I was lucky in having been born the daughter of a dedicated gardener mother (aided always by my father) and the grand daughter of two avid gardening grandfathers. Growing up at 8,000 feet on the front range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, my sisters and I were in and out of the garden all day - a good part of the year. My mother’s quarter acre log-rail-fenced vegetable garden, under towering ponderosa pines, featured all the bounty I could have imagined: sharp spring radishes and tender spring peas, sweet summer carrots, lettuces, chard, spinach and even some tomatoes. Leeks, potatoes, onions. Apples, gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries. Herbs year-round and seasonal sweeps of ornamental flowers: peonies, oriental poppies, shasta daisies - accenting each row and section of the garden. As a child I learned the garden through being shown and being asked to do things my mother needed done - as they needed doing. Photo: The Shasta College Community Teaching Garden, Redding. All photos in this week’s essay are by Susanna Sibilsky and Melita Bena. (more…)

The sign at the entrance to the ornamental garden in Sacramento’s William Land Park reads: WPA Rock Garden, Established 1940. The sign is not original to the garden’s 1940s-era design and construction, it was erected less than 20 years ago by gardener Daisy Mah. In charge of this distinct one-acre garden since 1988, Daisy - a City of Sacramento Parks Department employee - wanted the garden on which she spends hours each day to have an entrance sign with its own name. “When I first began work here more than 20 years ago, people called the garden ‘The Jungle’ or ‘The Maze’ or the ‘Ivy Garden.’” Because many of the surrounding Land Park neighborhood residents regularly visit the garden’s meandering paths and magical plantings, Daisy polled the neighborhood for what the official name of the garden should be. The majority of responses were that the garden should be called “Daisy’s Garden” - but Daisy ultimately settled on the simply stated name and rustic metal and wood sign you see today. Photo: The entrance sign for the WPA Rock Garden at William Land Park in Sacramento. The garden is on 15th Avenue across the street from Fairytale town and beside to the park’s amphitheater.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a Depression-Era work-relief program instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as part of his New Deal. The WPA employed out-of-work professionals, artisans, craftspeople, fine artists, and writers to work on projects that to improve towns and cities all over the country. Sacramento’s WPA Rock Garden, a one-acre naturalistic garden set on a sloping hillside between Fairytale Town and the Duck Pond in William Land Park was one such WPA project. Like many WPA projects after the New Deal funding ended, the WPA Rock Garden was left in large part untended for many years. When Daisy took on the job of the garden’s restoration in 1988, the site was overgrown with invasive vinca and ivy. One mature, now-well-tended, tree-like specimen of the original ivy still grows in the garden. Photo: A sketched overview of the WPA Rock Garden’s layout.

Having graduated with a degree in Art from San Jose, Daisy returned to the Sacramento area to be close to her parents - both of whom immigrated to the US from China, her father as a young boy. Daisy became really interested in gardening and horticulture when she and her husband bought their first house in the early 1980s. She subsequently studied Horticulture at the American River College and got her first job with Sacramento’s Parks Department working in the Rose Garden in McKinley Park. When the then-Superintendent of Parks showed her the overgrown WPA Rock Garden, its intriguing space in which you could lose yourself and potentially find secret delights along each pathway and around each corner, was far more interesting to her than the monoculture of the Rose Garden. Photos: A curve in pathway of the WPA Rock Garden, with a close-up of Iochroma cyaneum violacea, attracting multiple pollinators, below.

When Daisy won a $400 scholarship for her horticultural work in 1988, she wanted to use some of the money to give back to the community. She took half of the money and placed an order for flowering perennials from local grower Cornflower Farms with which to begin replacing ivy and restoring the plantings of the WPA Rock Garden. Daisy has been at it ever since: researching plants, propagating those she wants, ordering others, receiving still others from plant people all over the world, and then planting, weeding, pruning, reworking plantings, dragging enormous hoses to water, and generally tending thoughtfully to this lively garden. The result of Daisy’s labors is now a garden where the the public can lose themselves in the magic of a place where they can “satisfy that inner-need to connect with nature and beauty”, even in the heart of the city, remarks Daisy. Photo: A view to a mature crepe myrtle seen through one of the openings in the stone and metal semi-circular seating area in the center of the WPA Rock Garden. This seating area is not original to the WPA-era garden, but was designed by Daisy based on a photo she saw of a Jens Jensen-designed circular seating area. Built by volunteer masons using discarded stone used as ballast on ships and left at the city dump, the seating area is dedicated to a long-time volunteer in the garden: Norma Clevenger. The dedication plaque describes her as “A gardener’s gardener and a fierce liberal!”

Construction of William Land Park began in 1922, when noted Landscape Architect Frederick Noble Evans was Superintendent of Parks for Sacramento. An early graduate of the Landscape Architecture school at Harvard University in Boston, Evans served as Superintendent of the Parks Department for 26 years. It was under his design-eye and leadership that William Land Park was designed and built - including the many WPA- constructed wood and masonry elements, such as a rustic pergola with built-in benches, roadway curbing throughout the park, an amphitheater, the park’s many ponds and lakes, and the WPA Rock Garden. Photo: Another turn in a pathway of the WPA Garden and a late-summer illuminated rose. Two pollinators examine the rose before exploring further.

The Rock Garden’s wandering walkways were laid out by the WPA crew and flanked by local-granite masonry raised beds. The park as a whole was part of a nationwide movement known as the Reform Park Movement and is an example of Naturalistic Park Design. The call for such naturalistic green spaces to be incorporated into densely populated, unrelentingly-grid-patterned cities began in the late 1800s on the east coast in cities such as Washington DC, New York and Boston. These carefully-designed informal and naturalistic green spaces were intended to offer both physical and psychological respite as well as the health benefits of nature to urban dwellers, many of whom could not afford take time off from their industrial jobs, or to get out of the city if they could get time off. New York’s Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, is perhaps the most famous example of the Naturalistic Park Design era. Photo: Along one of the central pathways in the WPA Garden, an industrial-sized hose hugs the side of a stone wall. Most of the plantings that Daisy has put into the garden are hand-watered by Daisy and her volunteers while they are getting established. An automated irrigation system was added to the garden only less than 10 years ago.

Walking through Sacramento’s WPA Rock Garden with Daisy Mah in late October, the garden is full of life around each corner. Through many years of work on her part, and on the part of Conservation Corps workers, other park workers, and various local garden club members - the ivy, vinca and other weeds are long gone. They have been replaced over the years by a succession of plantings. Daisy first began restoring the garden with traditional rock garden and alpine plants, but these proved too fragile and tender for a public garden. “The pressure of the public can be pretty hard,” admits Daisy - some plants - especially when they are little and getting established, get stepped on, trash gets left, I’ve even had large plant specimens dug up and carted off!” Photo: Deep blue salvia and bright orange-red California fuchsia contrast and play off one another in late October at the WPA Rock Garden.

The sometimes damaging effects of an admiring public does not seem to deter Daisy’s enthusiasm for providing a space that welcomes the public. One anecdote she shared was that when she had the semicircular seating area in the center of the garden built a few years back to mimic the look and feel of the WPA stone and metal work, she considered having thin wire anchored up the stone pillars so that she could train some vines up the pillars; “But the first day one wire was up, a boy came by and yanked them down. That’s clearly what he thought they were for,” she explained understandingly, “So I rethought the idea of the vines!” Photos: The rustic stone and metal semi-circular seating area in the heart of the WPA Rock Garden. Designed by Daisy, the seating area frames views into other sections of the garden and a place for visitors to meet and gather.

Currently, Daisy focuses on California native plants - including re-seeding annuals and bulbs - as well as sweeping variety of non-native, drought tolerant, climate appropriate Mediterranean plants. Deep blue salvias and red California fuchsias are blooming brightly here, roses and society garlic are blooming there. Although nothing bears labels or tags, which might distract from the sheer experience and enjoyment of the space, the Parks Department does have a pamphlet noting much of the garden’s plantings. Photo: A long view of the succulent bed which Daisy began to experiment with in 2001.

Daisy of course knows them all, and each plant or insect, even visitor holds a story for her. She points out a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), butterfly and notes that the host plant for its larva is the passion vine. She says hello to a man and his dog walking through and the man responds, “Hi, Daisy!” As we wander around corners, sunlight hits foliage and blooms up ahead, drawing you along. Specific plants unfold a variety of stories, and altogether these cumulatively tell not only the story of this garden and this gardener in the past quarter-century, but they likewise illuminate much of the story of horticulture in Northern California over the same time period: “I began gardening - like many new gardeners - with a feeling that I wanted it all right NOW!” remembers Daisy wryly, “But now each plant needs to tell some story or add to the story of the larger garden…This large-leaved Petasites came from Ed Carmen,” she says off-hand, pointing to striking, generously rounded leaves and referring to a well-known Pacific Coast nurseryman and award-winning horticulturalist of the region. “This rose I am not sure of the name - but it’s an old variety that I got from a garden in Oak Park - an older city neighborhood.” Photo: A WPA Rock Garden view and a Gulf Fritillary butterfly on an agave.

In the garden blooms a red flowering maple (Abutilon) that Daisy calls A. ‘Louise Blakey’, but a horticultural friend calls the same plant A. ‘Daisy’s Red’, because it grows in his garden since having received it from Daisy Mah. Photo: Abutilon ‘Daisy’s Red’

Tall trees - Cupressus cashmeriana, Magnolia ‘Vulcan’ and ‘Galaxy’, redbuds, and Arbutus ‘ Marina’, Gingko biloba, deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara)- provide shade and dimension to the space. Some are beginning to color-up with fall’s cooling temperatures and waning daylight. Over such a span of time, Daisy has seen large trees come and go - some have fallen over with age, others she has grown from seed to near-maturity. Hundreds of perennials have been planted, seeded, reseeded, lost and re-found in the 34 individual raised planting areas. Daisy has experimented with an all white-blooming border, she has experimented with fragrance and tough, good-looking succulents. “It’s not hard, it just takes time.” Daisy Mah - 95-pounds of dedication - has given a lot of time and makes the hard-won results look easy. Her efforts are profoundly evident in thriving, interesting plant choices, striking plant combinations and visitors who are positively affected by the garden at all times of year. Photo: Daisy Mah beneath a bunya-bunya tree (Araucaria bidwillii) that she grew from seed in the WPA Rock Garden.

In early 2010 a Cultural Landscape Survey and Evaluation of William Land Park was conducted for the City of Sacramento - evaluation and inventorying the park in order to determine the park’s eligibility for being nominated to be listed in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources, the California Register of Historical Resources, and the National Register of Historic Places. In October of 2011, the draft of the final report was published and the park - including its unique WPA Rock Garden easily meets criteria for listing in all three registers. According to the report, William Land Park, the largest park in the city of Sacramento, “meets evaluation criteria due to its association with important local trends in the following areas of significance: Community Planning and Development, Government, Entertainment/Recreation, and Landscape Architecture.” Included in these are its elements built from 1922-1969 embodying the Reform Park Movement, Naturalistic Park Design and WPA-construction features. Photo: Shining seed heads along a pathway leading into Daisy and her husband’s home garden in Sacramento.

Walking through the historic ornamental WPA Rock Garden in Sacramento’s William Land Park with the quiet- strength of gardener Daisy Mah leading the way, it is clear to me that the reasons for the garden’s construction originally are just as true today as they were 80 years ago: everyone benefits physically and psychologically from fresh air, green plants, and even momentary transport and escape from the lock-step, grid-patterned-daily-life-tensions that many of us face. “I grew up as the youngest of six siblings,” shares Daisy. “My father left China and its abject poverty for a better life in the US, and as a result, our garden growing up was an important resource for the edibles it could provide. Ornamental gardening was not seen as valuable. As an older man, my father visited my ornamental garden, exploring and enjoying the beauty and the life. He said to me after: ‘Your garden makes me feel like a rich man.’” Photo: Daisy’s light-hearted laughter filling a corner of the WPA Rock Garden, a garden she has grown and tended for more almost a quarter of a century.

Daisy Mah’s contributions to gardening in Northern California through her 23 plus years of work at the WPA Rock Garden adds richness to the lives of all of us who walk the garden’s pathways - be it a quick morning walk or a leisurely afternoon wedding. Photo: A sweep of purple society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea )catch the mid-day sun at the WPA Rock Garden.

A fixture of Sacramento’s plant community, Daisy is an active garden designer, horticultural speaker, and member of the Perennial Plant Club of Sacramento. She has designed a traditional Chinese Garden in Locke, California in the Delta region near where she grew up, as well as a Healing Garden at Sacramento’s Sutter Hospital. Additionally, she has been instrumental in the implementation and design of round-a-bout gardens in several of Sacramento’s urban neighborhoods. Besides the WPA Rock Garden, Daisy oversees long stretches of roadside gardens throughout William Land Park and several island gardens in the park’s various ponds and lakes. Photo: A working pot standing guard at the entrance to Daisy’s home garden. Known as Chinese egg pots, these ceramic vessels “were once used for shipping thousand-year old eggs, which my uncle in San Francisco incorporated in Chinese pastries. My uncle has died and eggs are now shipped in styrofoam,” she related.

More of my environmental writing can be found in the Chico News & Review, and Pacific Horticulture. Follow Jewellgarden.com/In a North State Garden on Facebook. Photo: One of the William Land Park’s island gardens that Daisy tends in addition to the one-acre WPA Rock Garden. Lower picture shows the colorful, heat-loving bloom in one of Daisy’s roadway plantings in the park: blue salvia, salvia clevelandii, yellow single-flowering marigold and red cosmos.

To submit plant/gardening related events/classes to the Jewellgarden.com on-line Calendar of Regional Gardening Events, send the pertinent information to me at: Jennifer@jewellgarden.com

Did you know I send out a weekly email with information about upcoming topics and gardening related events in the North State region? If you would like to be added to the mailing list, send an email to Jennifer@jewellgarden.com.

In a North State Garden is a weekly Northstate Public Radio and web-based program celebrating the art, craft and science of home gardening in Northern California. Made possible in part by the Gateway Science Museum - Exploring the Natural History of the North State and on the campus of CSU, Chico, In a North State Garden is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell - all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In a North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio Saturday mornings at 7:34 AM Pacific time and Sunday morning at 8:34 AM Pacific time. Podcasts of past shows are available here. Weekly essays are also posted on anewscafe.com a regional news source that is simultaneously universal and positively North State.

“Other holidays repose on the past. 
Arbor Day proposes the future.”
- J. Sterling Morton - Founder of Arbor Day in 1872.

“Can I run out to the trees?” my 9-year old asks me on a regular if not daily basis. I almost always say yes. By “trees” my child is talking about a row of adolescent sycamores planted in a graceful curve as your enter our neighborhood. With their milky white and grey mottled bark and their thick outward reaching lowest branches, these trees are perfect for climbing, for sitting in and contemplating life, for sitting under and daydreaming, for building forts and whole imaginary worlds around. My child has one tree which she refers respectfully and protectively to as “my tree.” (more…)

Photo: Old olive trees in a North State home garden.

Olives - to see growing, to eat the fruit and to savor the flavorful and aromatic oil - are among life’s treats in Northern California. County Fairs are also among life’s treats in Northern California and we are deep into both olive harvesting and county fair season. By way of celebrating our region’s agricultural wealth and heritage, Slow Food Shasta Cascade is co-hosting a Tehama County - Tehama Trail Marketplace at the Tehama District Fair in Red Bluff September 23 - 26th, 2010. The marketplace will include lots of olive tastings - from fruit to oils - which are distinct to our region. Many other agricultural vendors will be there to visit and visit with as well. (more…)

April is a busy, busy month in the garden. For most parts of the North State the alternating cool and warm, windy and still, damp and dry will keep us guessing. While there are really no hard and fast rules in gardening, the time for planting trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials is past – we are too close to hot, dry weather to make it easy or efficient. If you do choose to plant perennials now, pay close attention to their water and shade needs this summer. Photo: Pasque flowers (Pusatilla patens) in bloom very close to the “pascal,” meaning Passover or Easter, season. Right on time.

The very fact of spring, however, makes us gardeners want to plant and so keep your focus on your edible garden and getting ready to plant out your warm season crops like peppers, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Average last frost in much of the Valley is about mid-April and so as you start taking tender starts out to the garden pay attention to the weather forecast and cover or bring these tender guys in.

Wolfgang Rougle of Twining Tree Farms outside of Red Bluff, sends this advice to edible gardeners and growers: Take the time now to kill all your weeds because most are about to flower and if you get to it now, you won’t have to do it twice. Chickweed in particular has already seeded; make a note of which beds had the most chickweed and consider not planting there next winter — just let it be chickweed for mineral-rich winter salads! Plant radishes for mid-April, turnips/beets for May, carrots for June. Plan to irrigate them. Your brassicas are probably all flowering; decide which you want to save seed from and destroy or faithfully pinch the blooms from the others, until they stop flowering. Cilantro is bolting but still delicious; break off the bolting shoots (you can eat them) to extend the greens harvest by a few weeks. It is too late to plant peas, sweet peas, and (yes) garlic!!! But a great time to set out transplants or sets of onions; leeks can still be seeded but transplants will do better and be more competitive with weeds. If sowing summer crops indoors, you should have started your okra. Tomatoes/eggplants/basil indoors should have first or second true leaves – a good selection of starts are available at area nurseries and farmer’s markets – and by the end of April to mid-May most of us will be ready to set them all out in the garden. You can start your cucurbits, but remember to sow them in individual cells or containers, not flats.” Photo: Brassicas in bloom at Twining Tree Farm. Pinch back and snack on the flowers or let go to seed and collect seed for next year’s crop.

With Spring come her mignons – weeds, aphids, wind and snakes included. Be patient – they will subside into a more relaxed balance soon enough.

While you’re trying to ignore weeds and aphids, April is a busy, busy month for gardening events around the region as well – let me tell you about a few highlights, but be sure to check the on-line calendar of events at jewellgarden.com – events are added close to everyday! I do my very best to keep the calendar up to date and accurate, please confirm all events with the event host’s contact information. If you are aware of a mistake on my calendar, please send me corrected info: Jennifer@jewellgarden.com! Thanks.

APRIL 2010

April 1 - Chico: Chico High School Greenhouses & Horticulture Plant Sale! 9am- 4pm, located at CHS Greenhouses off of West Sacramento Ave. We have pony packs of Early Girl and Beefsteak tomatoes ($2.00/pack), a lot of fern varieties in hanging baskets and in 4”- 8” pots. We also have a wide selection of foliage houseplants that would suit a houseplant lover. i.e. ornamental banana trees, umbrella plants, pothos, ficus trees. The prices range from $2.00-$9.00. PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SCHOOL HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS. If you have any questions feel free to call: Quinn Mendez @ 891-3026 ext 381 or email: qmendez@chicousd.org

April 3 – Redding: McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay: Charlie Rabbit and Friends 9:30 AM. An interactive program in the Gardens (or Greenhouse in rain) for children, their siblings, parents and grandparents.Free with Park or Garden admission. Meet at West Garden Entrance. Take N. Market Street, turn on Arboretum Drive. Take the right fork. Parking lot and entrance are on the left. More info: 530-242-3178 or www.turtlebay.org/nursery.

April 3 - Oroville: Annual Wildflower and Nature Festival 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Riverbend Park. Event celebration of spring and wildlife in Butte county. Guided hikes, pony rides, face painting, educational booths, wildlife photogprahy, plant sales, art show and acrylic paintings. Deanna Simmons, 533-2011 or deanna@frrpd.com. Photo: Shooting star (Dodecatheon clevelandii) in bloom in March near Red Bluff.

April 3 – Redding: Wyntour Gardens KID’S EASTER BASKET PLANTING PARTY 10am to noon; kids get to plant an Easter Basket with colorful Pansies, FREE! Wyntour Gardens, 8026 Airport Road(1 mi. S. of the Redding Airport, next to Kents Mkt)Redding, CA Phone 365-2256 visit us on the web @ wyntourgardens.com or email inform@wyntourgardens.com.

April 3 - Chico: CSU, Chico Associated Students: COMPOST WORKSHOP 11am - 12 noon, Free Workshop on Composting at the Compost Display Area on the CSU Campus. Located behind Yolo Hall past the tennis courts along the railroad tracks. Please park in the Nettleton Stadium Parking lot (permit required) and walk to the compost display area. More info, cotnact As Recycling: 530-898-5033, or: asrecycle@csuchico.edu.

April 3 - Weaverville: Trinity Nursery Art Cruise - Art in the Nursery 4 - 7 pm. We will be kicking off the season on Saturday, April 3rd. View lovely art and visit with talented artists in the relaxed outdoor setting of the nursery (weather permitting, of course). Refreshments will be served.We are expecting the following artists in April: Debee Olson, Marge Heilman, Peggy Carr, John Heilman and Betty Pestoni. Please note our Art Cruise hours start and end earlier than those in the Historic District. More info: www.trinitynursery.com

April 6 - Chico: Chico Permaculture Guild presents suburban permaculture expert Jan Spencer 6:30 pm Quaker Meeting House in Chico. Jan is presenting as part of a speaking tour called “Global Trends-Local Choices: Creating a Safer, More Secure, and Greener Community.” Free and open to the public. If you are practicing permaculture, curious to learn more about permaculture, or would like to help your neighborhood and community come together to live in a more sustainable way, you can’t miss this opportunity to see Jan present! Jan’s presentation will touch on a wide variety of topics and issues including economics, “power shift”, social permaculture, changes in urban land use, neighborhood approaches, communities of faith, social cohesion and much more. Jan is making this tour to broaden the civic discussion about choices available given the deepening global trends. The tour’s goal is to motivate action and describe practical tools for helping to bring about a more peaceful and healthy world. For more info about the tour, property conversion, and to see Jan’s web site go to www.suburbanpermaculture.org. Quaker Meeting House is located at the corner of E. 16th Street and Hemlock in Chico, CA. Presented by Chico Permaculture Guild http://chicopermacultureguild.ning.com. Outreach for Chico Permaculture Guild - Kelly Baker –kellybiney@gmail.com

April 7 - Chico: Mt Lassen Chapter Cal Native Plant Society: Regular Member Mtg 7:30 pm Butte County Library, Chico. Regular Member Meeting and Program featuring George W. Hartwell speaking on Islands in the Lifestream: Uncommon Species in Unlikely Places. More info: Jim and Catie Bishop: cjbishop1991@sbcglobal.net

April 7 - 8 - Redding: Shasta College Reading Series with David Mas Masumoto, well known author of “Epitaph For a Peach” EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO FAMILY MEDICAL EMERGENCY - we will list new date when it is scheduled. More info: Author’s website: http://www.masumoto.com/who/index.htm

April 8 - Chico: Chico High School Greenhouses & Horticulture Plant Sale! 9am- 4pm, located at CHS Greenhouses off of West Sacramento Ave. We have pony packs of Early Girl and Beefsteak tomatoes ($2.00/pack), a lot of fern varieties in hanging baskets and in 4”- 8” pots. We also have a wide selection of foliage houseplants that would suit a houseplant lover. i.e. ornamental banana trees, umbrella plants, pothos, ficus trees. The prices range from $2.00-$9.00. PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SCHOOL HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS. If you have any questions feel free to call: Quinn Mendez @ 891-3026 ext 381 or email: qmendez@chicousd.org

April 8 - 11 - Sacramento: California State Flower and Garden Show, California Exposition. This show is driven by the passion and enthusiasm of gardeners from all over the State. Highlighting the diversity, scope and interest of the California gardening community, this will be a true Flower & Garden Show with something for everyone. On April 9th and 10th Pacific Horticulture hosts a panel of garden speakers, including Jennifer Jewell of In a North State Garden at 3 pm on April 10th, with a talk entitled: Preaching the Gospel of the Garden. More info: 1-877-696-6668, Ext 4.; http://www.calstategardenshow.com/ Photo: Korean lilac in bloom in Hamilton City in late March at the home garden of Pam Geisel, Statewide Coordinator of the Master Gardener Program.

April 9 - Chico: Tree tour of the CSU, Chico Arboretum and Bidwell Mansion. 10 am at the Bidwell Mansion Gazebo. One and a half hour easy stroll discussing HORTICULTURAL, BOTANICAL, AND HISTORICAL info about the woody plants and trees in the CSUC-Mansion Arboretum. More info: Wes Dempsey 530-342-2293 or Gerry Ingco 530-893-5213.

April 10 – Redding: McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay: Essentials of Micro-Irrigation 9 a.m. - noon. Core Gardening Series. Back by popular demand! Learn all you need to know about easy-to-install, low-water usage, micro (drip) irrigation systems. Turtle Bay Horticulturist/Irrigation Specialist Jim Bailey demonstrates the basic construction of manual and automatic systems with emitters, micro-sprays, and all the necessary components. This is a hands-on workshop with an extended time period to allow us to actually put together a sample system. Turtle Bay members and volunteers FREE, nonmembers $3. Meet at Arboretum & Botanical Gardens Office - 1135 Arboretum Drive (Next to Greenhouse in Nursery) More info: 530-242-3178 or www.turtlebay.org/nursery

April 10 - Davis: UC Davis Arboretum, Spring Plant Sale 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, UC Davis Spotlight on outstanding water-conserving plants that require less frequent watering but still look terrific in our Mediterranean climate and make great additions to any Valley-Wise garden. What a great way to make your garden more “green” by saving water. Arboretum Teaching Nursery, on Garrod Drive across from the School of Veterinary Medicine on the UC Davis campus. Free parking is available in Visitor Lot 55. More info: (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

April 10 - Chico: CSU, Chico Associated Students: COMPOST WORKSHOP 11am - 12 noon, Free Workshop on Composting at the Compost Display Area on the CSU Campus. Located behind Yolo Hall past the tennis courts along the railroad tracks. Please park in the Nettleton Stadium Parking lot (permit required) and walk to the compost display area. More info, cotnact As Recycling: 530-898-5033, or: asrecycle@csuchico.edu.

April 10 - Chico: Mt Lassen Chapter Cal Native Plant Society FIELD TRIP Chaffin Family Farms and Table Mountain 12:45 pm meet at Chico Park & Ride for this trip to tour this diversified family farm at the base of and on Table Mountain, where we should see a great display of wildflowers as well! Wear sturdy shows and bring lunch and water. More info: Gerry Ingco 530-893-5213.

April 11 - 12 - Yankee Hill: Spring Fever Nursery & Gardens Open Days 9 am - 4 pm Rain or Shine - Come visit our beautiful gardens!!! See where we grow & propagate our perennials. Some hard to find, some heirloom, & some you’ve never seen before. Directions from Hwy 99: Take Butte College exit, east on Durham- Pentz, past Butte College, past Clark Road (blinking red light), right on Pentz (a stop sign), left on Hwy 70 (another stop sign), right on Lunt (no stop sign), hard left onto Yankee Hill Rd., right on Pinebrae, left on Wendy Way. 3rd gate on left. Park on the right. Parking is somewhat limited; carpool if you can. Overflow parking on roadside. Because there are pokey plants in the garden (and others that are easily injured), we would ask that you call to schedule a separate visit with your small children. Please, no dogs. Thanks!; nursery accepts cash or check. 5683 Wendy Way Yankee Hill. F More information: 530-990-1556.

April 12 - Paradise: Paradise Garden Club 1:00 pm Regular Member Meeting and Pot Luck. Terry Ashe Recreation Center 6626 Skyway Paradise, Ca. Program: Nancy McLain of McLain’s Bonsai Nursery. Nancy will be demonstrating how to bonsai and create a miniature nature garden. Possible sign-ups for a Bonsai workshop (small fee) at her home nursery will be discussed. More Info Call: 530-876-1926.

April 14 - Sacramento: Fair Oaks Horticulture Center/Sacramento County Master Gardeners OPEN GARDEN DAY 9 am - noon. Drop by to see our gardens on your own. Talk to Master Gardeners as they work. Ask questions, because every drop counts, we offer advice to grow by! Fair Oaks Park, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd. Fair Oaks, CA 95628. More info call: 916-875-6913.

April 14 – Magalia: Magalia Beautification Association 12:30 Regular Member Light Lunch and Program followed by Regular Meeting. Racine Center, 14109 Racine Circle (on the corner of Racine Circle and Wycliff Way, Magalia. More info: www.magaliagardeners.webs.com/ or Call 530-873-3273.

April 14 - Chico: Gateway Science Museum MWOW Lecture Series: Bugs in the System 7:30 PM at the Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) Center, 545 Vallombrosa Ave, Chico. Tonight’s Program: Bees through the seasons by Laurel Hill-Ward, California State University, Chico. A donation of $3 per adult is requested. Students with ID are free. More info: www.gatewayscience.org. Photo: Bug in the system, a leaf borer in the tip of a young peach tree branch.

April 15 - Chico: Chico High School Greenhouses & Horticulture Plant Sale! 9am-4pm-located at CHS Greenhouses off of West Sacramento Ave. We have pony packs of Early Girl and Beefsteak tomatoes ($2.00/pack), a lot of fern varieties in hanging baskets and in 4”- 8” pots. We also have a wide selection of foliage houseplants that would suit a houseplant lover. i.e. ornamental banana trees, umbrella plants, pothos, ficus trees. The prices range from $2.00-$9.00. PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SCHOOL HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS. If you have any questions feel free to call: Quinn Mendez @ 891-3026 ext 381 or email: qmendez@chicousd.org

April 15 – Redding: Shasta Chapter Cal Native Plant Society Regular Member Mtg PLS NOTE NEW TIME AND LOCATION 7pm, Shasta College Health Science & University Programs building in downtown Redding, 1400 Market Street, Community Room 8220 (Southwest corner of Market & Tehama Streets). PROGRAM: Join us for a raincheck program by Michael Kauffmann, a science teacher, author of the hiking guidebook Conifer Country, and plant enthusiast from Eureka, about the Conifers of Northwest California. Michael will talk about the stunning conifer diversity fostered in our region, including the Shasta-Trinity Forest, the Klamath Mountains and the North Coast. Michael’s photographs, maps, and poster will offer us a peek at the wilderness that our Chapter enjoys. Michael’s website is www.conifercountry.com. A Board meeting will be held before the regular meeting, at 5:30 PM at Angelo’s Pizza Parlour in the Foundry Square, 1774 California Street, Redding. More Info: www.shastacnps.org.

April 15 - 17 – Redding: Shasta Chapter Cal Native Plant Society Shasta College Spring Plant Sale This 3-day spring extravaganza will be at the greenhouse/horticulture area of Shasta College. We will be selling our spring-blooming native plants, so call Susan Libonati at 530/347-4654 to volunteer for a few hours to help out. Sale: 8:00-5:00 Thursday and Friday; 9:00-3:00 Saturday.

April 17 - Chico: Mt Lassen Chapter Cal Native Plant Society FIELD TRIP to Propylite Hills in the Sutter Buttes 7:30 am RESERVATIONS REQUIRED $15 per person. Meet at Chico Park & Ride for this 5-mile hike lead by Daniel Barth over decomposed volcanic rock called ‘Propylite’ that forms rounded hills that boast great views and the possibility of a wonderful wildflower display. Wear sturdy shows, weather appropriate clothing, bring lunch, water and money for ride sharing. More info: Gerry Ingco 530-893-5213.

April 17 – Grass Valley: Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society GENERAL INTEREST Name that Wildflower! workshop 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Twin Cities Church, community classroom. Address: 11726 Rough & Ready Highway, Grass Valley. Workshop Fee: $25 for members of California Native Plant Society and $35 for nonmembers. Fee includes beverages, snacks and lunch. Pre-registration is required. Class limited to 25 people. Contact: Karen Callahan, penstemon@nccn.net or 530-272-5532. Immerse yourself in wildflowers for the day. Learn how to identify major plant families in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Spend the morning with plant specimens observing special features–hairy nectar runs, freckles, colored anthers, banner petals or seed pods. Become acquainted with various flower shapes: funnels, tubes, bells, bowls, stars, saucers and disks. In the afternoon, we’ll use our newfound knowledge out in the field to identify wildflowers. We’ll explore the unusual wildflower area next to the Church facility known as Kenny Ranch or “Hells Half Acre”. We’ll identify multiple wildflowers in bloom. Back by popular demand, professional botanists Linnea Hanson and Jenny Marr are teaching this workshop. Linnea works for Plumas National Forest, and Jenny works for the California Department of Fish and Game. The main reference guide for the workshop will be our Redbud Chapter’s beautiful new book: Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California. The book is organized by plant families and will fit right into the workshop plan. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during the workshop in case you don’t already have one of your own. We’ll also use the Peterson Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers by T. Niehaus and C. Ripper. Bring your hand lens, too. We’ll have microscopes set up to give us a unique view of the plant world! Photo: California native flannel bush in bloom in Chico in late March.

April 17 - Chico: Eco-Fest 2010 CSU, Chico All Day. Kendall Lawn, West of Laxon Auditorium on the CSU, Chico Campus. The Environmental Action and Resource Center (E-ARC) will be hosting its 13th annual Ecofest on April 17 on the Kendall Lawn. We are all very excited to have another great event this year, with plenty of music, dancing, food, speakers, and enough diverse booths including GRUB and the Chico Permaculture Guild, for everyone. If you would like to sell something, prepare food, share information, create a fun and interactive booth, or simply represent your organization, you can do it all on this fun-filled day. Take this opportunity to celebrate Earth Month with great music and a ton of great people. If you are interested in participating, please contact:Brooke Langer, Environmental Action and Resource Center, BMU 301(530) 898-5676 earc@csuchico.edu

April 17 – McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay: Vegetable Gardening 10 a.m. - noon. Core Gardening Series. Join local organic gardener Cleo Lane for a lively discussion of vegetable gardening in our rigorous climate. Topics will include seasonal planting, growing more tomatoes, gardening with children, pollinators, pests and diseases, and organic methods. Turtle Bay members and volunteers FREE, nonmembers $3 Meet at Arboretum & Botanical Gardens Office - 1135 Arboretum Drive (Next to Greenhouse in Nursery) More info: 530-242-3178 or www.turtlebay.org/nursery

April 17 – Chico: Chico Horticulture Society: Great Nutrition and Fresh Food Choices Workshop for Families and Kids! 10:30 – 12:30. Where: 555 Rio Lindo, Chico (The Bloodsource Building); presented by Jona Pressman, Nutrition Program Manager for Butte County Food and Nutrition Program. The focus of the workshop is how to help families make food choices which can improve the nutritional quality of their meals. The workshop is designed to be interactive with children with hands on activities. They will also prepare and eat food as part of the learning process. The Chico Horticultural Club will talk about how home gardening can be a great family activity and can help families improve the quality of their food. We will provide a tomato plant to take home, along with instructions on planting and caring for the plant. Event is free, but Pre-registration is required for this workshop and minimum age is 6 years old. When you register we ask you to provide the children’s names and ages that will be attending. The registration deadline is Tuesday, April 13. To register please call Ana LaRossa at 892-1545.

April 17 – Sacramento: Old City Cemetery Historic Rose Garden Open Garden and Rose Sale 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Garden Tours, Rose Sales, Sale of Rose-related items, Silent Auction of special items and Door Prizes.The Rose Garden should be at peak bloom at this time, so come join in the fun, tour the garden and visit with your rosy friends. Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is located on Broadway at 10th Street, between Muir Way and Riverside Boulevard in Sacramento, California. Park across the street and enter at the main gate on 10th Street and Broadway. Photo: So-called “Riverside” landscape rose - tough as nails, blooms most of the summer with no supplemental irrigation - light fragrance. Shown here in bloom in Hamilton City in late March.

April 17-18 – Sacramento: Sacramento Orchid Society Show for more info: www.sacramentoorchids.org

April 18-19 - Yankee Hill: Spring Fever Nursery & Gardens Open Days 9 am - 4 pm Rain or Shine - Come visit our beautiful gardens!!! See where we grow & propagate our perennials. Some hard to find, some heirloom, & some you’ve never seen before. Directions from Hwy 99: Take Butte College exit, east on Durham- Pentz, past Butte College, past Clark Road (blinking red light), right on Pentz (a stop sign), left on Hwy 70 (another stop sign), right on Lunt (no stop sign), hard left onto Yankee Hill Rd., right on Pinebrae, left on Wendy Way. 3rd gate on left. Park on the right. Parking is somewhat limited; carpool if you can. Overflow parking on roadside. Because there are pokey plants in the garden (and others that are easily injured), we would ask that you call to schedule a separate visit with your small children. Please, no dogs. Thanks!; nursery accepts cash or check. 5683 Wendy Way Yankee Hill. More information: 530-990-1556.

April 18 - Redding: Shasta Chapter Cal Native Plant Society Plant Propagation/Clean Up Session 10 AM - 12 PM at the Shasta College greenhouses. The greenhouses are located at the back of Shasta College, near the livestock barns. We will be sprucing up from the previous days’ Spring Plant Sale, weeding, and potting up nursery starts and rooted cuttings. Bring rooted plants, clippers and any other tools you might need.Please call Susan Libonati at 530/347-4654 for further information.

April 18 - Chico: Chico Organic Gardening: Heirloom Tomatoes and More with Brian Marshall and Nancy Heinzel 1:30 - 3:30 at the Chico Grange; $15 fee per person payable at the door. Growing heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables With Nancy Heinzel and Brian Marshall of Sawmill Creek Farms - they will have plants for sale. Hosted by Chico Organic Gardening and Valley Oak Tool. To register follow links at: www.valleyoaktool.com; More info: hazel@valleyoaktool.com 530 342-6188. Photo: Garden tomatoes.

April 21 - Chico: Gateway Science Museum MWOW Lecture Series: Bugs in the System 7:30 PM at the Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) Center, 545 Vallombrosa Ave, Chico. Tonight’s Program: Top 20 questions I get at the Insect Zoo by Patrick Schlemmer, San Francisco Zoo. A donation of $3 per adult is requested. Students with ID are free. More info: www.gatewayscience.org

April 22 - 40th Anniversary of EARTH DAY!

April 23 - 25 - Loomis: Loomis Basin Iris Tour and Festival Leave winter behind and embrace the spring with free tours of three iris venues in the Loomis area; High Hand Nursery, Horton’s Iris Farm and Yarda’s Ditch Water Iris Farm. Start at High Hand Nursery to pick up your map and grab a gourmet picnic lunch prepared by the High Hand Café. Stroll through High Hand Nursery and purchase irises in bloom, or order specialty irises from Horton’s or Yarda’s. Check out the iris judging at High Hand Nursery, where growers enter their pride and joy and hope to be picked the best of the best. Each of the venues will be at their most beautiful and the weather should be warm and mild. For further information call High Hand Nursery at (916) 652-2065. Photo: Lovin’ the time of irises.

April 24 - Chico: 4th Annual Growing Healthy Children Walk & Run Celebration 8 am - Bidwell Park 1 Mile Recreation Area - 1 mile/5 k and Kid Sprint Events Race Starts Promptly at 9:00. First 300 kids registers get a free t-shirt! The whole Family is welcome at this FREE event! Preregister by April 21st and pick up your race day packets and T-Shirts on April 22nd and 23rd at Fleet Feet in Downtown Chico between 10 am and 6 pm. For more information or To get a registration form please email: Mnaiman28@yahoo.com.

April 24 - Chico: Mt Lassen Chapter Cal Native Plant Society FIELD TRIP to Dye Creek Preserve The Nature Conservancy 8:30 am Meet at Chico Park & Ride’s West Parking Lot. This 4 to 5-mile hike follows the course of Dye Creek where it passes through a pristine setting of volcanic buttes, hills, and blue oak woodlands before flowing into the Sacramento River. A good level of fitness is required. Wear sturdy shows, weather appropriate clothing, bring lunch, water and money for ride sharing. More info: Woody Elliott 530-342-6053.

April 24 - Davis: UC Davis Arboretum, Spring Plant Sale 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, UC Davis Spotlight on plant combos for terrific container gardening—inspiring ideas with combinations of All-Stars and others high-impact plants. Many of our suggested combos will highlight groupings you might see in the Arboretum’s popular Terrace Garden. Arboretum Teaching Nursery, on Garrod Drive across from the School of Veterinary Medicine on the UC Davis campus. Free parking is available in Visitor Lot 55. More info: (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

April 24 – Redding: McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay 9:30 am. A Walk with the Horticulture Manager, Lisa Endicott. Bring your notebooks and cameras for this participant-driven program. We’ll make our way through the Gardens with frequent stops for discussions about (what else?) plants! There’s something new to see every month! Free with Park or Garden admission. Meet at West Garden Entrance. Take N. Market Street, turn on Arboretum Drive. Take the right fork. Parking lot and entrance are on the left. More info: 530-242-3178 or www.turtlebay.org/nursery.

April 24 - Redding: Whole Earth and Watershed Festival 10 am - 3 pm, Redding City Hall and Sculpture Park FREE ADMISSION. www.wholeearthandwatershedfestival.org

April 24 - Chico: CSU, Chico Associated Students: COMPOST WORKSHOP 11am - 12 noon, Free Workshop on Composting at the Compost Display Area on the CSU Campus. Located behind Yolo Hall past the tennis courts along the railroad tracks. Please park in the Nettleton Stadium Parking lot (permit required) and walk to the compost display area. More info, cotnact As Recycling: 530-898-5033, or: asrecycle@csuchico.edu.

April 24-25 - Redding: Home & Garden Show 10 am - 6 pm Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm Sunday, Redding Convention Center. $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, children 12 and under free. For more info: www.homeshowredding.com/Spring_Home_Show.htm

April 24-25 - Chico: Chico Bonsai Society’s Annual Spring Show 11 am - 5 pm on the 24th, 10 am - 5 pm on the 25th, Admission is Free. CARD Community Center 545 Vallambrosa Avenue in Chico. Show will feature Bonsai Display, Suiseki (Viewing Stones), Continuous Bonsai Demonstrations, Saikei (miniature landscapes, plant clinic, plant sales, Raffle, Door Prize. More Info: Pat Gilmore: 530-343-3447.

April 25 - Chico: Mt Lassen Chapter Cal Native Plant Society - Native Plant GARDEN TOUR Tickets are $8 and available at: Mendon’s Nursery, Floral Native Nursery, Little Red Hen Nursery, Lyon Books, and The Plant Barn. Featured gardens will include Jennifer Jewell’s home garden. Join the fun and help out this major fundraiser for the CNPS Mt. Lassen Chapter. More info: Jim and Catie Bishop: cjbishop1991@sbcglobal.net or Suellen Rowlinson suellen@garlic.com. Photo: View up a walkway in Jennifer Jewell’s home garden, featured on this year’s Mt. Lassen Native Plant Garden Tour.

April 25 - Redding: Shasta Chapter Cal Native Plant Society FIELD TRIP 8 am Redding City Hall Parking lot. Join Jay & Terri Thesken for a long, all-day, 8.5-mile wildflower hike on the Yana Trail in the Sacramento River Bend BLM area north of Red Bluff. River terraces topped with wildflowers, oak woodland, and the meandering Sacramento River characterize this beautiful area. Meet at 8 AM at the Redding City Hall parking lot, on the back (south) side of the building, next to Parkview Avenue. City Hall address is 777 Cypress Avenue. Bring good hiking boots (be prepared to hike!), water and lunch. Call Jay or Terri Thesken at 530/221-0906 for more information.

April 25 - 26 - Yankee Hill: Spring Fever Nursery & Gardens Open Days 9 am - 4 pm Rain or Shine - Come visit our beautiful gardens!!! See where we grow & propagate our perennials. Some hard to find, some heirloom, & some you’ve never seen before. Directions from Hwy 99: Take Butte College exit, east on Durham- Pentz, past Butte College, past Clark Road (blinking red light), right on Pentz (a stop sign), left on Hwy 70 (another stop sign), right on Lunt (no stop sign), hard left onto Yankee Hill Rd., right on Pinebrae, left on Wendy Way. 3rd gate on left. Park on the right. Parking is somewhat limited; carpool if you can. Overflow parking on roadside. Because there are pokey plants in the garden (and others that are easily injured), we would ask that you call to schedule a separate visit with your small children. Please, no dogs. Thanks!; nursery accepts cash or check. 5683 Wendy Way Yankee Hill. F More information: 530-990-1556.

April 27 – Red Bluff: Red Bluff Garden Club Regular Member Meeting 1:00 pm at 12889 Baker Road in Red Bluff. Program is Garden Photography, Speaker Lee Hebner, Crown Camera. For more info: www.redbluffgardenclub.com.

April 27– Chico: Butte Rose Society Regular Member Meeting 7:00 - 9:00 pm Meeting and Program. Chico Veterans’ Memorial Hall on Rio Lindo Avenue. More info: Call Neva Youngs 345-8005.

April 28 - Chico: Gateway Science Museum MWOW Lecture Series: Bugs in the System 7:30 PM at the Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) Center, 545 Vallombrosa Ave, Chico. Tonight’s Program:Biological diversity - What’s extinction got to do with it? By Jenny Marr, California Department of Fish and Game. A donation of $3 per adult is requested. Students with ID are free. More info: www.gatewayscience.org

April 29 - Chico: Chico High School Greenhouses & Horticulture Plant Sale! 9am- 4pm, located at CHS Greenhouses off of West Sacramento Ave. We have pony packs of Early Girl and Beefsteak tomatoes ($2.00/pack), a lot of fern varieties in hanging baskets and in 4”- 8” pots. We also have a wide selection of foliage houseplants that would suit a houseplant lover. i.e. ornamental banana trees, umbrella plants, pothos, ficus trees. The prices range from $2.00-$9.00. PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SCHOOL HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS. If you have any questions feel free to call: Quinn Mendez @ 891-3026 ext 381 or email: qmendez@chicousd.org

April 30 – Davis: Center for Urban Horticulture, Sustainable Backyard Series: Roses. Topics covered will include budding & grafting, pest ID and management, beginner’s pruning, advanced pruning, new variety introductions, and landscape design with roses. To register or for more info: http://ccuh.ucdavis.edu/public or call Missy Borel: mjborel@ucdavis.edu.

April 30 - Redding: McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay: Festa Botanica! 4-8 pm, Member Party and Presale - Come on out to enjoy the McConnell Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at Turtle Bay for their annual Festa Botanica! A Garden Celebration and Marketplace! with plant sales, garden tours, vendors, crafts, music and plant experts. Karen McGrath Garden Design and Jewellgarden.com host a wine bar and silent auction. The garden/plant oriented marketplace of close to 2 dozen booths will be IN the Nursery. 1100 Arboretum Drive, Redding. More info: 530-242-3178 or www.turtlebay.org/nursery.

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