Statewide
Counties El Dorado County Monterey County Nevada County Placer County Sacramento County San Benito County San Joaquin County Santa Clara County Santa Cruz County Yolo County Regions Tahoe-Truckee Region
Join Us Sign In
Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
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

Gardens Gone Native goes online


Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 30, 2020
Bees love spring, when the native plants start blooming. (Photos courtesy
Sacramento Valley chapter, California Native Plant Society)
Popular tour gets creative during coronavirus precautions



Gardens Gone Native is going virtual.

Instead of canceling this popular Sacramento-area garden tour, organizers decided to create an online equivalent, keeping patrons safe while still sharing the beauty of native plants.

“Everybody is doing everything from Zoom or on their computer, so why not?” said Colene Rauh of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society, which hosts the tour. “We’re going to include garden descriptions and label main plants. We hope to still provide information (to patrons).”

Because many of the featured plants bloom only in spring, rescheduling to summer or fall was not a realistic option. So, instead Sac Valley CNPS will present the virtual Gardens Gone Native Tour on the same date as the original in-person tour, April 25.

“We may even have it ready before that,” Rauh said. “Our hosts are taking photos of their gardens or having one of our volunteers take the photos. We have 26 gardens – just about everybody who originally planned to participate.”

The virtual tour will appear here: https://www.sacvalleycnps.org/native-plant-gardening/garden-tour

That’s also where patrons can find background information and photos of past tours.

With another month of shutdowns planned, organizers sent out this message Sunday night:

“Due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, the 2020 Gardens Gone Native Garden Tour has been converted to an online virtual tour. Images of the same gardens as well as garden descriptions will be available on April 25, 2020, and thereafter on our website.”

The free Gardens Gone Native Garden Tour each year attracts hundreds of people
to gardens in the region.
Now in its 10th year, Gardens Gone Native showcases local gardens with at least 50 percent native plants. Gardens participating this year are in Sacramento, Woodland, Davis. Citrus Heights, Granite Bay, Fair Oaks and Carmichael.

Last year, more than 1,200 people signed up to take the free tour.

“We already had 361 registrations a month before the tour, so there’s a lot of interest,” Rauh noted.

March rain has reinvigorated native gardens and brought out the blooms, she added.

“The gardens are looking good,” she said. “February was really dry, but we had quite a bit of rain in March. What kind of (native plant) season we have will depend on what happens between now and (late April).”

The important thing is keeping people healthy, Rauh noted, a sentiment echoed in the tour’s official statement:

“We regret the tour will not be able to move forward, however our primary concern is the health and safety of our wonderful tour supporters. We wish you all good health and hope to see you next year for the 11th annual Gardens Gone Native Garden Tour.”

Details: www.sacvalleycnps.org .

Comments

0 comments have been posted.
GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:
garden tour gardening Sacramento native plants coronavirus spring gardens events spring events California Native Plant Society virtual tour Gardens Gone Native

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Ad for California Local

Thanks to our sponsor!

Summer Strong ad for BeWaterSmart.info

Sites We Like

  1.  UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
  2. Farmer Fred's GardenBasics.net
  3. UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden
  4. Shepard Garden and Arts Center
  5. Placer County Master Gardeners
  6. El Dorado County Master Gardeners
  7. Yolo County Master Gardeners

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

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!