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Shepard Center hosts huge Spring Sale

Local clubs offer plants, flowers, crafts, jewelry, books, garden art and more

Cymbidiums orchids are cool! The Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society will be among the organizations with plants for sale Saturday and Sunday during the Shepard Center's Spring Sale.    All the clubs that  use the center will be represented.

Cymbidiums orchids are cool! The Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society will be among the organizations with plants for sale Saturday and Sunday during the Shepard Center's Spring Sale. All the clubs that use the center will be represented. Debbie Arrington

Where will you find gardeners – and garden clubs – this spring? Shepard Garden and Arts Center in Sacramento’s McKinley Park. Why? Because of the excellent sales and flower shows the center hosts!

Also, the center is the hub for Sacramento gardening and crafts clubs, which use the center as their official clubhouse. It’s the place to learn more about specialty gardening from perennials to succulents to carnivorous plants.

This weekend, sample those clubs (along with their favorite plants) at one of the center’s most popular spring events.

Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15, the garden and arts center hosts its annual Spring Sale, featuring the more than two dozen clubs that call Shepard home.

Shop for plants, flowers, crafts, jewelry, books, garden art and more at this huge event. Bring your dull knives and garden tools for sharpening (for a small donation).

Among the featured plants for sale will be cymbidium orchids – which are now coming into bloom – from the Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society. The club also will offer orchid potting mix, pots and free expertise.

Looking for a new hobby or gardening advice? This event is also a great chance to learn more about local garden and crafts clubs that meet at Shepard Center.

Sale hours are 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free.

March kick-starts the Shepard spring calendar, but April is when floral events really get into gear – along with spring flowers. Upcoming Shepard Center events (each with long histories) include: the 66th annual Sacramento Spring Bonsai Show and Sale (April 11-12), presented by the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento; the 75th annual Sacramento Iris Show and Sale (April 18-19); and the 78th annual Sacramento Rose Show (April 25), including a sale of cut roses, rose photos and potted plants.

Shepard Center is located at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. For details and directions: https://www.sgaac.org/.

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* 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.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* 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.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* 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.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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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

Starting in seed starting

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

Potatoes from the garden

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

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

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