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UC Davis Arboretum needs you!

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 14, 2020

Winter or summer, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is a beautiful place to volunteer. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Recruitment drive seeks volunteers for 2020

Love plants? Want to spend some more time with them while acquiring a world of knowledge?

Then the UC Davis Arboretum has an opportunity for you.

The Arboretum is recruiting garden, land stewardship and plant sale volunteers for 2020. But you better hurry: The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 17.

“At the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, we rely on volunteer support in every area of operations,” according to the recruiters. “As a volunteer, you can learn new skills, meet other people who share your interests, and feel wonderful about supporting our environment. Whatever your skills or interests, the Arboretum and Public Garden welcomes you.

“Volunteers donate more than 15,000 hours of service each year. Depending on their skills, interests, and availability, prospective volunteers can be assigned as members of a team that meets for three hours one morning each week. At this time, most training takes place ‘on the job.’ Sometimes, training sessions are offered to a group of volunteers.

The spring and fall plant sales require volunteers, too.

“The Arboretum and Public Garden also welcomes volunteers who prefer to work on short-term projects,” they added. “We can always use assistance at our renowned plant sales. We schedule volunteer workdays several times a year for planting or garden clean-up projects.”

Got a gardening group or club in search of a fun project? “Many service organizations enjoy coming out for a day of work in the garden,” the recruiters said. “We also work with volunteers for special projects in garden design, computer programming, marketing, photography and other fields.”

Nursery assistants, docents, gardeners, caretakers and sale support staff are just a few of the positions that need volunteers.

Most positions are filled in January. The arboretum adds to its plant sale staff year-round.

Questions? Email arboretum@ucdavis.edu or Roxanne Loe at rloe@ucdavis.edu .

For more details and application: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/volunteer .

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Keywords:

volunteering gardening Sacramento plant sales Yolo County events UC Davis Arboretum environment UC Davis

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

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May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

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Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of June 7

Afternoon highs are expected to be back in the mid 90s by midweek, then edging towards triple digits. Plan your planting and garden activities accordingly.

* Remember to water early.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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