Sacramento Valley CNPS event spotlights wildlife-friendly landscapes
This colorful garden was part of a previous Gardens Gone Native tour. This year, 30 gardens from Woodland to Rocklin are on the tour Saturday. Photo courtesy SacValley CNPS
This garden tour covers a lot of ground – and inspiration. This Saturday, April 27, visitors can see 30 local wildlife-friendly landscapes that spotlight California native plants.
Hosted by the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, the “Gardens Gone Native” tour stretches throughout the greater Sacramento area. The tour is free, but registration is required to get the addresses, tour brochure and map.
Each of the gardens is at least 50% native plants. Some are well-established; others are relatively new. Every garden does something for local wildlife as well as the people who care for these plants. Many of these native-centric gardens are distinctly Sacramentan.
Since it's a self-guided tour, see as many or as few gardens as you like.
“The Gardens Gone Native tour is a free garden tour featuring 30 California native plant home and school gardens in the Sacramento region,” says SacValley CNPS. “Gardens are comprised predominantly of California native plants in the urban landscape.
“These gardens feature a variety of ways in which native plants can flourish in the home garden,” add the organizers. “Some are professionally designed while others are more functional and are a mix use of natives, food production, and living spaces. You will find delightful and sustainable gardens that harness water, create habitats, and add a sense of place.”
Don’t just drive by; get out and see these gardens up close – and ask questions. This is an opportunity to really learn about natives from gardeners with personal experience. How did they grow their gardens? What’s their secret to native success? What wouldn't they plant again?
“Attendees will have the opportunity to ask garden hosts about their choices and challenges," say the organizers.
Tour hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. See virtual tours of past “Gardens Gone Native” as well as register at https://www.sacvalleycnps.org/gardens-gone-native-tour/.
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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.
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