Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Attract more wildlife to your garden

Lunchtime series by Sac Valley CNPS shares ideas how to create 'Living Landscapes'

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 8, 2020

Plant lacy phacelia, a California native, and butterflies will hang out in your garden. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

We could all use a nature break right now. And if you plant things that native birds, bees and butterflies like, you’ll see wildlife in action right outside your window.

The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society has plenty of advice on how to reach that goal – and still have a beautiful landscape – during a special lunchtime Zoom talk.

“Living Landscapes — Designing Native Plant Gardens that Attract Wildlife and Still Look Good!” is set for noon next Tuesday, Sept. 15. Everyone is welcome and participation is free.

Haven Kiers, associate professor of landscape architecture at UC Davis, will discuss “how to create native plant gardens that are not only great looking, but also great for wildlife,” according to Chris Lewis of Sac Valley CNPS. The talk is part of the chapter’s “Homegrown Habitat: Lunch break with Nature” series.

California poppies are a natural for wildlife landscapes.

These lunch breaks are one-hour, online presentations envisioned “as a way to engage with nature midday,” Lewis said. “Each presentation is a chance to ignite more interest in nature, native plants, native plant habitats, and the thing they all have in common—wildlife.”

To participate, you need to sign up in advance here: https://bit.ly/3m2t4WP

For more details and advice on native plants to help native wildlife: www.sacvalleycnps.org .

- Debbie Arrington

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

gardening Sacramento wildlife habitat event native plants California Native Plant Society California natives pollinators wildlife

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!