Learn all about fire-resistant landscaping

HEALDSBURG

Plan a fire-wise landscape

Get ahead of the fire season by making your landscape less apt to burn. The Sonoma County Master Gardeners will offer a free workshop March 14 covering things you can do yourself to make your property safer from fire.

Dennis Przybycien will talk about how to create a defensible space and reduce the “fire ladder” to minimize the chance of wildland fires spreading through your landscape and burning your home. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Rincon Valley Regional Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa.

SANTA ROSA

Learn how to care for silver

Zapffe Silversmiths will stop by Corricks in Santa Rosa March 12 and 13 to offer advice on how to care for your sterling, silverplate and other fine metal items.

People are invited to bring pieces in for an evaluation and a cost estimate for restoration. Call 707-546-2424 to set up an appointment. 637 Fourth St., Santa Rosa.

SANTA ROSA

Create healthy garden sans toxic chemicals

Learn ways to have a healthy garden without resorting to toxic chemicals during a free workshop Saturday at the Healdsburg Library.

A team of specialists from the Sonoma County Master Gardeners will offer a wealth of information on how to prevent pest problems using an integrated approach. The workshop will cover compost, drip irrigation, beneficial insects and alternatives to toxic pesticides. There also will be demonstrations and displays. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 139 Piper St.

SANTA ROSA

Plant sales return ?to Willowside School

Willowside School Nursery opens up for the season with a plant sale on Saturday.

The student-supported nursery will have a big variety of low-water-use and drought-tolerant perennials, California natives, succulents, grasses, salvias and plants to invite beneficial birds and insects. There will also be more than 40 varieties of specialty Japanese maples for ?$30-$60. Other plants are $5 for a 1-gallon container. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 5299 Hall Road at Willowside Road.

CLOVERDALE

Shade your space with native trees

Planting a single native tree can dramatically increase the biodiversity of landscape, say the Sonoma County Master Gardeners, who are presenting a free workshop March 14 on “Native Trees of the North Bay.” Bill Klausing will talk about which native trees are best for your property; appropriate size, shape and grow rates; and how specific native trees can impact your yard. Free. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cloverdale Regional Library, 401 North Cloverdale Road, Cloverdale.

SEBASTOPOL

Learn to grow ?your own berries

Berries are a super food, and you can grow them yourself. Learn how during a free workshop Saturday at the Sebastopol Regional Library. Sonoma County Master Gardeners Penny Fink and Fred Jarvis will talk about soil and water requirements, variety selection, training, pruning, pest management and harvesting. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol.

WINDSOR

Two ways to create your own compost

The single best thing you can do for your garden, experts say, is to use compost. Sonoma County Master Gardener Lyle Bullock will talk about how to create your own compost the traditional way or through vermiculture during a free talk at the Windsor Regional Library on Saturday. Master Gardener Lyle Bullock will explain how giving back to your soil is vital and will lead to healthier plants. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 100, Windsor, sonomamg.ucanr.edu.

GUERNEVILLE

Basic principles of a biodiverse landscape

A free workshop March 14 will teach basic principles from the science of ecology to help you make your landscape more biodiverse. The Master Gardener-led class will show how to make your garden a habitat for birds, bees and butterflies. A garden filled with native plants can use less water if you group plants by irrigation needs. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Road, sonomamg.ucanr.edu.

ROHNERT PARK

Make your garden ?a wildlife habitat

What happens when your newly purchased home doesn’t have your “dream garden”? That happened to Sonoma County Master Gardener Suzanne Clark when she bought a Victorian in downtown Petaluma with a dark backyard full of crabgrass, deformed ornamental plums and boxwood. Find out how she converted this forlorn space into a sustainable wildlife habitat during a free workshop March 14. Clarke will show how to reinvent your space with attractive, low-water-use plants, drip irrigation and underwater rainwater catchment and gray water systems, all at a reasonable cost. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library, 6250 Lynne Conde Way, Rohnert Park, sonomamg.ucanr.edu.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com. Please submit items at least three weeks in advance.