Events at famous feng shui oasis raise funds to help children at Shriners Hospital
Huei's Garden will be open to the public every Sunday in April. Make reservations now. Courtesy of Huei Young
It’s a tranquil jewel in a suburban neighborhood – and open only a few times a year. Find that happy place in Huei’s Garden, the one-of-a-kind feng shui garden oasis in Davis.
Huei Young, who created her Davis oasis at 234 Luz Place, is hosting a fund-raising event and tour at her private garden from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 7. Proceeds will benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. Reservations are limited; email Huei to check for availability at hueis.garden@yahoo.com.
Can’t make this Sunday? No problem; Young will open her garden to guests every Sunday in April. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Suggested donation is $25 per person.
“Shriner’s Children’s (Hospital) is a special place,” Young says. “It has been a gift for so many children and families. I work hard every day on my garden so people can enjoy and help the children.”
Through her tours, Young has raised about $100,000 for local charities. She also welcomes garden clubs and is now scheduling spring tours in addition to her April Sunday events.
Since last spring, Young has made many changes in her garden, improving accessibility in addition to enhancing its beauty. See a slide show of her garden here.
Feng shui – the way of wind and water – is the art of finding harmony and balance through nature. Over the decades, “Huei’s Garden” has been shaped by both wind (a storm toppled a huge redwood across the backyard) and water (ponds and fountains flow throughout the landscape). It harnesses positive energy at every twist while inviting guests to relax and reflect.
Internationally known, her private garden – as well as the public Huei’s City Garden she started on the greenbelt adjacent to her mid-century modern home – have been featured on television, in magazines and books as well as local newspapers and blogs.
During the pandemic, Young made several additions to her gardens. She planted fragrant roses along with the scores of perennials and shrubs, nestled under mammoth redwoods.
In October 2019, a windstorm dropped huge limbs from one of those redwoods onto her beloved feng shui garden, wiping out her large covered patio along with a mirrored wall and water features. While staying safe at home during 2020, Young channeled her abundant energy into rebuilding her garden better than ever.
For more than 30 years, Young has been working on the City Garden as well as her own landscape. Open daily to visitors, the City Garden runs along the bike and walking path in her neighborhood in east Davis at the end of Luz Place near Grande Avenue. It includes a permanent bench in memory of her late husband, Frank. In addition, the City of Davis installed an official sign designating that section of the greenbelt “Adopt-a-Park Huei’s City Garden.”
But her private garden is private – except when Young hosts a tour. For a reservation, email Young at hueis.garden@yahoo.com.
Details and photos: www.hueis-garden.com.
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Sites We Like
Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16
During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
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
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
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
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth