A recent study* found that seeing or hearing birds can improve your mood and mental wellbeing for up to eight hours! Instead of heading out to bird watch, why not attract them to your own backyard or apartment patio?

This presentation was put together by Denise Godbout-Avant, one of our UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners. She did a lot of research to learn about local birds in Stanislaus County. You will be amazed when you see the colorful birds that live and migrate through our area!

Learn more at The Backyard is for the Birds classes at a local Stanislaus County Library near you during October of 2023. You don't need to sign up to attend the classes.

Visit our Calendar at https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/Calendar/ for dates, times, and locations.

*Time Magazine. Birdwatching Has Big Mental Health Benefits. https://time.com/6231886/birdwatching-mental-health/

 

Hello Sprout readers, We have a few questions for you…

• Are you tired of your landscape and ready for something new?
• Have you been thinking about replacing all or part of your lawn?
• Are you confused about how to transition from sprinkler to drip irrigation?
• Do you want to attract insect pollinators and birds to your landscape?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this is the workshop for you! Learn how to replace your sprinkler system and convert to drip, hear about some low water use plants, including a list of plants that can provide bloom year-round.

Bring your questions! This is an especially great opportunity to speak with Tim Long, an expert in drip irrigation systems, as well as our other speakers who have experience with growing CA natives and lawn removal.

Workshop cost includes seeds, plants, and presentation materials and helps support our program. If you are unable to afford to pay for this class, not a problem! Just sign up so we know you are coming.

Where: Ag Center, Harvest Hall rooms D&E, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, 95358.  
When: Saturday, October 7, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: $10
Questions? (209) 525-6800
Sign Up: https://ucanr.edu/new/front/yard

Instructors: UC Cooperative Extension, Stanislaus County Master Gardeners - Heidi Aufdermaur, Tim Long, Rhonda Allen, Doone Cockrell, and Bobbie Green.

One early morning this past weekend while outside enjoying a cup of coffee, I noticed a cloud of mosquitoes buzzing around my legs. I jumped up and ran off. But too late! Not long after, I discovered at least 10 mosquito bites on my legs. I was annoyed but also a little concerned.

In years past, I would get bitten by mosquitoes when out late at night. But in the past decade, I've been bitten frequently during the day, and this year seems to be particularly bad, possibly due to favorable weather conditions for mosquitoes.

Invasive Mosquitoes

Why are mosquitoes biting during the day? It's because in 2011 and 2013, two invasive species of mosquitoes arrived in California. Unlike native mosquitoes that bite at dusk and dawn, Aedes egypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes bite during the day. Not only that, but they can also carry deadly viral pathogens such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses. The good news (so far) is that according to the California Department of Health, none of these viruses are known to be in California to date.

West Nile Virus

West Nile virus is carried by Culex mosquitoes, which were first found in California in 2003. Since then, 7,500 cases were reported, and 300 people have died. The disease is most serious in children, senior adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Virus symptoms range in severity. Some people experience no symptoms, while others can become very ill. In Stanislaus County this year, 4 people have been infected, but nobody has died.

How can you protect yourself?

Although day biting mosquitoes can bite through clothing, it can help reduce bites. You can also wear an application of repellent underneath. The CDC recommends using an insect repellent containing the active ingredients DEET, Picardin, IR3535, or the plant-based oil of lemon eucalyptus. Please note, the last active ingredient is not an essential oil.

How to Prevent Mosquitoes

Female mosquitoes use your blood to help fertilize their eggs, which they lay in water. Incredibly, these eggs can hatch and live in something as tiny as a soda or water bottle cap. Prevent mosquitoes from hatching by emptying out containers around your landscape. If you like to provide water for birds and insects, make sure that it's circulating and does not get stagnant.

For more in-depth information and tips for how to protect yourself and your family in and around your home, visit the UC IPM Website at https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7451.html 

Resources

California Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/pages/Aedes-aegypti-and-Aedes-albopictus-mosquitoes.aspx

EPA https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/general-information-about-mosquitoes

UC IPM Pest Notes: Mosquitoes https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7451.html

West Nile CA  https://westnile.ca.gov/

UC IPM Quick Tips: Mosquitoes https://ipm.ucanr.edu/legacy_assets/pdf/qt/qtmosquito.pdf or if you prefer in Spanish, https://ipm.ucanr.edu/legacy_assets/pdf/qtsp/qtspmosquitoes.pdf

Stanislaus County, Human West Nile Virus Cases in Stanislaus County, https://www.schsa.org/pdf/press-releases/2023/WNV%2023-06.pdf

 

Anne Schellman has been the UC Master Gardener Coordinator in Stanislaus County since the program started in 2018.

 

The third week of September is National Houseplant Week! According to the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, having plants indoors can be helpful. Please enjoy this article about houseplant aesthetics from one of our UC Master Gardeners.

You might live in a manse or cottage. You might consider yourself a minimalist or mid-century modern. Traditional labels become a verbal veneer when arranging houseplants. This article's focus is not on the care* of house plants or their cultural requirements. Rather it concentrates on the art of displaying house plants effectively. It reflects a potpourri of aesthetics, functionality, style, elegance, and personal preference.

Prior to entering your abode, carefully inspect the plant for potential problems. Co-mingling with existing plants comes after the plant is isolated for 2 plus weeks. During this time check for “unwelcome varmints.” Once it is determined the plant is pest free, visualize a striking and aesthetically pleasing location.

Fundamental design principles are interrelated to create harmony and cohesiveness. Emphasize the importance of a focal point in a visual arrangement. Spacing plants by focus allows a contrast in proximity, size, color, texture and shape. Just as gardeners are differentiated by appearance, plants and their containers offer varied perspectives by how they look and feel. Texture contrast is found on the leaf, the plant itself, the container and the stylistic home décor to which it enters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardeners come in all shapes and sizes. When thinking of a house plant, choose a plant for leaf shape and the plant's configuration itself. Uneven lines of plants, whether vertical, descending, fleshy or sprawling, are softened by the design and type of container used.

In your home you may discover an empty white space with no visual elements. These visual blank canvases allow a grouping of plants to showcase their distinct beauty while maintaining ordered space between specimens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with gardeners, opposites attract. Contrast plants by differentiating color, texture, shape, and size to achieve subtle drama. Repeating patterns in both species and containers creates cohesiveness, balance, and unity. Without variety, gardens and indoor décor could become stodgy and dull. Intermingling differing objects with indoor plants achieves unexpected creativity.

Just as gardeners prune and cull their homes and gardens, the same principle holds true for indoor plants and creative objects nestled close by. The professional interior designer admonishes the use of three objects in group settings.  Arranging plant varieties by growth habits, size, light and water requirements, temperature and humidity maximizes congruity and harmony.

Beauty is indeed reflected in the eyes of the beholder. Eclectic beauty moves side to side, up and down, chunky to narrow, trailing to vertical. Choice is freedom to create a unique, personalized aesthetic enhanced by house plants.

*To learn more about houseplants and download and/or print a handout on them, visit https://cestanislaus.ucanr.edu/Gardening_Publications/ and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Martha Martin has been a UC Master Gardener since 2022.