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Ramble through a winter native garden this weekend

Sunday tour is free but requires registration

The beauty of flowering blue-eyed grass should be on view Sunday in Patricia Carpenter's garden.

The beauty of flowering blue-eyed grass should be on view Sunday in Patricia Carpenter's garden. Beth Savidge, courtesy Patricia Carpenter

Patricia Carpenter, a California Native Plant Society Garden Ambassador, gives the region's garden fans a chance to enjoy the subtle beauty of a native plant garden in winter this Sunday, Jan. 19.

Carpenter opens her secluded 1-acre native plant garden west of Davis from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday for a Winter Ramble.

The garden, on the west side of Pierce Ranch Road south of Russell Boulevard, will be open for self-guided tours during those hours in what is expected to be clear and cold weather; visitors can start any time during that period. Maps will be available for use on site.

Admission is free but registration is required. Register here.

Here are some expected highlights, as noted by Carpenter:

-- Glen Holstein, botanist, will be in attendance. A wildflower enthusiast, he will be helping with plant ID and answering questions about native plants. 

-- Artists are very welcome to photograph, or find a shady spot to paint or draw.

-- Miridae Mobile Nursery will be on site again for sales. Visit www.miridaemobilenursery.com to view their list of native plants. Winter is a great time to plant.

-- Native seeds. We have been collecting seeds to share.

-- Wildflowers are starting to bloom.

 Started in 2005, the native garden now features about 400 species and cultivars of California native plants. Visit Carpenter’s Garden Ambassador profile to learn more about this garden, access a map, view a plant list, and take a virtual tour. Her non-native garden will be open to view as well.

There will be an optional short orientation and Q&A gathering Sunday with Carpenter at noon and 2 p.m. Meet near the check-in table.

Although masks are optional, Carpenter asks that visitors respect distancing and mask wearing of other visitors. Sturdy shoes are advised. No dogs, please. A composting toilet is available. Visitors are welcome to bring a lunch or snack to enjoy.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 11

Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. 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. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* 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.

* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. 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.

* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.

* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.

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