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Arboretum's garden gnomes here to help

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 20, 2020

"Ask the Garden Gnomes" is a twice-weekly garden "talk show" on Facebook Live. (Photo UC Davis Arboretum)

UCD Arboretum tries creative outreach during COVID crisis

It’s not quite “Walk with Warren,” but it’s Arboretum garden fun during COVID-19 restrictions.

Twice a week, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden hosts its own garden talk show, “Ask the Garden Gnomes.” Streamed on Facebook Live, the program invites viewers to ask gardening questions as well as showcases the natural world inside the Arboretum.

It’s free, fun and educational with something for gardeners of all ages.

The one-hour shows stream live at 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The next gnome adventure is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, May 21.

Details and links: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/events/ask-garden-gnomes-2

Meanwhile, the Arboretum’s popular events such as guided tours with Superintendent Emeritus Warren Roberts and plant sales are still on hold. Organizers hope those restrictions will be lifted soon. Stay posted with the arboretum’s newsletter, “The Leaflet”; sign up here: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/subscribe

Although group events have been canceled until further notice, the arboretum is still open daily to visitors and monitored by personnel. Patrons are asked to practice social distancing and stay at least 6 feet apart.

Where to start your arboretum exploration? Two interns, Kelly Nishimura and Wyatt Garrett, created a fun way to see a lot of the campus’s public gardens: “Arboretum Bingo.” (Details: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/news/play-arboretum-bingo ). See the arboretum and share it with friends via social media. It’s an entertaining game for kids, too, as well as a creative way to keep people engaged with the gardens when the normal way of doing things won’t work.

Along that same line, another intern, Madissen Hamberlin, created “May Madness: California Native Plant Showdown.” This online game asks patrons to vote for their favorite native flora via Facebook and Instagram. (Can the poppy take it all?) Details: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/may-madness

The arboretum’s interns are part of its Leading by Learning program. While classes have moved online, interns are working on educational and environmental projects including these entertaining social media introductions to the arboretum and its vast plant collections.

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gardening Sacramento native plants Yolo County events California natives garden advice UC Davis Arboretum social media gardening with children

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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