Home and garden events around Sonoma County

SANTA ROSA

Tilling soil is one of the oldest tenets of agriculture. And yet some farmer’s are finding that a non-mechanized, not till approach to growing food not only works, but has the potential for addressing many major local and global problems,from food shortages and climate change to nutrient depletion in soils, water pollution, habitat loss and the economic viability of small farms.

Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol, a leader in the ecological agriculture movement, will head up a discussion June 13 at the Laguna Environmental Center, on soil health, habitat resilience and intensive no-till vegetable growing. Admission is free and no reservations are required.

Kaiser was recently recognized with the Sonoma County Leadership in Sustainability Award as well as the National Farmer Rancher Award for Pollinator Conservation.

He began his career in agroforestry working to convert degraded lands into economically viable and biological diverse farmland. He has Master’s Degrees in Natural Resources Management and Sustainable Development.

The talk will be from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa. For information visit lagunafoundation.org , call 527-9277 ext. 110 or email anita@lagunafoundation.org.

SANTA ROSA

Get tips on growing veggie plants in containers

If you’re worried that you don’t have room for a kitchen garden or feel guilty about spending precious water on a vegetable garden during the drought, don’t despair.

You can garden without land and without guilt by growing veggies in containers. Master Gardeners Susan Roth, Elaine Walter and Sandy Main will give a free workshop June 13 on how to grow healthy vegetables in containers in whatever sunny corner you can find. The workshop is free and runs from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m. at the Harvest for the Hungry Garden, 1717 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa. For more information call 484-3613.

PETALUMA

Learn how to recapture water

Learn how to re-use water from your shower, bathtub and sink during a free workshop on recapturing “graywater” June 20 in Petaluma.

The workshop, co-sponsored by the nonprofit Daily Acts and the city of Petaluma, focuses on the “Shower-to-Flowers” system, also known as a branched drain system. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The address is at a private residence that will be supplied with registration. Visit DailyActs.org, email d’lynda@dailyacts.org or call 789-9664.

GLEN ELLEN

Drought tolerant habitat gardening

Master Gardener Sandy Metzger will talk about “Drought Tolerant Habitat Gardening” on June 13 at Quarryhill Botanical Garden.

Metzger will focus on how to create the conditions favorable to wildlife and how welcoming beneficial critters leads to healthier gardens. She will present a slide show featuring pictures of flowers and shrubs that attract birds, bees, butterflies and bugs.

Metzger has been a dedicated habitat gardener ever since she completed the Master Gardener training program in 2000. She also teaches drought-tolerant design, gardening with California natives, alternative to lawn ideas and she writes books for children with gardening themes. To reserve a seat at the free class call 996-3166 or visit quarryhillbg.org. 12841 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen.

SANTA ROSA

Learn about types of oaks

There is more among the oaks than meets the eye.

Author and naturalist Kate Marianchild will unlock some of the mysteries of lace lichen, poison and oak mistletoe - as well as answer the important question, “friend or foe?” during a talk June 16 before the Native Plant Society.

Marianchild will discuss the survival strategies of the three species, their effects on their host plants and their roles in oak woodland ecosystems. She will also introduce the concepts of “keystone species” and “coevolution” and how the lives of trees, birds butterflies and mammals would be greatly changed if any one of these three species disappeared. The meeting is open to the public at is at 7:30 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave. For more information about the Native Plant Society visit milobaker.cnps.org.

MENDOCINO COAST

Summer garden tour

Welcome summer on June 20 with a trip to the Mendocino Coast to see some of its most beautiful private gardens.

The annual self-guided garden tour on this self-guided tour,also includes stops at six gardens as well as a gourmet vegan benefit lunch at the Stanford Inn’s Ravens Restaurant for an additional $20. There will also be a garden shop and plant sale. Admission to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on Sunday June 21 is free with a garden tour ticket, so make a weekend of it. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tour tickets are $40. For information or tickets visit mendocinoartcenter.org or call 937-5818 ext. 10.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Open Days visit Frey garden

Well-known garden designers Kate and Ben Frey, who have won two gold medals at England’s prestigious Chelsea Flower Show for their display gardens, will again welcome visitors to their own Hopland garden during The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days in Mendocino June 13.

The Freys have collaborated on an exuberant, one-acre, drought-resistant garden of natives. Within the garden are many rustic structures evocative of the North Coast’s farmlands that were made by Ben Frey out of reclaimed barn wood.

Piccolo Fiume, a large and varied garden on a spectacular ocean-front site in Little River, and Digging Dog Nursery in Albion, a specialty nursery with a national following, are also open to visitors the same day.

At 3 p.m. at Digging Dog, Dundee Butcher of the Russian River Flower School in Healdsburg will show an intimate group of Digging Deeper ticket-holders how to create A Locavore’s Posy-a sweet European hand-tied bouquet using local, seasonal materials.

Open Days moves to Marin County on June 20.

Admission is $7 per garden. Tickets can be purchased at the gardens or online at gardenconservancy.org. Addresses to each garden are also available on the website as well as details about the Marin Open Garden Day.

You can direct home and garden news to Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@ pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204. On Twitter @megmcconahey.