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Attract more wildlife to your garden

Lunchtime series by Sac Valley CNPS shares ideas how to create 'Living Landscapes'

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 8, 2020

Plant lacy phacelia, a California native, and butterflies will hang out in your garden. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

We could all use a nature break right now. And if you plant things that native birds, bees and butterflies like, you’ll see wildlife in action right outside your window.

The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society has plenty of advice on how to reach that goal – and still have a beautiful landscape – during a special lunchtime Zoom talk.

“Living Landscapes — Designing Native Plant Gardens that Attract Wildlife and Still Look Good!” is set for noon next Tuesday, Sept. 15. Everyone is welcome and participation is free.

Haven Kiers, associate professor of landscape architecture at UC Davis, will discuss “how to create native plant gardens that are not only great looking, but also great for wildlife,” according to Chris Lewis of Sac Valley CNPS. The talk is part of the chapter’s “Homegrown Habitat: Lunch break with Nature” series.

California poppies are a natural for wildlife landscapes.

These lunch breaks are one-hour, online presentations envisioned “as a way to engage with nature midday,” Lewis said. “Each presentation is a chance to ignite more interest in nature, native plants, native plant habitats, and the thing they all have in common—wildlife.”

To participate, you need to sign up in advance here: https://bit.ly/3m2t4WP

For more details and advice on native plants to help native wildlife: www.sacvalleycnps.org .

- Debbie Arrington

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Keywords:

gardening Sacramento wildlife habitat event native plants California Native Plant Society California natives pollinators wildlife

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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