Summer Garden Tours

by Cynthia Kerson

Being a UC Master Gardener of Napa County has many joys in volunteering to educate home gardeners. In between volunteering, our members decided to tour each others gardens during spring and summer months. Besides being fun and sharing camaraderie, we learn new things to pass along to others. This is the second installment of this summer's tours.

Our most recent UCMG home garden tour was to a beautifully manicured property in downtown Napa and another garden featuring California native plants.

The tour of the garden in old town Napa started at the front entry path greeting us with colorful, lively zinnias before leading us further into lavender and hydrangeas on this gorgeously renovated, historic 1871 property. 

The garden was quite a mixture of conifers, fruit trees, grasses, summer flowers, pollinizers, and succulents, all beautifully arranged within a white picket fence.

Along the street side of the property, there was a hidden alcove covered in jasmine with a table and chairs inside. MGs thought this to be the perfect spot to launch a scare on Halloween.

In the next garden we got to see the 2020 renovation of the front yard area. This makeover was the result of removing the lawn area and planting under the guidance of a gardening professional.  The plants are now in their second summer and thriving beautifully on the level patch, held up by the attractive stone retaining wall that was added during the makeover.

The drip irrigation system is completely underground, including the emitters, and the mulch is about 2” thick. The garden's plants are labeled, and the resident MG also provided us with a schematic map, which is a great resource when thinking what plants we might consider for our gardens.

Our next tour takes us to two gardens in rural west Napa. Stay tuned for that write-up.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Cindy Kerson

Information links: UC IPM

Zinnias http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FLOWERS/zinnia.html

Hydrangea http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/hydrangea.html

UCMG Santa Clara-Lavender

https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/herbs/lavender/

UCMG Sonoma Lawn removal

https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Lawn_Replacement/Grass_Removal_Methods/#:~:text=Physical%20removal,letting%20them%20compost%20in%20place.

Drip Irrigation https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Drip_Irrigation/

Mulch https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Mulch_A-Z/