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Mon, Nov 25, 2024

The Secret Garden celebrates Small Business Saturday

Family fun, ornament painting and more at Elk Grove destination nursery/ garden store

Sun, Nov 24, 2024

Butternut galette an easy entree or holiday side dish

New! Premade crust, herbed soft cheese can speed up the prep work

Sat, Nov 23, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 24

Thanksgiving week is a time to dry out and count blessings

Fri, Nov 22, 2024

Rain puts damper on Placer master gardeners' fundraiser

Mandarin festival booth skipped; award-winning gardening guide now available online

Thu, Nov 21, 2024

Grants available for Sacramento-area garden projects

Sacramento Perennial Plant Club supports school, nonprofit and community programs

Wed, Nov 20, 2024

Make your own Thanksgiving centerpiece

Relles Florist in Sacramento offers popular DIY class

Tue, Nov 19, 2024

Sacramento, prepare to get soaked!

'Atmospheric river' could drop as much as 4 inches of rain in five days

Mon, Nov 18, 2024

Mountain Mandarin Festival moves to new location

Featuring tons of local citrus, popular event opens Friday in Roseville

Sun, Nov 17, 2024

Persimmons add flavor to fruity fall scones

New! Persimmon-raisin scones with fresh Fuyu persimmon

Sat, Nov 16, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 17

Get ready to chill as cold fronts bring potential frost

Fri, Nov 15, 2024

Davis honors Huei Young for creating tranquil oasis of harmony

Famous feng shui expert opens her private Huei's Garden to the public Saturday

Thu, Nov 14, 2024

This pretty calendar is more than a calendar

Each month offers tips on keeping the garden and the gardeners healthy

Wed, Nov 13, 2024

Get free water; create a 'rain garden'

Thoughtful landscaping can channel more deep irrigation to trees, shrubs

Tue, Nov 12, 2024

Mum’s the word! Sacramento club celebrates 77th annual show

Spectacular chrysanthemums on display plus potted plants for sale

Mon, Nov 11, 2024

UC Davis Arboretum hosts fall clearance sale

One-acre nursery offers thousands of water-wise plants at bargain prices

Sun, Nov 10, 2024

Pumpkin enhances a classic cookie

New! Autumn spices and mix-ins boost the fall vibe

Sat, Nov 09, 2024

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 10

Week starts soggy as Sacramento settles into fall weather pattern

Fri, Nov 08, 2024

Learn how to identify Sacramento trees — and see some, too

Sacramento Tree Foundation offers ‘Tree Identification’ workshop, walking tour

Thu, Nov 07, 2024

Oranges, other fruit splitting? Weather's partly to blame

Environmental factors combine to cause the ripening fruit to burst

Wed, Nov 06, 2024

Find unique gifts at Art to Wear show and sale

SCTA hosts huge event at Shepard Center including daily fashion shows

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!

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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 5

Take advantage of this break between storm systems to give your garden some much-needed TLC.

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.

* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.

* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.

* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.

* Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees soon after a rain to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.

* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)

* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.

* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.

* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.

* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.

* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.

* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.

* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.

* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.

* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranuculous and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.

* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

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!