See hundreds in bloom and learn more about roses
Roses will be on exhibit and for sale, as they were in 2019, above, at the Shepard Garden and Art Center. Debbie Arrington
It’s time to smell the roses – and celebrate some spring bling.
On Saturday, April 29, the Sacramento Rose Society will host its 75th annual Sacramento Rose Show at Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park. Appropriately, the show’s theme: “Diamond Jubilee.”
Although our spring weather has been unusually cool (and challenging for rose growers), recent warm days should assure plenty of entries. See hundreds of blooms at their peak of beauty, Perhaps, discover a new favorite rose variety.
In addition to exhibition roses, rose arrangements will be competing for top honors in the artistic division. Designs will be rosy interpretations of that “Diamond Jubilee” theme, thanks to the Sacramento Floral Design Guild.
Society members will be on hand to answer questions about roses and rose horticulture. Take some flowers home, too; cut roses will be available for a suggested donation ($1 per stem, $10 for a dozen including a vase, while supply lasts).
Show hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission and parking are free.
Want to enter a rose? Entries are open to the public, but arrive early. Deadline is 10 a.m.
Details: www.sacramentorosesociety.org.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of June 8
Get out early to enjoy those nice mornings. There’s plenty to keep gardeners busy:
* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal or rock phosphate can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. Inconsistent soil moisture can encourage blossom-end rot.
* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers or eggplant.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.