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Gardens' best finery on display in fundraisers and free events
Native plants in the Gardens Gone Native tour typically are marked with explanatory signs, as in this Carmichael garden on the 2023 tour. This year's tour, which will include more than 30 sites in Sacramento and Yolo counties, will be Saturday, April 27. Kathy Morrison
If you're a fan of garden tours -- and what gardener isn't? -- there's a packed schedule during the next two months in the Sacramento region. Many of the events are fundraisers for area groups or schools, featuring lush gardens, impressive landscaping and often extras such as refreshments, gift shops and plants for sale.
One event in particular, the Gardens Gone Native tour, is free and designed to spread the word about using California native plants in a home or school landscape.
The dates come up quickly, and some tours sell out, so it's best to plan ahead. Here's a quick rundown of the tours we know about; more information will be available as the dates approach.
-- April 27, Curtis Park Home & Garden Tour. Tickets already are on sale for this tour, a fundraiser for the Sierra 2 Center and the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. The five homes include a Crocker Village estate and a "tiki hut" garage conversion. A parade of classic cars by the Capitol A’s Model A Ford Club is part of the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Curtis Park itself will be the site of food trucks, information displays and live jazz. Tickets can be purchased online here.
-- April 27, Gardens Gone Native, presented by the Sac Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. This self-guided tour from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is free but registration is requested. Sign up here and receive a map and tour brochure about a week before the tour. Hint: It's impossible to see all 30-plus gardens in one day, so when the map is released, plan a driving route. I like to choose a neighborhood I haven't explored before. And don't be afraid to ask questions about the plants and the gardener's choices.
-- April 27-28, Gardens of Folsom. The Folsom Garden Club presents its 22nd annual tour of Folsom gardens. Seven private gardens, plus two bonus gardens, are on this year's tour. Artists will be active in the gardens, and the event also includes a raffle, a plant sale, a bake sale and food trucks. Garden experts will be on duty to answer questions. Tickets are $20, available starting April 1. Information available here.
-- May 5, Annual Pence Gallery Garden Tour. The nonprofit art gallery in downtown Davis presents a Sunday tour featuring five private gardens in the university town. As befitting its sponsor and beneficiary, the tour features artists painting in each of the featured gardens. Tickets are $25-25, and go on sale April 5. Information available here. Note: This comes the day after a different Davis tour on May 4, the Stories on Stage Garden Tour that Debbie wrote about this week. See her post here.
-- May 5, Colonial Heights Garden Tour. This Sunday tour is presented by the Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association. The charming Sacramento neighborhood east of Stockton Boulevard dates to 1910. Colonial Park will be the headquarters for the event, which also will feature vendors and a plant/seed swap. Information here.
-- May 11-12, East Sac Garden Tour. Tickets go on sale April 1 for this very popular tour, a Mother's Day weekend tradition. A fundraiser for David Lubin Elementary School, this walkable tour of beautiful East Sacramento gardens also features extras including a gift boutique, a cafe and the Sutter Lawn Wine Garden. Information is available here.
-- May 18, Tahoe Park Garden Tour. The Sacramento neighborhood again will host a tour of a variety of gardens, including drought-tolerant ones. Tickets and information are available here.
Also of note: CNPS Ambassador Patricia Carpenter typically opens her garden for a Late Spring Ramble on a Sunday in latter May. The tour is free but requires registration; signups are not yet available.
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
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?
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Garden checklist for week of May 17
With an eye on warmer weather to come, continue to work on the summer vegetable garden:
* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. The wind can quickly dry out young plants. 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 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.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, calibrachoa, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, 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.
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
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
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