Page 58 - Sonoma County Gazette MARCH 2020

Mar 4 - 25 ~ Magnificent Magnolias Walk ~ Some of the rarest magnolias from eastern Asia. 1p - Free to Quarryhill Members. Quarryhill Botanical Garden, 12841 Sonoma Hwy, Glen Ellen, 707-996-3166, quarryhillbg.org
Mar 14 ~ Arbor Day Tree Planting Party ~ Trees, tools & refreshments. Rain or shine. Free, 9a-12p, Finley Community Park, 2060 West College Ave, Santa Rosa, sonoma.com
Mar 28 - 29 ~ Orchid Show & Sale ~ Exploring Orchids ~ Fun, education & blooming orchids. $10, 3/28:10a-5p, 3/29: 10a-4p, SonomaOrchids.com
Mar 28 ~ Cesar Chavez Day of Service ~ Potting plants, weeding, sheet mulching and planting. Free, 9a-12p, Petaluma Bounty, 55 Shasta Ave, Petaluma, education@ petalumabounty.org
Mar 28 ~ Community Seed Exchange Monthly Gathering ~ Free Class: Seed-Saving Basics. Free, 9a-12p, St Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 500 Robinson Rd, Sebastopol, communityseedexchange.org
Apr 4 - 5 ~ Spring Rose Garden ~ Enjoy roses! $2 donation, 10:30a-5p, Demonstrations: 10:30a & 2p, Russian River Rose Company, 1685 Magnolia Dr, Healdsburg, 707-433-7455, russian-river-rose.com
Thru - Sep 12 ~ Introduction to Beekeeping ~ Three-hour lecture on basic beekeeping, $15 - 10a-1p, Sebastopol Grange Hallv, 6000 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol, 707-824-2905, beekind.com
Garden Clubs
Mar 5 ~ Louise Hassen: Using Plants to Create Bath and Body Care Products ~ Free for club members and $5 for guests, 7p, 252 West Spain St, Sonoma, vom- garden-club.org, bonniebrown08@comcast.net
Mar 9 ~ The Trouble with Tomatoes ~ Tom Gulya’s research into blossom end rot. Free, 6:30p, 25 Bluebird Dr, Windsor, 707-931-4796, windsorgardenclub.org
Mar 28 ~ Seed-Saving Basics ~ Learn how to grow your own seeds, Free - 4th Sat, 11a-12p, 500 Robinson Rd, Sebastopol, communityseedexchange.org
Apr 2 ~ Monarch Butterfly Habitat Garden ~ Flowers to grow in a pollinator garden. Free for club members and $5 for guests, 7p Burlingame Hall, 252 W. Spain St, Sonoma, 707-935-8986, vom-garden-club.org
By Vesta Copestakes
Companion Planting is a term that means planting with one variety of plant that supports some aspect of another...such as garlic and onions among rose bushes to keep aphids away. Mono-cultures invite pests and diseases, where mixed cultures provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds which both eat bugs we don’t want. You’ve probably heard of planting marigolds among vegetables because they have a strong scent that deters both furry and many-legged critters.
11a-1p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol
Mar 7 ~ Healthy Gardens: A Balanced Approach ~ Demos & displays of drip irrigation. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Healdsburg Regional Library, 139 Piper St, Healdsburg
Mar 7 ~ The Single Best Thing You Can Do for Your Garden ~ Lyle Bullock covers the hows and whys of composting. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy #100, Windsor
Mar 14 ~ Firewise Landscape: What You Can Do Now ~ Common sense DIY tips to make your property a “Defensible Space”. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Rincon Valley Regional Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa
Mar 14 ~ Native Trees of the North Bay ~ Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Cloverdale Regional Library, 401 North Cloverdale Blvd, Cloverdale
Mar 14 ~ Planting Natives Guided by Ecology ~ Use the science to make your garden friendly to birds, bees & butterflies. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville
Mar 14 ~ Urban Garden Wildlife Habitat ~ How to create your “dream” garden. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, 6250 Lynne Conde Way, Rohnert Park
Mar 28 ~ Getting a Good Start on Your Spring Vegetable Garden ~ Tips on getting your garden beds ready to plant. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Harvest for the Hungry Garden, 1717 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa
Mar 28 ~ Guests or Pests? Insects in Your Garden ~ Appreciate all the insects in your garden. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, 100 Fairgrounds Dr, Petaluma
Mar 28 ~ The New Normal: Landscaping for Fire ~ Create a beautiful landscape. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Sonoma Valley Regional Library, 755 West Napa St, Sonoma
While you’re at it, make sure you
have a variety of green and purple
Basil among those tomatoes to help
keep bugs at bay while providing more color.
One OR the other...why not BOTH?
Nasturtiums, Borage, Calendula make beautiful flowers that can be added to salads, so grow them among your lettuce. Chives have lovely lilac-colored blossoms so while you are digging up potatoes, cut their delicate stems to sprinkle on your potatoes with butter and our cream.
Lettuce as a border plant is beautiful, comes in many varieties and colors, and because it’s on the edge of your garden, you can easily cut leaves for dinner and stay on top of re-seeding throughout the summer so there are always young plants growing as older ones go to seed.
Master Gardener sonomamg.ucanr.edu, 707-565-2608
Mar 7 ~ Growing Berries ~ Learn all about how to grow and care for berries. Free,
Try cherry tomatoes instead of large fruit varieties. They are more easily grown and as you wander down your garden path you can pick a few and pop them in your mouth while they are warm from the sun. They also come in reds, orange, yellows and purple..yes purple tomatoes..yum!
Peppers come in a large selection of colors and flavors, and again, if they have small fruit, they function a lot like flowers for color and you can usually eat what you grow because you won’t over-grow too many. Small fruit plants are smaller than large fruit plants so stagger them within reach.
Sage comes in many colors...try variegated green-purple sage just for the color as well as variety of flavor. Thyme has the prettiest blossoms and tiny leaves that look beautiful among Oregano’s dark green, shiny leaves.
Now’s the time to prepare beds for summer food and flowers. Purchase rich compost and dig it in generously so plants will have plenty of nutrients all summer long. Compost also helps retain moisture so once your plants are established, put on another layer of compost as mulch to protect the soil from hot sun. If you use drip irrigation systems this will also hide emitter lines. Whatever amendments you use, make sure they are ORGANIC because you will be EATING this garden. You are what you eat so keep this in mind when gardening, especially food gardening.
58 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 3/20