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'Art of Succulents' inspires creativity

Green Acres hosts Instagram Live event Friday

Succulent bowl
Create a living masterpiece with succulents during
Green Acres' Instagram Live event Friday.
(Photos courtesy Green Acres Nursery & Supply)




Succulents inspire creativity. Their sculptural shapes and unusual shades of foliage bring out the artistry in any gardener – or garden. “Paint” with them in the landscape or a tabletop arrangement.

Learn how to make the most of these colorful and interesting plants during “The Art of Succulents,” a special Instagram Live event hosted by Green Acres Nursery & Supply.

Set for 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, this free and fun-filled garden party features a live guest DJ (plant fanatic Lani Love) as well as a signature cocktail (The Smoky Agave). Find the links to join instantly here:
https://bit.ly/30KkjIr

Star of this party will be succulents in all their fleshy-leafed glory. Green Acres experts will demonstrate how to create a “Monochromatic Masterpiece,” using succulents of similar hues.

“Succulents come in all colors, shapes, and textures; you can grow them both indoors and outside; and with a little bit of knowledge about what they like, succulents are generally easy care,” Green Acres posted to its blog.

“During our live event, we'll show you how to build your own monochromatic masterpiece and the basics of caring for your succulents. So gather your supplies, select a palette that you like, and plant right along with us.”

To plant along with your host, you’ll need a container or planter, cactus and succulent potting soil, starter fertilizer and (of course) an assortment of succulents.

As for the cocktail, it’s more involved. True to the succulent theme, this drink uses three ingredients derived from agave (which does grow in Sacramento). Here’s the recipe:

Cocktail on edge of container plant
The Smoky Agave is the signature drink of Friday's
Green Acres event.
The Smoky Agave

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 ounce tequila blanco

1/2 ounce mezcal

3/4 ounce mango juice

1/2 ounce pineapple juice

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

1/3 ounce agave nectar syrup

1/16 teaspoon smoked chipotle chili powder

1 extra large ice cube

Paprika salt mixture for rim (recipe below)

A chili powder-dusted dried mango for garnish

Recipe for paprika salt:

2 tablespoons good quality sea salt or kosher salt

1 tablespoon black volcanic salt (found at high-end specialty grocery stores)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:

To make salted rim mixture: Combine all ingredients in a shallow bowl and mix. If the salt crystals are large, it is good to crush them into smaller pieces using a muddling stick, pestle, or wooden spoon.

To make cocktail: Taking a glass tumbler, rub a piece of lime across the rim of the glass to moisten it. Dip the rim of the glass in the salt mixture to coat it. Drop one extra-large ice cube into the glass and set aside.

Combine tequila, mezcal, all three juices, agave syrup and smoked chipotle chili powder in a cocktail shaker with a good amount of ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. Strain into the glass tumbler and garnish with a piece of the dried mango.

Recipe courtesy of Green Acres

More details: www.idiggreenacres.com .

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons,  radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. 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. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* 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? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* 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 needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* 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.

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

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