Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Murer House celebrates Lavender Day in Folsom

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.

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/.

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Ad for California Local

Thanks to our sponsor!

Summer Strong ad for BeWaterSmart.info

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.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!

Join Us Today!