ~ Willowside School Nursery - Natives and more. 9-2p, 5299 Hall Rd, Santa Rosa. 707-569-4724, ogusd.org/willowside-nursery
Apr 14 ~ Santa Rosa Garden Club - 9-2p, Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center 2050 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa, santarosagardenclub.com
Green Carpet (Herniaria glabra) – This lovely bright green creeper spreads effortlessly in all directions filling up to two feet per plant. A fairly flat plant of about two inches, it has one long tap root (as opposed to many surface roots like a Creeping Thyme) which helps with water conservation. It likes full sun but it can take partial shade. It is soft to walk on and can take quite a bit of foot traffic, as long as it is not continual.
Creeping Sonoma Sage (Salvia
sonomensis) – This creeping native can spread to 10’ across. Its lavender owers appear in May – June on 6”spikes above 2” tall gray-green leaves. Pollinators love it! Salvia sonomensis grows best in dry shade/part shade, or under shrubs like Manzanita or Mountain Lilac. While it is very drought tolerant, be careful not to plant in intense hot sun. Occasional foot tra c is okay when it’s not blooming.
Dune Sedge (Carex pansa) – Among the most popular plants for creating an al- ternative lawn, this grass-like plant gives the e ect of a wild meadow, looking best unmowed with water twice per month. However, a light trimming with a weed whacker twice or thrice per year can keep it thicker and more tidy. It’s soft to the touch and can take a fair amount of foot tra c, but not gophers.
58 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/18
Apr 14 & 15 ~ Men’s Garden Club
Plant Sales for Good Cause
Fri-Sun ~ Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Organic Nursery - California natives and more. 10-5p, 15290 Coleman Valley Road, Occidental, 874-1557, oaec. org/events/plant-sales
Apr 1 ~ Sonoma County Orchid Society, Show and Sale - $8, 10-4p, Santa Rosa Vets Building, 1351 Maple Ave., sonomaorchids.com
Apr 7 ~ Petaluma Garden Club - Organic vegetables, perennials, succulents. 8-3p, 1151 Magnolia Avenue, Petaluma, californiagardenclubs.com/content/ petaluma-garden-club
Apr 7, May 5 ~ Sonoma County Jail Plant Nursery and Teaching Garden Huge variety of plants! 9-12p, 2254 Ordinance Rd., SR, scoe.org/pub/ htdocs/rop-jail-industries.html, Rick Stern, 707-525-8310, jailind@mcn.org
Apr 13 ~ Santa Rosa Junior College
Veggies, succulents, perennials, drought tolerant plants. 9-4p, 707-829-5314, gratoncommunityclub.org
Supports horticulture Scholarships. 10-2p, Lark Hall Greenhouse, 1501 Mendocino Ave, SR
Apr 21 ~ Green Thumb Garden Club
Plants from members own gardens. 9-2p, Ace Hardware parking lot, 750 S. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale.
Apr 28 ~ Healdsburg Garden Club Variety of plants from members’ gardens. 9-1p, healdsburggardenclub.org
Apr 28, 29 ~ Santa Rosa Iris Society, Potted iris sale in conjunction with iris show. Apr 28, 1-5p, Apr 29, 10-5p, Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave., SR., santarosairis.org
Apr 28, 29 ~ Luther Burbank Gold Ridge Experiment Farm Open House and Plant Sale - Vegies, flowers, succulents and more. 10-4p, 7777 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol, wschsgrf.org
Dymondia (Dymondia margare-
tae) – This is a slowly spreading, at groundcover with gray-green leaves that are white beneath. Small yellow daisy owers bloom close to the ground in summer. Plant in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil. It’s deep succulent roots help it be very drought tolerant, although it will grow more rapidly with irrigation. It is hardy to about 25-30 de- grees F, so planting it in heat islands like planter strips and near stone walls is a
Creeping Oregano (Origanum vul-
gare humile) – Tough and deliciously scented! Two great groundcover varieties are ‘Golden Creeping’ and ‘Betty Rollins.’ They’ll grow in sun or light shade and only need to be mowed or sheared back once every two weeks in summer to maintain a tight to the ground appearance. Appreci- ates extra water during hot spells. They tolerate moderate foot tra c and are soft to walk on, and if you let them ower the pollinators love it!
Geraniums and 50 varieties of tomatoes. Apr 14, 9-7p, Apr 15, 9-5p, Coddingtown Mall, Guerneville Rd. & Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa
good idea. About the only things that this plant does not tolerate well is a heavy or otherwise non-draining soil and gophers.
GARDEN cont’d on page 59