Sign up for a free winter ramble Sunday near Davis
The 2023 Winter Ramble was soggy but there was plenty for close observers to see in Patricia Carpenter's native plant garden. Kathy Morrison
Winter gardens are subtle but satisfying for plant lovers. The changes and activity require closer observation than other times of the year.
Patricia Carpenter, a California Native Plant Society Garden Ambassador, gives the region's garden fans a chance to enjoy those views this Sunday, Jan. 28. She'll open 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 rain or shine for self-guided tours; visitors can start any time during those hours. Maps will be available for use on site.
Admission is free but registration is required. Register here.
Here's what Carpenter describes as the highlights of the winter garden:
An optional short orientation and Q&A gathering with her will be held at noon and 2 p.m. Meet at the check-in table.
Visitors are welcome to bring a lunch or snack to enjoy on site. Please leave dogs at home. Carpenter suggests wearing sturdy shoes; any footwear that can handle mud is a good idea this time of year. A composting toilet is available on site as well.
Read more about Carpenter's garden and access a map at her CNPS profile page. Her non-native garden also will be open for strolling Sunday.
For anyone wishing to start or add to their own native plant garden, Miridae Mobile Plant Nursery's truck will be at the garden entrance for sales. Check the current inventory here.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
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.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* 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.
* 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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