Home and garden happenings in Sonoma County
SANTA ROSA
Help fire victims ?rebuild landscapes
Daily Acts, the Sonoma County Water Agency and the City of Santa Rosa will be hosting two community input sessions Wednesday and April 5 to help fire victims with templates to re-made their gardens. 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 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 savingwaterpartnership.org/e-news.
HEALDSBURG
Create habitat garden to lure wildlife, beneficial insects
Bill Klausing will teach the home gardener how to create an environmentally sound landscape on April 7.
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 highlight many plants native to Sonoma County and how they are useful in a habitat garden. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Healdsburg Regional Library, 139 Piper St.
SANTA ROSA
Learn about the best way ?to grow plants in containers
Mary Frost will give a hands-on gardening presentation Monday on growing plants in containers.
The sole proprietor of the Gardening Tutor, Frost will demonstrate how to avoid the pitfalls of container gardening to keep plants happy. The talk will be followed by a short slide presentation on plant combinations and design ideas.
Frost is a past president and scholarship recipient of the Santa Rosa Garden Club. 1 p.m., Luther Burbank Art & Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave. For information, email gardenclubevents@yahoo.com.
PETALUMA
Help plant water-wise garden on regional library’s grounds
The Petaluma Regional Library is creating a water-wise, edible learning landscape, and people are invited to further the cause today with hands-on planting.
They will learn about water-wise plants that offer food, beauty and habitat. To prepare for this day, more than 100 volunteers sheet-mulched the lawn last fall and installed rain gardens. The goal of the project is to save more than 100,000 gallons of potable water per year and capture thousands of gallons of rainwater before it becomes polluted stormwater.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the rain date is March 31 at the same time, 100 Fairgrounds Drive.
GUERNEVILLE
Glean tips on how to keep store-bought orchids healthy
Ann Chambers’ hands-on workshop today 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 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Road.
SANTA ROSA
Nursery school’s sales offer diverse array of plants
Willowside School’s student-run nursery will offer a range of plants for sale on these Saturdays: today, 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.
HEALDSBURG
Pruning expert offers insight on Asian, Western techniques
Topiary expert Jake Hobson will present his talk “The Art of Pruning” today, sharing the benefit of the physical act, as well as the aesthetic results.
Hobson is the founder of Niwaki Garden Tools in the U.K., and is a keen advocate of the hands-on approach. The discussion will explore the techniques of Japanese cloud pruning and western topiary and how he has blended them.
The fee is $15. 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Healdsburg SHED, 25 North St.
SANTA ROSA
Free talk on germinating peppers in gardens
Master gardener food specialists will give a talk today on how to grow a range of peppers from sweet to hot. A hands-on germination activity will follow.
The talk is free. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 1717 Yulupa Avenue.
PETALUMA
Get up to speed with garden basics with help of expert
Dave Gould will give a talk on gardening basics today. The master gardener’s free presentation will cover soil preparation and healthy maintenance for all plants. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive.
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