On October 3rd, the Red Bluff Garden Club Annual Floral Design Luncheon will be held at the Rolling Hills Casino from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. This year entitled: “Garden Splendor - a Luncheon and More,” the design program will be led by nationally acclaimed floral designer Lorna Bonham, who will provide simple but unique floral designs that anyone can create. If you have never attemped a floral arrangment in your life or you’re an experienced designer, you will go home with new ideas. Come early to look over the raffle, amazing silent and live auction items as well as check out all the vendors: The Plant Barn and Gift Shop, Gourds Galore, Jenny’s Jewelry, Birdhouse and Crafts, The Gifted Garden, Graceful Charm Jewelry, A Stitch in Time, Natural Soy Candles, At Two Foxes and Photos by Megan! Tickets are available from Red Bluff Garden Club members and in Red Bluff from California Kitchen and Red Bluff Garden Center; in Corning from Interland Business; in Los Molinos from Latimers Pharmacy; in Chico from the Plant Barn, Little Red Hen Nursery, and Little Red Hen Gift Shop; in Redding, from Wild Thymes Nursery. For more Info: 530-529-2306 or 530-824-5661 or www.redbluffgardenclub.com. Photo: Flowers on the front page of the Red Bluff Garden Club’s very good website: www.redbluffgardenclub.com - check it out - you’ll love the music and butterflies entering to join in the fun.

Below is an profile about the Red Bluff Garden Club and their history and on-going work in our region, and which was published early this year.

Until I moved to the North State, I had never belonged to a garden club. My mother was never in a garden club, nor was my father, for that matter. I am not sure why, but in my own mind garden clubs were – well – ‘clubby’, sort of stuffy and a bit exclusive and not my cup of tea. But I had aunties – and not stuffy ones – who were very involved in their local garden clubs. My aunt in Virginia was one of these. When my cousins, her daughters, were married (at different times), the garden club ladies who had been long-time friends with my aunt came out in force - dressed in dirty jeans and muddy shoes, with their clippers and their beat-up cars full of garden stuff. They picked masses of flowers from their own gardens and spent the better part of the day before each of the weddings arranging. Finally, they arrived at each of the weddings cleaned up and flower-proud. This was not stuffy or clubby – this was a sisterhood of good gardeners doing good things. Photo: The new Cone & Kimball Plaza Clock Tower on the same corner in downtown Red Bluff where the historic clock tower stood.

Lorna Bonham, a retired educator, and Cathy Wilson, a retired nurse, are just such garden club ladies. Both are members of the Red Bluff Garden Club, a very active garden club dating back to the 1950s. Lorna’s mother was a charter member and her father was a well-known regional horticulturist. Cathy on the other hand has lived and gardened throughout the west and was a Master Gardener in the Yuba City area before moving to Red Bluff fairly recently. She has been a member of the Red Bluff Garden Club for a little over a year. But lifelong member or new member notwithstanding, Lorna and Cathy are both excellent examples of what garden club members for the most part actually are: good gardeners doing good things. Photo: Cathy Wilson (left) and Lorna Bonham (right), are members of the Red Bluff Garden Club and instrumental in the club’s part in the Cone & Kimball Plaza restoration project.

My copyright 1936 Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Gardening has this to say about garden clubs: “Second only to the experiment stations, the garden clubs are the greatest single agency of the advancement of gardening in America. Their lectures, test gardens and influence for better standards of the art of horticulture are of incalculable value.” According to the National Garden Clubs (once known as the Federated Garden Clubs), Inc website: “The first garden club in America was founded in January 1891 by The Ladies Garden Club of Athens (Georgia).” Originally garden clubs were often Ladies clubs or Men’s clubs, but in this day and age, they are men and women, young and old. Here and now, the North State is a region of active and dedicated garden clubs, the Red Bluff Garden Club being just one. See below for contact information on other garden clubs in our region.

One of the many good things that the Red Bluff Garden Club has taken on in the past few years is being a part of the community-based committee overseeing the restoration of the historic Cone & Kimball Plaza in downtown Red Bluff. As part of this committee, the garden club is working on the planting and garden aspect of the restoration and Lorna and Cathy have been instrumental on this front. I met with them one crisp morning last November to tour and to talk about the project. Photo: The raised planters have a vibrant combination of burnt-red Nandina ‘Firepower’ and Gaillardia ‘Little Goblin’ among other plants.

Here’s some background: The Cone & Kimball Building, with its 100-foot ornate Victorian clock tower, was originally built in 1886 and became “one of the most photographed buildings of the region.” It was often referred to as the “heart of Red Bluff” and was a regional icon. People driving across the North State often gauged where they were in their progress by how far they had to go to or how far they had come from the Red Bluff clock tower – which was visible for miles in all directions. On April 30, 1984 – at 98 years old - the building and its tower burned down. The resulting empty lot was fenced and lay barren for nearly 14 years. In 1997, the Red Bluff Rotary purchased the derelict lot and from there, formed a committee of community members and organizations, eventually including the Historical Red Bluff Association, city personnel, concerned individuals and the Red Bluff Garden Club. Together these groups hoped to “return the spot to a source of pride for the residents of Tehama County.” Photo: Vintage photo of the historic Cone & Kimball building in downtown Red Bluff. The building was often called the “heart of Red Bluff.”

According to grant applications written in 2001, “the plans for the Cone & Kimball Plaza included a replica of the tower on the corner where it originally stood, a small outdoor covered stage area, and a water feature along with benches and trees and shrubs to provide lots of shade and a restful downtown park…that will eventually become a part of the city park system.” The Red Bluff Garden Club took on the assignment of securing the funds and materials for the plantings as designed by the consulting landscape architect, Patrick Sullivan. The idea behind the design being to “select trees and shrubs and particular cultivars that suited to the area and will add color and/or a green background throughout the year.” Photo: Plans for the restoration of the Cone & Kimball site.

Ultimately, George Winter of Wyntour Gardens Nursery in Redding and the Red Bluff Garden Center in Red Bluff, agreed to provide many of the plants for the first stages of the plantings in 2001, including the seven prominent ornamental pears that form the backbone of the new plaza’s canopy. In the years since then, and under the direction of the Cone & Kimball committee, the new clock tower, the covered gazebo, the benches and walkways have all been completed.

In terms of the plantings, the sod is laid, the pear trees are maturing nicely, the planter boxes are filled with colorful and easy care perennials that can stand up to Central Valley heat. The raised planters have a vibrant combination of burnt-red Nandina ‘Firepower’ and the wide-leafed and wooly-textured silver sage, Salvia argentea. “Embracing” and “framing” the covered gazebo in fairly shady, far-back corner of the plaza are beds planted with the plump and welcoming shapes of Alberta Spruce (Picea) as well as the bright-yellow, strappy leaves of Acorus gramineus, and Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’, with its holly-like texture and its multi-colored, variegated leaves. Daffodil bulbs and Gaillardia ‘Little Goblin’ are planted throughout many of the beds to round out the early spring and late fall flowers. Photo: Burnt-red Nandina ‘Firepower’ and the wide-leafed and wooly-textured silver sage, Salvia argentea.

A mural on a wall adjacent to the plaza depicts a Victorian era park and avenue, complete with a Victorian couple strolling the boulevard. Working with that, the garden club planted an “avenue” of ‘Little Ollie’ Dwarf Standard Olive trees, under planted with purple-leafed Loropetalum chinense, or ‘Fringe Flower’. “We wanted to complement the mural, and with it to refer back to the Victorian history of the area as well as the importance of the Olive farms to the region,” Cathy explained to me. Paying homage to the history, pride and value of the heart of Red Bluff is clearly central to what this garden club project is about. Club members, currently overseen by President, Sharon Kessey, provide a good portion of the maintenance to the plantings throughout the year. Photo: The garden club planted an “avenue” of ‘Little Ollie’ Dwarf Standard Olive trees, under planted with purple-leafed Loropetalum chinense, or ‘Fringe Flower’.

The final phase of the total restoration project, and fund-raising for it, are well under-way. The restoration committee has still to choose, purchase and install a water-feature of some kind against the last remaining empty wall of the plaza. The Red Bluff Garden Club hopes, with the approval of the committee, to back the feature with a hedge of Camellia bushes, varieties of which they are researching as I write. The final touches are being placed on the walk-ways, including the laying of commemorative bricks edging main walkways to recognize the many people who have supported the overall project these many years. Donations are of course still being taken to finish the project – which the entire Cone & Kimball restoration committee hopes will be this year.

And you can still buy a brick with your name on it. How simple a gesture is that to help mend a broken heart? More information about the Red Bluff Garden Club and their monthly programs and community outreach projects, including their part in the Cone & Kimball Plaza restoration, can be found at: www.redbluffgardenclub.com

National and State Garden Club Organizations:

www.gcamerica.org
www.gardenclub.org/home.aspx
www.californiagardenclubs.com

For Regional Garden Clubs:

Anderson Valley Garden Club - President: Sue Anderson, Redding
email: anne-c@sbcglobal.net
YAC: Anne Capes, Anderson, CA

Cottonwood Garden Club- President: LaSaine Ware, Cottonwood, CA
YAC: Alice Spinks, Cottonwood, CA



Lake California Garden Club- President: Genevieve Leigh, Cottonwood, CA
email: gleigh@charter.net

Lewiston Garden Club - 
President: Barbara Bailey, Weaverville, CA
email: bbpatch@jett.net
YAC: Jenni Brookins, Weaverville, CA

Redding Wonderland Garden Club - President: Pat Malotte, Redding, CA
email: malottepat@wmconnect.com

Lake Shasta Garden Project - President: Lynni Miller, Shasta Lake, CA
email: lynni@thegrid.net



Trinity Garden Club- 
President: Rusty Lester, Weaverville, CA
email: wruetta@aol.com

Chico Horticulture Society -
Co-Presidents: Anna LaRossa, ajnrj@sbcglobal.net; Chico, CA
Emilie White, mleblanca@aol.com Chico, CA

Friendly Garden Club, Orland - President: Jo Wigdahl, Orland, CA
email: gerrywigdahl@thegrid.net



Garden Club of Colusa County- President: Cynthia D. White, Colusa, CA
email: jimncyn@frontiernet.net

Lake Oroville Area Garden Club - President: Joyce Rivera, Oroville, CA
email: joycie2u@sbcglobal.net

Magalia Beautification Association - President: Linda Weeks, Magala, CA
email: 2redhds@sbcglobal.net

Paradise Garden Club, Inc. - President: Donna Beronda, Paradise, CA
email: beronda@sbcglobal.net
web site: http://www.geocities.com/scpd730/PGCI.html

Sutter Buttes Garden Club - President: Kay Cockrell, Yuba City, CA Bev Foss 530-673-4565

In a North State Garden is an outreach program of the Gateway Science Museum - Exploring the Natural History of the North State, based in Chico, CA. In a North State Garden is radio and web-based and celebrates the art, craft and science of home gardening in California’s North State region. It is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell - all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In A North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio KCHO/KFPR 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 positively North State.

Planting a vegetable garden just seems to go along with spring, doesn’t it? Like an instinctive and seasonal rite of passage. But, says George Winter, owner of Wyntour Gardens in Redding and the Red Bluff Garden Center in Red Bluff, “if you want a vegetable garden, the fall and winter garden is generally easier and less maintenance than the spring and summer one. Time seems more measured in the fall garden - not so hectic,” in George’s opinion. “Temperatures will still be hot when you plant your garden planted in late August early September, but they cool off pretty quickly so you won’t be working in blazing heat; the lower temperatures also mean fewer bugs, and of course your chances of rainfall are much better. So if we have a normal fall and winter, you will be watering your fall-planted garden far less than you had to water your spring-planted one. Planning and planting a fall and winter vegetable garden is very similar to planting your spring/summer one, except the odds are stacked in your favor, so your chances of success are very good.”

Now, of course there are some caveats. You are unlikely to get fabulous tomatoes or cucumbers from your fall planted garden unless you have a greenhouse or other pretty serious protection from cooling temperatures. But most fall-planted crops enjoy the North State’s warm August and September weather for germination and getting established followed by the cooling nights and days of October and November for steady growth. Most fall planted crops can withstand the light frosts of late October and early November fairly well and in many cases a light frost will actually improve the health, vigor and taste of certain crops - like chards and beets.
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Sometimes I stand at that magic circle near the center of my garden and admire the complex perennial borders overflowing with colorful, the glistening fruit and vegetables resplendent on their vines, and cooling sight of a lush well-managed lawn: I think to myself with pride - now this is a fine garden.

Of course - this grandiose moment of smug self-satisfaction lasts just a little longer than 30 seconds. It does not, I repeat: does not, take place anytime from 11 am to 5 pm any day in July or August. If it happens at all - which is a stretch of the imagination - it occurs fleetingly in the forgiving light of early May or possibly during an afternoon in mid-November. It certainly was not my sensation on returning to my garden after two weeks away in mid-July. Rather there I stood - feeling fairly defeated, surveying the damage wondering does a gardener live here??? I tried to remember the advice of a friend’s father: In the hot months you just have to hold on for dear life - the heat will subside and reasonable hope for easier gardening will return. Until then, water and wait. Photo: Vitex agnus-castus, or chaste tree, loves the heat.

Some bright spots exist: Black-eyed susans and crepe myrtles love this time of year, my cucumbers, tomatoes and basil all taste good, even if the plants themselves are not going to win any beauty contests, and the mid- to late-summer blooming bulbs – lilies and tuberoses – are coming on.

Few dedicated gardeners looking at their gardens in the harsh light of mid-day in August, feel confident they are doing everything right. The searing heat bleaches all color and vigor from us and our many of our plants. In this yearly crisis of confidence I think to myself: I should know so much more. Photo: Fragrant herbs such as these scented geraniums, like regular water but love the heat.

Maybe if I became a real Master Gardener I would know more? The good news is that despite a fear that the Shasta College Master Gardener Program was in danger of being cut due to the budget crisis, the program will run as usual this fall. Furthermore, the Butte County Master Gardener program is now accepting applications for their next training session. Call 530-538-7201 for an application package. Applications are due by mid-September, candidates will be chosen by mid-October and classes will begin Thursdays in January of 2010. Photo: Tuberose buds about to open into very fragrant blooms.

If you can’t commit to an entire Master Gardener Training program - we are a region blessed by botanic gardens, garden clubs, plant societies and good nurseries who do all they can to help us the home gardener continue to learn more about gardening. While many of these groups take a hiatus from regular meetings in mid-summer, they are all gearing back up and have great fall programs planned.

On August 15th the UC Davis Arboretum has a guided tour of California Native Plants for the garden, on August 22 The McConnell Arboretum and Gardens at Turtle Bay has a talk on drought resistant plantings with Horticulture Manager Lisa Endicott; The Red Bluff Garden Club resumes regular meetings on August 25th as does the Butte Rose Society. PLEASE NOTE: due to ongoing budget cuts, take careful note of where your gardening or plant groups are meeting in the coming months. I know for instance that both the Chico Horticulture Society and the Butte Rose Society have made changes to their meeting locations or times. Photo: Most succulents love the heat.

More details and many more gardening related events around the region can be found at the Monthly Calendar of Regional Gardening Events. If you have an event you’d like to see posted: send me an email Jennifer @jewellgarden.com.

In a North State Garden is a radio- and web-based outreach program of the Gateway Science Museum - Exploring the Natural History of the North State, based in Chico, CA. In a North State Garden celebrates the art, craft and science of home gardening in California’s North State region, and is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell - all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In A North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio KCHO/KFPR 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 positively North State.

Who does not love a wildflower? While not every wildflower enthusiast is a gardener, every gardener I know is a wildflower enthusiast at some level.

I chatted recently with Linnea Hanson, former Forest Botanist and now Ecosystems Manager for the Plumas National Forest and Chris Christofferson, District Botanist for the Forest about the enduring appeal of wildflowers. “I am just a sucker for a pretty face – who isn’t?” said Chris, “wildflowers sport fabulous blooms and so many of them smell so great! I can’t resist them.” Linnea went on to say “The spring wildflower bloom is so exciting – when you have lived in the same area for a long time, you mark your internal seasonal clock by the wildflowers’ blooming – it’s like seeing old friends again and as you walk or drive through the region you want to call out – ‘Oh hi! the Tidy tips are out’ or ‘Look – the fiddleheads have returned!’ And it makes you happy.” Photo: Fiddlenecks (Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia in March.)

Wildflowers start to bloom in force in the lower elevations of our region in late February early-March and keep on going through June, July and August in the higher elevations. According to Julie Nelson, Forest Botanist for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, “The low elevation stuff is popping. Clikapudi Trail on the south side of Shasta Lake has beaucoup shooting stars (Dodecatheon hendersonii), hound’s tongue (Cynoglossum grande, one of my all time favorites), goldback fern (Pentagramma triangularis), osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis) and toothwort (Cardamine californica) to name a few.” Photo: Coast Boykinia (Boykinia occidentalis).

Perhaps one of the reasons we love wildflowers is that they are not necessarily easy to grow or desirable in your home garden, and so their beauty is that much more fleeting and precious. With this in mind, as wildflower season continues, make sure to follow the commonsense rules best summarized as: “Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footsteps – and those should generally be on the trail!” Further, pay attention and be observant so that you can avoid encounters that might detract from your wildflower viewing: always bring water, sunscreen, good shoes and appropriate clothing - raincoat, hat, gloves, etc. Keep your eyes open for poison oak and spring creatures such as rattlesnakes and bears that might be waking up. Photo: Buttercup (Ranunculus)

Finally, while picking wildflowers might be your first instinct, think again and leave the flowers where they are to bring beauty to the next viewers, feed the pollinators and continue to build the plant communities we love. If you want to have some of these gorgeous plants and flowers for yourself, purchase them from a reputable seller or grower such as your local garden center or nursery or better yet at one of our regional California Native Plant Society Plant Sale fundraisers, such as the Mt. Lassen chapter’s Wildflower Art Show and Plant Sale in Chico on April 19th. Photo: Douglas Lupine (Lupinus nanus).

Look through the events, classes, workshops and good wildflower viewing sites listed below and - Let the Show Begin!

Upcoming Events and Classes: (Listed chronologically)

o Shasta College Class Wildflowers of California (BOT 50 Section 2343) March 16 through April 27, Mondays, 6:00-8:50 pm. Learn to identify our local wildflowers along with examining their structural characteristics. Two field trips are planned to observe these beautiful flowers in their natural settings and to reinforce sight identification. Instructor: James Nelson. For more info: http://www.shastacollege.edu/cms.aspx?id=435 Photo: A single Buttercup (Ranunculus) on a rocky outcropping.

o Friends of the Chico Herbarium Name that Wildflower! Workshop, March 28th, led by Linnea Hanson and Jenny Marr. Will include some classroom instruction and some field work around Horseshoe Lake in Upper Bidwell Park, Chico. Students might see Twining Brodiaea (Dichelostemma volubile), Lupine Bicolor (Lupinus bicolor), Yellow Violets (Viola praemorsa), Ithuriel’s spear (Triteleia laxa), Yellow Carpet (Blennosperma nannum) and goldfields (Lasthenia californica). For the $35 entrance fee you get a full day of training AND the Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Pacific States - an outstanding value. For more info: http://www.csuchico.edu/biol/Herb/Events.htmlPhoto: Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) in Chico’s Upper Bidwell Park in March.

o General Meeting for the Mt. Lassen Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, - April 2nd, 7:30 pm. Chris Christofferson will present a talk on Burning Bear Grass for California Indian Basketweavers. Butte County Library, Chico. More info: Gerry Ingco: 530-893-5123.

o 3rd Annual Wildflower & Nature Festival at Riverbend Park in Oroville April 4th & 5th, 10 – 4 pm each day. This two day festival will feature educational booths and tables hosted by the agencies whose task it is to manage the many land resources in our region – including education people about wildflowers and helping viewers to better enjoy and protect these treasures. Guided hikes on Table Mountain and to Feather Falls will be offered as well as Plant Sales, Wildlife Art, Barbeque and much more. And I have heard that Smokey the Bear just might be there! For more info: http://www.frrpd.com/index_files/WFF.htm. Photo: Iconic California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) blooming along a roadway in Chico in March.

o Mount Lassen Chapter of the CNPS Wildflower Plant Sale and Art Show! April 19th CARD CENTER, CHICO, 10 am – 4 pm. Mount Lassen Chapter of the CNPS Wildflower Plant Sale and Art Show! is the major Biennial Fundraiser for the Mount Lassen chapter of the CNPS. Over 200 species of plants from local plant communities will be labeled and on display for you to see. Deb Yau, owner of Native Springs Nursery in Yankee Hill, is in charge of the Native Plant Sale aspect of this event and tells me “This is a sale NOT to miss. It will feature treasures grown by members and local nurseries – things you wont see other places. You will be able to grow in your own garden some of the gorgeous wildflowers you love in the wild – and you will be supporting your garden’s diversity, the Mount Lassen chapter of CNPS, and native plant and pollinator populations! It’s a win-win-win.” The Native Plant Art Show will feature photographs, paintings and other art by regional artists depicting the wildflowers of our region. Educational Displays will have information about invasive and rare plants. Books, posters, t-shirts, and more will be for sale. Plant Experts will be on hand for your enjoyment and Nature Walks, and Children’s Activities will round out the activities. For more info Contact: Ellen Copeland: 530-345-1826. Photo: California Fuschia (Epilobium canum; syn. Zauschneria californica) at the McConnell Arboretum and Gardens in August.

o Cal Native Plant Soc Mt. Lassen Chapter General Meeting May 2, 7:30 pm with presentation on Managing Rare Plant Communities on Serpentine outcrops with Linnea Hanson. Butte County Library, Chico. More info: Gerry Ingco: 530-893-5123. Photo: Pipevine (Aristolochia californica) in bloom in lower Bidwell Park in Chico in February.

Good wildflower viewing sites throughout the season include: (generally listed moving from the south to the north)

➢ Table Mountain, which is in full swing now through April, and Feather Falls, which is just beginning now but should be in full swing in April, are both near Oroville and are great walk/hikes open to the public year round. Follow these links for maps and hike descriptions: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/plumas/publications/pdfs/hiking/fr_featherfalls_infomap.pdf; http://www.calphoto.com/clcwl/table.pdf Photo: Wild Cucumber or Common Manroot (Marah fabaceus) twines through grass and scrub.

➢ Near Lake Oroville, The Potter’s Ravine Trail should be in bloom now through April and early May.

➢ Lumpkin Ridge Road – further up in the Plumas-National Forest and east of Oroville, west of Quincy – should be in full-bloom in May and “The Harlequin Lupine (Lupinus stiversii) will knock your socks off,” Chris Christofferson said.

➢ Rim Road above Concow is a rare plant community habitat on serpentine outcroppings and is a good place to watch fire recovery in action after last year’s fires. Photo: Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) along a damp embankment in late February.

➢ Magalia – all along the Skyway provides great views over wildflower meadows and oak habitat.

➢ Bidwell Park in Chico: Horsehoe Lake and Trails in Upper Bidwell Park as well as most of Lower Bidwell park as well will be good wildflower viewing March – early May.

➢ Vina Plains Preserve is managed by the Nature Conservancy and they often host wildflower tours in spring. The site is home to more than 280 species of plants and you should see Adobe Lily (Fritillaria pluriflora). Because Vina Plains Preserve is a working ranch, it is open to the public on a very limited basis. For more information, call (530) 527-4261. Photo: Butter and Eggs (Triphysaria eriantha) blooming en masse in Upper Bidwell Park in Chico in March.

➢ The Sacramento River Bend Area, just north of Red Bluff, offers spectacular wildflower displays throughout the spring. Vast vistas of yellow and purple fields are common during a springtime hike along the Yana trail. Contact the Redding Field Office at (530) 224-2100 for more information.

➢ Sacramento River Trail in and around Redding – runs through part of the McConnell Arboretum and Gardens.

➢ Shasta Lake Clikapudi Trail on the south side of Shasta Lake is a good place to watch fire recovery in action–it burned several years ago in the Bear Fire. Here’s a link to a trail map:http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/documents/st-main/maps/rogs/shasta-lake/trails.pdf. Photo: Tidy tips (Layia fremontii) in March.

➢ Blue Door Flat - northeast California, south of Alturas. “The Blue Door Flat area provides an interesting area to watch waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds, as well as colorful wildflowers…in spring the meadow provides a fantastic array of color…” Contact the Alturas Field Office at (530) 233-4666.

➢ Later in the season, Waters Gulch and Squaw Valley Creek are good–see
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/pacificsouthwest/WatersGulch/index.shtml
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/pacificsouthwest/SquawValley/index.shtml Photo: Star-Lily (Zigadenus fremontii).

➢ Also later in the season - Bunker Hill Ridge on the Pacific Crest Trail should be in full bloom June/July. The trail around Little Grass Valley Reservoir provides a great view of the lake and the wildflowers in June/July.

Good resources:

Some great resources for learning about and identifying Wildflowers include the USDA Forest Service’s on-line resource Celebrating Wildflowers with in-depth discussions of issues facing wildflowers and other native plants, Children’s activities and Teaching resources – check it out: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers Photo: Butter and Eggs (Triphysaria eriantha), Star-Lily (Zigadenus fremontii) and intermittent Tidy tips (Layia fremontii) light up a damp March meadow in the North State.

Many good books for about western and regional wildflowers are in publication – most of which are available at your local library, local books stores such as Lyons Books in Chico, and many should be available for purchase at the CNPS Mt. Lassen Chapter Wildflower Plant Sale and Art Show! On April 19th at the CARD center in Chico:

Peterson Field Guide Pacific States Wildflowers, Theodore F. Neihaus & Charles L. Ripper, Copyright 1998.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers Western Region, Richard Spellenberg, Copyright 2001 Knopf Publishing.

Wildflowers of Table Mountain, Butte County, California
 by Samantha Mackey and Albin Bills, illustrated by Larry Jansen,
Copyright 2004, CSU Chico Studies from the Herbarium.

Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California, Copyright 2007, Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

In a North State Garden is a radio- and web-based outreach program of the Northern California Natural History Museum, in Chico, Calif. The mission of In a North State Garden is to celebrate the art, craft and science of home gardening in California’s North State region. The program is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell - all rights reserved. To read more from In A North State Garden or to listen to the podcasts aired on Northstate Public Radio KCHO/KFPR radio, click on jewellgarden.com. Weekly essays are also posted on anewscafe.com a regional news source that is positively North State.

Every year – about this time in the North Valley - the big spring bloom begins. And every year I think – it’s even more miraculous – even more lovely this year. Narcissus, hellebores, daphnes, camellias, magnolias, the first of the fruit trees – the beauty is abundant. And now that we’ve had some real rain and snow, I can actually enjoy the bloom with less worry. Close to 11 inches of rain – that’s how much rain I measured in my home garden in the month of February. The rain was so inspiring to me that some days I had to go check my rain gauge 2 or 3 times. I then ran inside, reported the newest numbers to my family and rushed to record the numbers in my journal. I know one good month of rain and snow will not reverse the past seasons’ unusually low precipitation. I know we are still in a drought – but this one good month sure doesn’t hurt. And when the March mountains are decked with snow and the valley is greening and damp, life in my garden feels just right. Photo: White Hellebores.

Although the first official day of spring is March 20th – hurray! - average last frost dates are still a ways away for most of us (early-April for the earliest of us) so don’t get too excited too quickly. Now is a great time for continuing to sow cold hardy vegetable seeds or planting out cold hardy perennials and shrubs to begin establishing before true spring. Now is also the time for feeding a balanced fertilizer to your trees, shrubs and lawns that are starting to show signs of growth. March 1st is a traditional date on which to feed citrus trees. And don’t forget that March 8th, we spring our clocks forward one hour. Photo: Looking across snow covered mountains from Mt. Shasta in mid- February.
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Until I moved to the North State, I had never belonged to a garden club. My mother was never in a garden club, nor was my father, for that matter. I am not sure why, but in my own mind garden clubs were – well – ‘clubby’, sort of stuffy and a bit exclusive and not my cup of tea. But I had aunties – and not stuffy ones – who were very involved in their local garden clubs. My aunt in Virginia was one of these. When my cousins, her daughters, were married (at different times), the garden club ladies who had been long-time friends with my aunt came out in force - dressed in dirty jeans and muddy shoes, with their clippers and their beat-up cars full of garden stuff. They picked masses of flowers from their own gardens and spent the better part of the day before each of the weddings arranging. Finally, they arrived at each of the weddings cleaned up and flower-proud. This was not stuffy or clubby – this was a sisterhood of good gardeners doing good things. Photo: The new Cone & Kimball Plaza Clock Tower on the same corner in downtown Red Bluff where the historic clock tower stood.

Lorna Bonham, a retired educator, and Cathy Wilson, a retired nurse, are just such garden club ladies. Both are members of the Red Bluff Garden Club, a very active garden club dating back to the 1950s. Lorna’s mother was a charter member and her father was a well-known regional horticulturist. Cathy on the other hand has lived and gardened throughout the west and was a Master Gardener in the Yuba City area before moving to Red Bluff fairly recently. She has been a member of the Red Bluff Garden Club for a little over a year. But lifelong member or new member notwithstanding, Lorna and Cathy are both excellent examples of what garden club members for the most part actually are: good gardeners doing good things. Photo: Cathy Wilson (left) and Lorna Bonham (right), are members of the Red Bluff Garden Club and instrumental in the club’s part in the Cone & Kimball Plaza restoration project.

My copyright 1936 Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Gardening has this to say about garden clubs: “Second only to the experiment stations, the garden clubs are the greatest single agency of the advancement of gardening in America. Their lectures, test gardens and influence for better standards of the art of horticulture are of incalculable value.” According to the National Garden Clubs (once known as the Federated Garden Clubs), Inc website: “The first garden club in America was founded in January 1891 by The Ladies Garden Club of Athens (Georgia).” Originally garden clubs were often Ladies clubs or Men’s clubs, but in this day and age, they are men and women, young and old. Here and now, the North State is a region of active and dedicated garden clubs, the Red Bluff Garden Club being just one. See below for contact information on other garden clubs in our region.
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New Year’s in the garden is the same as in the house, same as in the heart. It is full of renewed purpose, determined resolutions and good intentions. For me – and for many – this resolve is all about setting things in order. Not from any grandiose hope for perfection, but simply as a way to at least start things off on the right foot. Before the winter pruning of roses, grape vines and fruit trees, before top-dressing vegetable beds or herbaceous borders with fresh compost, before the spraying of dormant oils, “starting off on the right foot” for me means sorting out my tools.

Late December and January will include cleaning, sharpening and - as needed or if possible - mending my favorite tools. We gardeners are particular about our tools and every gardener I know has their own set of favorites. Mine include the following:
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A small old ceramic bowl filled with little offerings sits on my desk. It reminds me of a monk’s alms bowl, but instead of being filled with food or money, my bowl is full of gifts from many of the people whose gardens I visited or who shared their gardening stories on In a North State Garden this year. The offerings include things like a lacy tomatilla skeleton, a sculptural spice bush seed pod, an owl faced walnut shell, the aerodynamic shape of a winged maple seed, a fragrant California bay leaf (Umbellularia californica), a white birch bark curl, silvery dried grandfather sage leaves, a plastic baggie of Humboldt lily seeds, a pinch of paprika, a small vial of lavender oil, a heart shaped pebble….and more. These offerings add layers of meaning, the ritual of giving and the creation of memory to my garden. And meaning, ritual and memory add depth and dimension to anyone’s garden and gardening.

My gardening this month will consist of finally finishing with the bulbs. I still have snowdrops and crocus to go. I’m also working on cuttings and starts of several plants to donate to various garden club’s Spring plant sales. I am working on Nepeta, 6 different scented geraniums (Pelargonium), one variety of true Geranium, as well as some hens and chicks and several varieties of sedums. I am raking the leaves from the lawn and pathways, making piles of them in out of the way corners so that I have leaves to add to my compost bin throughout as much of the year as possible. This kind of end of year work in the garden – along with the garden’s own seasonal decorations of remaining colorful leaves, bright red Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) berries, snow frosting the mountains and foothills, yellow Meyer lemons and squat Mandarins – puts me in the seasonal mood.
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