Master Gardener September 2022 Library Talks, Zoom Webinars, Garden Workshops, Plant Sales, A Spotlight on California Native Plants, Videos, and so much more!

UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County

September Live Events

The Sonoma County Libraries are open and our library talks are going live!

SUPER SUCCULENTS FOR SONOMA COUNTY

Presented by: Anne Lowings

Saturday, September 10

10:30am - 12:00pm

Sebastopol Regional Library

Master Gardener Anne Lowings will discuss the best varieties of succulents to grow in Sonoma County. She will also cover how these tough and versatile plants can add year-round interest to your garden with little maintenance or water.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: CLICK HERE to complete your registration. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about attending the library talk.

This library talk will be presented in person at the Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol. Please register only if you are able to attend in person. Talks are limited to 40 guests and will not be recorded.

ALL ABOUT NATIVE OAKS

Presented by: April Lynch

Sunday, September 11

2:30pm - 4:00pm

Central Santa Rosa Library

Join Master Gardener April Lynch for a virtual walk among the Northern California native oaks. Follow her footsteps through chaparral, woodlands, and forests for up close and personal lessons featuring our magnificent native oak trees and shrubs. Learn about the family tree, view microscopic oak flowers, and discover the amazing variety of acorns, leaves, and more in this colorful presentation. The collection of high-definition photographs that April took over an 11-year period is arranged in a meaningful, artistic fashion for your education and enjoyment.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: CLICK HERE to complete your registration. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about attending the library talk.

This library talk will be presented in person at the Central Santa Rosa Library, 211 E Street, Santa Rosa. Please register only if you are able to attend in person. Talks are limited to 40 guests and will not be recorded.

COMPOSTING: SETTING UP A HOT PILE OR A WORM BIN

Presented by: Jennifer Roberts

Saturday, September 17

10:30am - 12:00pm

Petaluma Regional Library

Join Master Gardener Jennifer Roberts to learn how to turn yard waste and kitchen scraps into wonderfully rich compost you can use as a soil amendment or mulch in your garden. Discover the basics of regular composting and vermicomposting (composting with worms). Come and find a composting system that’s right for you.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: CLICK HERE to complete your registration. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about attending the library talk.

This library talk will be presented in person at the Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma. Please register only if you are able to attend in person. Talks are limited to 40 guests and will not be recorded.

September Zoom Webinars

RESILIENT LANDSCAPING: Gardening in the Defensible Space Zone

Presented by: The Resilient Landscapes Coalition

Tuesday, September 27

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Zoom Webinar

Learn how to create and maintain a fire-wise and sustainable landscape that supports biodiversity and meets County code requirements. We can help you with plant selection, placement, and maintenance to preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, while keeping your property and neighborhood fire-wise and sustainable. This two-hour workshop will allow plenty of time for questions, and will provide:

Recommendations for fire-wise landscaping in the 0-5’, 5-30’, and 30-100’ defensible space zones.
Practical ways to reconcile the sometimes conflicting guidelines to achieve a beautiful, biodiverse, fire-wise landscape that conserves precious water and energy.
A practical understanding of what it means to be sustainable in an ever-changing California climate.
Resources for how to move forward with your landscape and community.

Workshop creators and presenters include:

Mimi Enright: Program Manager, UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County
Jon Kanagy: Design and Implementation Project Manager, Sonoma Ecology Center
April Owens: Executive Director, Habitat Corridor Project; Horticulture Chairperson, CNPS-Milo Baker Chapter
Ellie Insley: Landscape Architect, Natural Habitat Restoration Specialist; Director, Sonoma Ecology Center

All are welcome, however workshop content will be focused on the Sonoma Valley communities of Sonoma County.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: CLICK HERE to complete your registration. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Not able to join us on September 27? Find a recording of this and other Zoom Webinars on our YouTube Channel.

Garden Workshops

WATER-WISE GARDENING

Presented by: East Area Sonoma County Master Gardeners

Saturday, September 17

10:00am - 11:30am

Sonoma Garden Park

Join the East Area Sonoma County Master Gardeners to explore simple water conserving gardening techniques you can apply to your new or existing landscaping. Let us take the mystery out of creating a low-water landscape that’s right for you. Using the Water-wise Garden at Sonoma Garden Park as an example, we’ll show you how. Find inspiration and come away with practical tips to help you create a beautiful garden that will thrive in summer dry climates.

The presentation will take place in the Water-wise Demonstration Garden at the Sonoma Garden Park. The garden was developed in partnership with UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County and the Sonoma Ecology Center. The park is located at 19996 7^th St E, Sonoma.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED BY SEPTEMBER 15, 2022: CLICK HERE to complete your registration. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining. Please register only if you are able to attend in person. Event is limited to 20 guests.

Plant Sales

Sizzling Hot Pop-up Succulent Sales

It’s not just the temperatures that are sizzling…There’re hundreds of succulents about to go on sale at sizzling hot prices!

A series of pop-up sales hosted by the Sonoma County Master Gardeners will offer a wide variety of drought tolerant succulents starting at just $4.00!

Each of the sales will be held from 9:00am to 1:00pm on the following days and locations:

Saturday, September 10

D St. near 8^thSt., Petaluma

Saturday, September 24

402 Tucker St., Healdsburg

Saturday, September 24

1428 Wikiup Dr., Santa Rosa

Accepted payment method is cash only.

Contact sonomamgsucculents@gmail.com with questions.

All proceeds support the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County.

Get a jump on your fall planting with these Sizzling Hot Prices!

Don’t fall behind on your fall garden prep! Get started with healthy and sustainably grown plants straight from our farm. Petaluma Bounty’s 3rd Annual Plant Sale will be held on Sunday, September 11 at the Bounty Community Farm, located at 55 Shasta Ave in Petaluma.

All customers must sign up for a shopping time slot ahead of the sale. Signups open on Friday, September 2, so check back on our website.

You’ll find popular favorites including beets, cabbage, onions, peas, lettuce, spinach, and chard. Learn from local gardening experts which varieties will do best in your garden and how to get seedlings off to a healthy start. Specific varieties will be published closer to the event on our website and social media.

Proceeds from the Annual Fall Plant Sale support the Bounty Community Farm Programs and other initiatives that provide healthy food to low-income families and seniors that may not otherwise be able to afford it. Grow your own food while helping others grow theirs!

Save the Date!

Spotlight on California Native Plants

In celebration of our 40th Anniversary, we have been highlighting Master Gardeners who design with, cultivate, and grow California native plants in their Sonoma County gardens. Here is a sampling of the gardens we have been showcasing. Learn more about these gardens shared in "Sundays with Sue" on the Sonoma County Master Gardener Facebook and our 40th Anniversary webpage Celebrating 40 years of growing success!

Master Gardener Lisa Stahr's California native plant garden.

Pictured foreground to back Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana) purple and ‘Canyon Snow’, California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Heuchera ‘Old La Rochette’, Coyote brush (Baccharis pillularis) ‘Pigeon Point’, Epilobium canum ‘Marin Pink’, Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) ‘Emerald Carpet’, Bush Lupine (Lupinus albifrons), Red-twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea)

Water feature in Sonoma County Master Gardener Guma's backyard featuring California native grasses.

Sonoma County Master Gardener Debbie Platt’s beautiful California native plant garden. The manzanita Archtostaphlos ‘Howard McMinn’ is on the left of the path and the Eriogonum giganteum is on the right side.

Carpinteria and Verben lilacina ’de la mina’ in Master Gardener Kim Pearson's spring garden.

Master Gardener Dandi Hagler's stunning Clarkia amoena (Farewell to Spring or Godetia; syn. Godetia amoena)

Master Gardener Clio Tarazi’s native plant garden includes lupine and fleabane.

Visit our Sonoma California Native Playlist on YouTube for short videos on more of our favorites

Romneya coulteri—matilija poppy. It is no wonder some gardeners call this poppy the fried egg plant. Spectacular in bloom, its 6-10 in. wide, crinkly white petals open around a central tuft of bright yellow stamens. Complete drought tolerance is appealing in all but small gardens where it is difficult to accommodate the 6-12 ft. tall stems that expand in clumps on traveling underground stems. After a long summer bloom period, stems should be cut low to the ground for best appearance of new spring growth. New plants and divisions can be difficult to transplant and become established; they resent excess water. Plant in sun or partial shade in any well-drained soil. Flowers produce no nectar but bees are attracted to pollen. Deer stay away.

Monkey Flower—Mimulus spp. (syn. Diplacus) Because this 2-3 ft. flowering, semi-evergreen perennial develops a woody base it is considered a subshrub. Of the many native species, the named hybrids are showiest and most commonly available in nurseries. Native to coastal areas, monkeyflowers thrive in both partial shade and full sun, requiring little moisture but excellent winter drainage in nearly any soil. Deep green, sticky leaves fill thin stems that tend to flop as they elongate. To encourage density, prune once or twice annually in stages after bloom just above a pair of buds, never into bare wood. Tubular, lobed flowers nearly cover plants spring-summer in white, orange, yellow or red. Many showy hybrid cultivars are bi-colored. Often short-lived, plants may need to be replaced after a few years.

Buckwheats—Eriogonum. When the dog days of summer and temperatures of 90° or more hit, it seems that nothing more could possibly bloom in the garden. Flowers are going to seed, the soil is hard and crusted from heat and, with a reduced water regimen, it’s discouraging to keep up with deadheading and wilting. Then, along come the native buckwheats, some dramatic in size and color, surprising the rest of the garden by breaking out in full bloom and asking only for sun, little or no water, and good drainage. In mid-June, red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens) comes into full bloom. The flower is not red-red but more of a dark pink-to-crimson, rising above gray-green foliage on heavy stems in 1-in. pompons. This buckwheat loves rocky or gravelly open sites and works well as a pronounced punctuation of pink in a mixed border or massed for a more colorful eye-catching effect. A border mixed with the red buckwheat ought to include plants with similar cultural requirements as most buckwheats do not like either heavy shade or soggy feet. The red can get up to 3 ft. high and 6 ft. wide, but not quickly. There are more than 150 varieties of Buckwheat for you and your local pollinators to enjoy.

Achillea millefolium—yarrow. Similar to non-native species and hybrids, native California yarrow blooms in white and occasionally pink (a Channel Island native). It is far more vigorous than popular hybrids and may be invasive in any soil when not maintained and divided regularly. Summer irrigation and deadheading encourage a long bloom period and keeps this yarrow evergreen but will also promote excessive growth. Feather-like foliage varies from gray to bright green and hugs the ground while flower stems may reach up to 2 ft.

Epilobium spp. [syn. Zauschneria]—California fuchsias. Named for similarity of blossoms to the Fuchsia genus, California fuchsia blooms in late summer into fall, a welcome sight in gardens and to hummingbirds, numerous butterflies, and other pollinators. Most bear orange-to-red flowers and grayish leaves, develop loose, arching stems 6 -24 in. high, and spread wide via rhizomes. Some varieties may remain evergreen but most die back in winter when they can be cut to the ground during dormancy, which promotes vigorous spring growth. Plants adapt to nearly any soil in sun or part shade but require good drainage and occasional summer water.

Heuchera spp.—alum roots, coral bells. Dozens of native heuchera species and hybrids attract hummingbirds and butterflies and require little to no summer water in part shade or shade in mild areas. When purchasing plants, it is important to note whether they thrive in cool-moist or warmer and drier climates. Most prefer protection from hot summer sun and occasional water. ‘Old La Rochette’ is a popular native with nearly continuous spring-summer production of small pink bells on foot-tall stalks. Clumps of hairy, bright green, lobed foliage create colonies over time in nearly any soil and are completely drought-tolerant in shade.

See Master Gardener videos on YouTube!

Click here to visit our Master Gardener YouTube Channel

Master Gardener Information You Need to Know

Garden Sense is a free program offered by the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County.

Our friendly Garden Sense consultants have advanced training in water management, irrigation systems, site assessment, low-water use plants, and sustainable garden practices. We can show you how to easily conserve water (and save money) by creating a climate-appropriate garden that is healthy, environmentally sound, and most of all – beautiful!

CLICK HERE to learn more about a free

Garden Sense consultation

Need Gardening Advice? If you have any home gardening questions, contact our information desk via email: mgsonoma@ucdavis.edu or call and leave a message at (707) 565-2608. Master Gardeners are checking in and will answer all of your gardening questions.

Our website http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/ offers a bounty of information. You can find handouts from our workshops, FAQs from the MG helpline, garden tips for a month-by-month gardening guide, step-by-step drip irrigation guides, recommended plants for Sonoma County including a list of Sonoma Superstars and so much more!

If you are on Facebook, like and follow us at UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County. We post short articles and videos full of gardening information every day. Check it out! You can also follow us on Instagram at #sonomacountymg