Learn about fire-resistant landscaping, rescuing orchids past their prime and more

PETALUMA

Firewise Landscaping

Master Gardener Dennis Przybycien will give a talk today about how Sonoma County homeowners can benefit from Firewise Landscaping concepts. He will detail the steps to design and maintain a fire-resistant landscape where your home and your plants do not easily spread flames. Przybycien will also explain how defensible space can reduce the risk of wildfire damage to structures on your property. These firewise landscaping tips were culled by a group of Sonoma County Master Gardeners who sifted through information on fire resistant landscaping, gleaning the best practices, coupling them with sustainable strategies. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Petaluma Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma, mimi.enright@sonoma-county.org, 707-565-2880.

ROHNERT PARK

Rescuing orchids past prime

Master Gardener Ann Chambers will teach people today how to revive orchids. She encourages people to bring in their unhealthy orchids for hands-on practice in techniques to help them thrive. Chambers says there is hope for supermarket orchids beyond their blooms, so don’t toss them out. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Rohnert Park-Cotati Library, 6250 Lynne Conde Way, Rohnert Park, mimi.enright@sonoma-county.org, 707-565-2880.

SANTA ROSA

Petal it forward with flowers

Get two free bouquets - one for yourself and one for someone who needs a smile - during the Society of American Florists’ Petal it Forward on Wednesday.

Each customer who comes by Sequoia Floral International in Santa Rosa that day will receive two free bouquets. The only catch is that recipients should give the second one away to a friend or stranger.

Sequoia is located at 3245 Santa Rosa Ave.

Last year Sequoia participated in the annual event despite the raging wildfires that had laid waste to much of the upper Sonoma Valley and northern Santa Rosa and were continuing to burn.

“Understandably, most people were unable to pick up bouquets from our location. Some people did come and we gave them buckets of flowers to bring to shelters or to pass out during their travels. We also went out to share the power of flowers,” said Tegan Davidson, the quality assurance coordinator for Sequoia, a big floral supplier based in Santa Rosa.

On the day the fires broke out employees were prepping flower donations from growers and importers in preparation, enough for about 1,200 bouquets for the giveaway.

They woke up the next day to the enormity of the disaster that had taken place overnight. But they decided to move forward with the event anyway.

Davidson said people who had lost their homes or were evacuated gave the extra flowers to the people who gave them shelter.

When firefighters pulled into the parking lot for a break and supplies, Sequoia employees put flowers on their truck.

“We were able to make a difference by providing smiles during the devastating fires,” Davidson said.

Sequoia Floral began in 1976 by providing fresh cut flowers to the local market and quickly expanded to cover the county, the state, and eventually, the whole country. It features a full line of fresh bouquets, dried manufactured products and floral supplies in addition to fresh cut flowers.

GUERNEVILLE

Is your soil alive and well?

People will learn how soil can benefit their vegetation during a presentation Oct. 27. A program, put on by the master gardeners, will point out soil practices to help your plants thrive. If your plants are withering, it’s possible the soil beneath them ?is the problem. 10:30 a.m. to ?12:30 p.m., Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville, mimi.enright@sonoma-county.org, 707-565-2880.

You can send Home and Garden news to Staff Writer Peg Melnik at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com. Send items at least three weeks in advance of your event.