Find unusual plants, garden wares while supporting local vendors and clubs
Stunning golden bamboo is one of the plants sold by Mad Man Bamboo Nursery of Rocklin, which is one of the specialty plant vendors Saturday at the Gardener's Market on Saturday. Courtesy Mad Man Bamboo
Spring is in the air (if not actually here), which means the gardening bug is biting hard.
One of the best places to scratch that itch: The Shepard Garden and Arts Center.
Three weekends in March, the center – which is home to about two dozen local garden clubs – hosts major plant and garden sales (including one combined show and sale). That’s followed by three more flower shows and/or sales in April. Admission to every one of these events is free.
That spring spree starts in earnest Saturday, March 9, with the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club’s Gardener’s Market. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the center will be packed with plants from small specialty nurseries plus unique garden wares from local sellers.
Crazy about bamboo? Mad Man Bamboo Nursery of Rocklin is one of those specialty nurseries that will be selling plants Saturday. Owner Sean Bigley says he usually participates in only two public sales a year, and this is one of them. He grows unusual and colorful bamboos, most of them clumping varieties and well behaved. (They’re a must for Asian-themed gardens.)
Other popular plant vendors at Saturday’s sale include Morningsun Herb Farm (which offers a lot more than herbs), Geraniaceae (the rare geraniums specialist), Golden Pond Water Plants (water lilies, anyone?), Martin Palomar Plants and Art (succulents as living art) and The OG-Cacti & Succulents (like their name says).
Here’s a snapshot of other upcoming Shepard Center events:
* Shepard Spring Sale, March 16-17: All clubs that call Shepard home plus local vendors take part in this two-day sale. Find plants, jewelry, crafts, art, flowers, books and more. Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 16, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. March 17.
* Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Show and Sale, March 23: This annual show and sale features gorgeous outdoor orchids in full bloom – plus plenty to take home. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
* Capital City African Violet Society sale and display, April 6: See beautiful African violets in a display of members’ plants. Learn about violet care from members. Then, shop for plants for your indoor garden. Hundreds will be available, but they sell out early! Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
* 64th annual Bonsai Show and Sale, April 13-14: Presented by the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, this event showcases amazing “little trees in pots” plus everything you need to grow your own. Bonsai master Tyler Sherrod will give demonstrations each day. Beginner workshops also are available. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. both days.
* 76th annual Sacramento Rose Show, April 27: Hosted by the Sacramento Rose Society, this huge flower show fills Shepard Center with blooms at their height of beauty. See (and smell) the roses and admire the creative rose arrangements. Member-grown cut roses are offered for sale. Hours: 1-4:30 p.m.
Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, in McKinley Park.
More details: https://www.sgaac.org/.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of May 11
Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
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