Learn how to grow, enjoy this favorite flowering herb
Colorful and pretty, with a heavenly scent -- that's lavender! Celebrate this beloved herb Saturday in Folsom. Kathy Morrison
What’s that fragrance? Saturday morning in Folsom, it’s most likely lavender as a local landmark celebrates this popular Mediterranean herb.
Saturday, June 3, is “Lavender Day” at the Murer House and Gardens. Set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., this free event salutes all things lavender with speakers, lavender-laced gift items and (of course) lavender lemonade.
Lavender fits well with the Italian heritage and history behind Murer House, the home of Joe Murer. An Italian immigrant, Murer settled in Folsom more than a century ago and became an integral part of the growing community. His home and gardens – packed with Mediterranean fruit and flowers – reflected his Italian homeland.
On Lavender Day, Murer House will focus more on the horticultural benefits of this beloved flower. At 10 a.m., beekeeper Roger Steel will discuss bees, lavender and honey. Lavender flowers are not only a favorite food for bees, but their nectar also makes a distinctive honey.
At 11:30 a.m., Greg Gayton – garden guru at Green Acres Nursery & Supply – joins Christine Eschen of Tres Jolie Lavender Farm to speak on growing lavender at home, the many varieties available and which ones grow best in the greater Sacramento area. Learn how to tell a Spanish lavender from a French or English variety.
Lavender not only smells good, it has a distinctive flavor as an herb. Lavender lemonade and lavender gift items will be offered for sale. A drawing will be held for lavender plants and other prizes.
Murer House is located at 1125 Joe Murer Court in historic Folsom. In addition to the lavender festivities, free docent-led tours of the home and gardens will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Details and directions: https://murerhousefoundation.org/.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
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April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
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Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
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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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