Page 56 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2019

Jun 1 ~ Kids Garden Workshop -
Master Gardener
Jun8~FirewiseLandscape-WhatCan You Do Now? Make your home safer. Learn about reducing wildfire risk from Master Gardener Dennis Przybycien. Free, 10:30a-12:30p, Harvest for the Hungry Garden, 1717 Yulupa Avenue, Behind the Methodist Church, Santa Rosa, audreykapitan@gmail.com
Ongoing
Low water-use garden Landscape Design Templates - Eight landscape design templates, and two plant substitution lists.savingwaterpartnership.org/ landscape-design-templates
Pick Your Own Garden Produce - For just $20 per month or $200 per year, come weekly to pick fresh vegetables from our Wildlife Education Garden. Call or email and help to support wildlife rescue. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, 403 Mecham Rd, Petaluma, 707-992-0274,scwildliferescue.org/ garden-club.html, scwrdoris@ scwildliferescue.org
EXPLOREHiddenForestGardens, 9 – 5 Th - M. Follow the transformation of Sonoma Hort. Nursery sonomahort.com.
June Prune
Jardinería Para Niños! Learn about growing food and taking care of our earth. Free, 11a-12p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-823-7691, sonomacounty.libcal. com/event/4702358
- Diverse selection of perennial food crops and multi-purpose plants ideal for permaculture design. Free, Sat & Sun 10a-5p, Garden Tours 1p-2:30p, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, 15290 Coleman Valley Rd, Occidental, 707-874-1557, oaec.org
Jun 17 ~ Windsor Garden Club MEETINGS - We’re a diverse group of people who would rather be out in the garden than just about anywhere else Windsor Senior Center, 9231 Foxwood Drive, Windsor, 707-931-4769, windsorgardenclub.org/
- Join us in a 1.5 hour-long guided tour of the Osmosis Kyoto-style Meditation Garden at Osmosis. $25 per adult, 9:30a-noon, Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, 209 Bohemian Hwy, Freestone, 707-823-8231, osmosis.com/ event/horticultural-garden-tour-12/
Volunteers Needed
As I’m sure most gardeners have observed, plant growth went from a slow delayed spring
to full spring in seemingly just a few weeks,
and now summer is edging in. And my, how
big everything suddenly is!!! All that winter
rain has been transformed to waist high grasses and shrubs bending over from excess growth. For garden plants focus on those finishing their first flush and give a moderate pruning, aiming to balance weight; removing old flowers to stimulate more over the summer. There are some plants that have a solitary, usually seasonal flowering that will not repeat until the same time next year – but most plants respond to dead- heading—i.e., old flower removal—because they sense their primary purpose in life, setting seed, has been frustrated and will try again.
Jun 2, 16 & Jul 7, ~ OAEC Garden Tours
Jun 25 ~ Horticultural Garden Tour
Honeybee on California coffeeberry flowers
Checkerspot on Western wallflower
Swallowtail on wallflowers
For plants still to come into flower or fruit, selective pruning can help correct heavy branches, and allow more air to circulate the plants—helping to prevent late-season foliar problems. Also, many fruit trees produce way more developing fruit than their branches can handle later on so fruit thinning can help save the structure of your plants as fruits mature. It also translates to larger, more appealing fruit.
Plant Sales for Good Causes
Jun 15 ~ PLANT SALES at Willowside School Nursery - We are self-sustaining through plant sales. Plants PRICE: $4 for 1 gallon container - Trees $25 and up, Willowside Middle School, 5299 Hall Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-569-4724, Jan Lochner, willowsidemiddle.org/, 4lochs@comcast.net
Ongoing ~ Vallejo Home Plant Sale ~ Grow plants propagated from the Vallejo Home property! Some plants are direct-descendants of the Vallejo era. Offerings include various succulents, deer-resistant, and drought-tolerant plants. Suggested donations of $1- $7 go toward the new Landscape Plan for the Vallejo Home. Mon- Sun, 10-5p, Vallejo Home, 363 3rd St. West, Sonoma, 707-938-9558, Lynn Luzzi
Summer color. Most gardeners like to have seasonal flowering plants to provide spots
or sweeps of color in their landscapes, decks, porches, etc. While it is a chore to switch out plants repeatedly—those used explicitly for summer tend to give the most flowers and the most extended season. If planted now, or earlier, many will continue to flower until October or November. However, most annuals will need summer irrigation, since they do not have a developed root system, or their roots are shallow, so irrigation needs to be taken into account.
the bees, butterflies, and hummers. Daisy type flowers are generally very popular with pollinators—try sunflowers or Tithonia (Bolivian sunflower) for drama that you’ll appreciate as well. Hummingbirds respond to red or orange tubular flowers such as Penstemon, California fuchsia, Agastache (Mexican hyssop), etc.
Ongoing ~ Larkfield Community Garden Work Day ~ 3rd Sat. of every month! FREE, Maddux Ranch Regional Park, 4655 Lavell Rd., Santa Rosa, parks. sonomacounty.ca.gov, ProgramDirector@communitysoil.org
Ongoing ~ Volunteer at Sonoma Garden Park ~ Become a regular volunteer and grow your gardening knowledge. Volunteer, Drop-In Hours - Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, 9-1p, Sonoma Garden Park, 19996 7th St. E., Sonoma, 707-996-0712, sonomagardenpark.org/volunteer, volunteer@sonomaecologycenter.org
Whether in your permanent plantings or seasonal accents, try choosing plants that have lots of pollen and nectar to attract
Tithonia-rotundifolia
Butterflies will usually get nectar from a wide variety of flowers, but for those hoping to see them lay eggs and regenerate, growing the right larval food source is critical. For specific preferences, info is easy to find online. Monarch butterflies, of course, want milkweeds, so finding some space for them, will be necessary. Use native milkweeds when possible.
Daily Acts Monthly Garden Days - dailyacts.org
Our water-wise demonstration gardens and food forests in Petaluma, Sebastopol, Windsor, and Cotati can only do their job of inspiring change when they are well maintained a few hours at a time.
Petaluma - Cavanagh Community Food Forest (Corner of 8th and G St.) 2nd Thursdays from 10am-12pm. Email liz@dailyacts.org for more info.
Cotati - Pocket Park Food Forest (Intersection of LaSalle & Loretto) 4th Fridays from 10am – 12pm. Email dustin@dailyacts.org for more info
Sebastopol - City Hall and Library Landscape (7140 Bodega Ave.) 3rd Wednesdays from 10am-12pm. Email liz@dailyacts.org
Jun 8 ~ Hands-On Graywater Installation Learn how to tap into this money-saving resource and watch your garden oasis flourish. Free, 9a-3p, Private Residence (shared with registration), Petaluma, dailyacts.org/events-1/?eid=11241
Jun 11 ~ Resilient Homes Talk - Take action on climate change, build community, support ecological & local resilience. Free, 6:30p-8p, Private Residence (shared upon registration), Petaluma
56 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/19
Did you know? Sonoma County has five native species of milkweed (Asclepias—named for Asclepius, Greek god of healing) that grow in various habitats. Purple milkweed (A. cordifolia) grows in openings in woodlands; Indian milkweed (A. eriocarpa) is rare and known from barren sites; narrow-leaf milkweed (A. fasciculatum) is the most common species in the County and easy to grow; serpentine milkweed (A. solanoana) is restricted to serpentine barrens, so probably not going to be successful in gardens; and showy milkweed (A. speciosa) grows in rocky sites, but can be grown in cultivation.
The unexpected late-season rains will have refreshed much of the native vegetation, so it’s still an excellent time to explore our local parks. As we progress into summer, hiking becomes more about appreciating the overall landscape, the contours of the land, the massing of trees, shrubs and grasslands, or the views, rather than wildflower displays—but June is a month of transitions, so both can be enjoyed. Get out and enjoy your County!