Feb. 24 event includes blossom show, tours and speaker Greg Gayton
This Kramer's Supreme camellia already is blooming ahead of the Sacramento-area camellia festivities in the next few weeks. Debbie Arrington
Camellias are coming out early this month in Sacramento – which means it’s time to celebrate the city’s official flower.
The first big camellia party actually happens in Folsom: Camellia Day at the Murer House and Gardens.
On Saturday, Feb. 24, the Murer House will host its ninth annual Camellia Day with a blossom show, self-guided tours and special speaker – Green Acres garden guru Greg Gayton.
“The public is invited to share and show single blossoms and arrangements,” say the organizers. “Ribbons will be awarded for People’s Choice and other categories.”
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., see dozens of beautiful camellias and get expert advice on how to grow your own. Members of the Camellia Society of Sacramento will be on hand to identify camellia varieties and offer tips on camellia care.
There is no charge to attend, tour Murer House or enter the camellia contest. Entries for the blossom show will be received from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Feb. 24. For information, contact Rhonda DesVoignes, bdesvoignes@comcast.net, or call the Murer House at 916-413-9231.
The Murer House and Gardens are located at 1125 Joe Murer Court, in historic Folsom, across Folsom Boulevard near historic Sutter Street. The home was built by Guiseppe Murer, an Italian immigrant who purchased the site in 1921 and constructed the home in 1925.
Details and directions: https://murerhousefoundation.org/.
And don’t forget: The Camellia Society will host its 100th annual Sacramento Camellia Show and sale March 2 and 3 at a new location – the Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento. (More to come soon on that milestone event.)
Editor's note to newsletter subscribers: The dates listed in Thursday's post for the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club's two-day sale were slightly off: The sale will be Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13, not April 13-14. The post has been corrected.
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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 2
During this stormy week, let the rain soak in while making plans for all the things you’re going to plant soon:
* During rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. After a good soaking from winter storms, lawns can go at least a week without sprinklers, according to irrigation experts. For an average California home, that week off from watering can save 800 gallons.
* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.
* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.
* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).
* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.
* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.
* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.
* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.
* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.
* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.