See and smell spring beauties – and take some home, too
Ways to cut down on plastics in your own landscape
NEW Strawberries and cream scones with orange zest
Enjoy the sunshine and get ready for summer crops
Look for new SDG signs with recipe links at all seven nurseries
More native plants means more resources for native insects, pollinators and birds
'Summer Strong' contest seeks beautiful landscapes that can take the heat
Discover six private gardens with lots of personality
Get advice from local experts; see how they tackle spring tasks
NEW Strawberries shine, raspberries add color to versatile sauce
April showers will give way to plenty of sunshine
Perennial Plant Club shifts second day of event to Sunday; other Saturday events still planned
Saturday event designed for gardeners of all ages
Find member-grown perennials, natives and more; event also includes tours, food, tool sharpening, garden art
Popular tour led by Warren Roberts highlights spring flowers in the public gardens
Sacramento club's annual event includes beginner workshop, guest artist demonstrations
NEW Ham and baby potato casserole with glazed carrots
Grab your sun hat; heat is on its way
Events at famous feng shui oasis raise funds to help children at Shriners Hospital.
Burbank High, Elk Grove Garden Club events Saturday
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.