Home and garden events and happenings in Sonoma County

WINDSOR: Trapping techniques for garden disruptors

Jim Lang will teach gardeners how to keep gophers and moles from destroying their properties at his free workshop April 7. The master gardener will teach people trapping techniques, the best traps to use, and how and where to set them. Healthy watered lawns, full of worms and grubs, appeal to moles and they can speed through sod as fast as a one foot per minute, making a yard look like a war zone. Lang's trapping practices keep yards from being under siege. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor

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SANTA ROSA: Garden designs help fire victims speed up home re-entry

Daily Acts, the Sonoma County Water Agency and the City of Santa Rosa will be hosting a community input session April 5 to help fire victims with garden templates. The goal is to speed up the re-entry to their homes. The meetings will delve into the development of free, permit-ready landscape templates. These sessions will look at what's possible in creating resilient landscapes and green infrastructure. The organizers will review different plans for landscape aesthetics and features, and they consider community feedback critical to ensure the templates will be useful. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Finley Community Center, 2060 W. College Ave. For more information, sign up for the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership's e-newsletter at Http://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/e-news/

ROHNERT PARK: Courting pollinators

Gina Hitchcock will give a free talk April 7 on garden strategies to attract pollinators. The master gardener will teach the basic elements in creating a habitat garden that will lure butterflies, bees and hummingbirds to your property. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Windsor Community Garden, northwest side of Windsor Town Green.

CLOVERDALE: Store-bought orchids have a fighting chance

Ann Chambers' hands-on workshop April 14 will help you keep your supermarket-bought orchids alive and well. The master gardener wants you to bring your orchids to her free class to revitalize them so they'll bloom for many years. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Cloverdale Regional Library, 410 North Cloverdale Boulevard.

HEALDSBURG: Follow Mother Nature's lead with the habitat garden

Bill Klausing will teach the home gardener how to create an environmentally sound landscape April 7 in his free class. Klausing will show how gardeners' decision-making has a significant effect on the web of living things in their own backyard. The master gardener will teach helpful tips for attracting more native birds, bees and insects to gardens. He also will also highlight many plants native to Sonoma County and how they are useful in a habitat garden. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Healdsburg Regional Library, 139 Piper Street.

SANTA ROSA: Plants run the gamut at these sales

Willowside Nursery School will offer a range of plants for sale on these Saturdays: April 14, May 5, May 26 and June 16. They will include plants that runs the gamut - from low water-tolerant and drought-tolerant perennials, to California natives to succulents, grasses, salvias and other plants that attract beneficial insects, buttterflies and hummingbirds. The price is $4 for 1-gallon containers. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5299 Hall Road at Willowside Road.

OCCIDENTAL: Tours that showcase what's in bloom

Western Hills Garden is open Saturdays for tours and plant sales. The garden will reveal the middle of Magnolias and the start of Rhodies. The retailer has a large assortment of plants propagated from the garden. If you're a member of the garden, you can use your free passes for the “Walk and Talks” featuring popular topics. 16250 Coleman Valley Road.

SANTA ROSA: Tomatoes anyone?

Master Gardeners will share their thoughts on growing a healthy crop of tomatoes at a free workshop April 7. These food garden specialists will give their suggestions for tending early, late and cherry varieties. The workshop will focus on the tomato because these master gardeners say it's the most popular plant in the California veggie garden. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 1717 Yulupa Ave.

PETALUMA: Funky soil? Straw bale planting is your answer

Marybeth Hull will talk about the virtues of straw bale gardening in a free class April 7. The master gardener will show how straw bales are a good option for people with questionable soil, the beginning gardener, people with disabilities and those with very limited space. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive.

You can send Home and Garden news to Peg.Melnik@pressdemocrat.com. Please send items in at least three weeks in advance of an event.