Visit a garden of natives as the green season gets going
Early spring 2022 was full of bright blooms at Patricia Carpenter's property. Photo by Beth Savidge, courtesy Patricia Carpenter
Yes, it’s almost spring, which means Patricia Carpenter, a California Native Plant Society Garden Ambassador, will be opening her Yolo County property Sunday, March 26, for the Early Spring Ramble in a Native Plant Garden.
“So much rain and wind and cold this past winter!” she said in the announcement of the event. “But spring is finally here – I think. How is the native garden responding? I invite you to come take a look.”
Expect to see wildflowers, Ribes and Ceanothus in bloom, and other signs of the native garden waking up. The 1-acre garden west of Davis (west of Pierce Ranch Road south of Russell Boulevard) will be open rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for self-guided tours; visitors may start any time during those hours.
Maps will be available for use on site. Carpenter’s non-native garden will be open to view as well.
She will give brief orientation talks at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Admission is free but registration is required. The registration link and more information can be found here.
Visitors should note that sturdy shoes are advised. No dogs, please. Anyone is welcome to bring a lunch or snack. A composting toilet is available onsite.
Gardeners inspired to plant natives will be able to shop from the Miridae Mobile Nursery truck, which also will be on site. Check out their latest inventory here.
In 2021 Carpenter and Pat Dressendorfer wrote an article for Pacific Horticulture about her garden in early spring. It can be found at https://pacifichorticulture.org/articles/the-native-plant-garden-in-early-spring/
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Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* 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.
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* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier 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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