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Is your garden throwing shade?


Tuberous begonias are beautiful additions to shade gardens. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Workshop focuses on the brighter side of planting shady yards
We love our trees, but sometimes fret that their leafy branches work too well in blocking the sun. What can be grown in all that shade?

To the rescue come the UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County. On Saturday, Aug. 25, their free workshop, "Shade Gardening," will enlighten gardeners on the joys of plants that thrive in the shade.

As Master Gardener Susan Corey-McAlpine writes in the group's newsletter, "There is possibly no more perfect gardening activity for these hot summer afternoons than planning a shade garden, a haven of private coolness."

She notes that the amount of sun exposure a site receives determines what plants can grow there. Full shade is determined as getting less than 1 hour of sun daily, while part shade is 1 to 2 hours of sun exposure daily. Part sun is 4 to 5 hours daily, and full sun is more than 6 hours daily.

Hydrangeas such as this Incrediball variety
are great for shady areas.
In addition to Corey-McAlpine, the workshop will be conducted by Master Gardeners Merry Campbell, who chairs the Shade Garden at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden, and EJ Kipping.

They will cover topics such as soil content, shade plants with color, and the special attention needed for planting under oaks.

The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Government Center, Building C Hearing Room,  2850 Fairlane Ct., Placerville. No advance registration is required.

For more information on the El Dorado Master Gardeners' programs: 530-621-5512 or
mgeldorado.ucanr.edu

-- Kathy Morrison

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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 9

Be careful walking or working in wet soil; it compacts easily.

* Keep the irrigation turned off; the ground is plenty wet with more rain on the way.

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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