Upcoming home and garden happenings around Sonoma County and beyond

SANTA ROSA

Bloomin’ Backyards tour

It’s the garden tour for real gardeners who like to get their fingers dirty.

Bloomin’ Backyards is a Sept. 18 self-guided tour put on by the Sonoma Master Gardeners, featuring gardens created and tended by their owners. It takes place every other year.

This year’s tour offers five gardens that look great but also demonstrate good gardening practices.

The various stops feature demonstrations on growing vegetables, water-wise and native plants, lawn replacement, drip irrigation, companion planting, composting and attracting beneficial insects and bees.

The tour also has a craft marketplace with garden-themed items for the home and garden; a plant sale with edibles for fall planting; and gently-used gardening books, botanical prints and original paints by local artists.

Ticket-holders can visit each garden, all in the greater Sebastopol area, any time between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 the day of the event.

Tickets can be purchased online at sonomamastergardeners.org or at all Copperfields’ Books stores and Readers Books in Sonoma.

For more information, call 565-2608.

CLOVERDALE

Good and bad of fungi

Fungi are neither plants or animals, but they can make all the difference in your garden.

The good and the bad of backyard fungi will be covered at a free workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today at the Cloverdale Regional Library, 401 N. Cloverdale Blvd. For information, visit sonomamastergardeners.org.

ROHNERT PARK

Workshop on color, texture

By using a variety of leaf colors and textures, you can create year-round interest in your garden.

Learn the secrets to working with combinations of leaf color, size and textures from Master Gardener Linda King during a free workshop today at the Rohnert Park Regional Library, 625 Lynne Conde Way. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For information, visit sonomamastergardeners.org.

Hopland

Permaculture event ?at Solar Living Institute

Five days of activities aimed at helping people build stronger communities are planned in Hopland Sept. 14-18 at the North American Permaculture Convergence.

The Solar Living Institute plays host to the family-friendly event, which includes more than 70 workshops, dozens of speakers, live music, dancing, skill-sharing opportunities and programs created just for youth. Child care will be offered for families with kids.

Among the speakers are Penny Livingston-Stark of the Regenerative Design Institute, aquaponics specialist Max Meyers, permaculture designer Brock Dolmana, “Gaia’s Garden” author Toby Hemenway and Trathen Heckman, the founder of Daily Acts in Petaluma.

The event centers around the principles of “permanent agriculture,” a system that strives to work with, rather than against, nature through agricultural and social design principles in sync with natural ecosystems.

The Convergence will bring together sustainability enthusiasts, permaculture designers, social entrepreneurs, community organizers, social justice activists and others to learn skills and gather tools for living more sustainably.

Tickets are $245 for Wednesday through Friday, $275 for Friday and Saturday, and $425 for all five days, and include camping space on site.

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit Permacultureconvergence.com. The Solar Living Center is located at 13771 Highway 101.

HEALDSBURG

Essentials of fall gardening

Fall is planting time for your cool weather crops. Master Gardener Steve Albert will cover the essentials of growing greens and root vegetables for fall and winter during a free workshop today at the Healdsburg Regional Library.

Albert will also talk about setting seeds and transplanting vegetable starts. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The library is at 139 Piper St. For information, visit sonomamastergardeners.org.

HEALDSBURG

Tips for attracting birds, bees

Would you like to make your garden more welcoming to butterflies, birds and bees? Experts will share tips for attracting these beneficial critters during special talks today and Saturday at the Russian River Rose Co.

Coming just as monarch season is getting underway, the presentation will include representatives from the Sonoma County Bee Keeper’s Association, The Hallberg Butterfly Garden, The Madrone Audubon Society, The Sonoma County Master Gardeners, butterfly garden landscape designers and a “hummingbird wall” creator.

Presentations will be at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. A $2 donation is requested. 1685 Magnolia Way. 433-7455 or russian-river-rose.com.

PETALUMA

Class in battling gophers

Learn how to fight garden theft by moles and gophers during a free class today. Master Gardener Jim Lang will talk about the correct trapping techniques and the best traps to use, as well as how to use them. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive. For information, visit sonomamastergardeners.org.

ALBION

Plant chats at ?Digging Dog Nursery

Digging Dog Nursery on Albion Ridge is open for free strolls and “Plant Chats” Sept. 24.

The nursery, with beautiful display areas in a garden setting, will offer free tours and light refreshments at 2 p.m.

Digging Dog is set within a redwood forest on the Mendocino Coast. It has been featured in publications such as Martha Stewart Living and House and Garden.

It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 31101 Middle Ridge Road. 937-1130 or diggingdog.com.

SANTA ROSA

Basics of orchid survival

Before you throw away the supermarket orchid that has dropped its blooms, check out a fee workshop today on the basics of orchid survival.

Master Gardener Ann Chambers will show you how to revive common market orchids and keep them alive and blooming for many years.

The workshop is hands-on, so bring your sorry orchid. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Rincon Valley Library, 6958 Montecito Blvd. For information, visit sonomamastergardeners.org.

Compiled by Meg McConahey. Direct Home and Garden news to meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or call 521-5204. Please submit items at least three weeks in advance of an event. On Twitter @megmcconahey.