We have been out at the Demo Garden every week. There is so much to do but only in the realm of what is possible. Parts of the garden still need to be developed so we work at keeping the weeds at bay until a crew can work on that section. In the meantime, there are new plants coming in to replace plants that have died due to gophers or bound up roots or whatever the situation. Each garden has something that needs to be worked on. At this point, we are racing with nature to replace plants, spruce up the plants that are there and keep the gardens exciting to look at for the groups who are coming through to see what's happening. So, what's the hurry you may be asking?  The weather. This winter has been exceptional. Thank you Mother Nature. As I write this, a thunderstorm is passing overhead. When was the last time we had this wonderful weather. The plants reflect how well they are doing with deep greens and lots of floral display. The planting season is coming to an end due to the hot weather that is on its way. The projects we are working on this week will be the potted plants in the cylinders circling the driveway. The pots are in, the irrigation system is hooked up, and this week we will be filling the pots and planting White Crystal Zinnias. It should be the perfect frame for the All Star Garden.

 

I was looking through my email to see when I last sent an update and I couldn't find it!! I can't believe how time gets away. And, I'm embarrassed to say, I just stopped typing to go out and sit on the patio for a while and just take it all in. It's just too nice outside to miss it. Here's what's been happening in a nutshell as they say.

This has been the best winter in recent memory. When all the weather people are labeling a nice shower as "severe weather," you know you're in for a good winter. Upper Park is beautiful with wildflowers and Big Chico Creek is just gushing with fresh water. 

I have been diligently writing in my garden journal to remind myself about weather conditions and what we've been doing since January. This hasn't been an especially cold winter with only a short period of light frost so far. And, of coarse in January and March, we had rain off and on with no rain to speak of in February.

February was the time to spray our fruit trees in the Kitchen Garden.  Tom H. used a combination of copper and dormant oil on the peaches and nectarines to ward off peach leaf curl (copper) and over wintering insects like scales (dormant oil).  Tom mentioned there should be a 48 hour window between storms to administer this treatment. The treatment is administered twice, first in December, and the second one when the bud petals start showing their color.  The second treatment is the most important time to spray. For pears and apples, a different product called Serenade was used for prevention of brown rot (fungus) and fireblight (bacterium).  If there are any suckers around the trunks of the fruit trees, those will be removed. I think Ken H. will at some point give his popular pruning workshop in the Kitchen Garden. The trees look great so far!

Brent McGhie has an article in "The Real Dirt" about thinning out the fruit once they start collecting on the branches so be sure and catch that here.

As for everywhere else in the garden, we have been weeding like mad.  There have been several maintenance days to get caught up with this project. I was out at the garden last week and the weeds are slowly making their way back. Due to the lovely weather, we can expect to be doing marathon weed pulling.

Barbara O. and Candace B. have been planting in the Alternative Turf Garden and are ready to have the irrigation turned on now that the rain is slightly tapering off. Gee, I sure hope this isn't the end of the rainy season. Anyway, the new plants may be needing a little help.

Lyndee S. and Lynda S. have also been busy planting herbs in the Kitchen Garden. 

The All Star Garden plants have been pruned down to the new growth and are looking very promising for the upcoming months. We'll also be removing some overgrown plants and replacing them with some new, even more spectacular plants in the next few weeks. The same for the Mediterranean Garden. I can't wait to see what these two gardens look like in all their glory.

The Native Plant Garden is just beautiful in its natural way. That's the good part about this garden. No pruning until the fall and a lot of the plants are in bloom. Since this is the first year when this garden is fully functional, the native plant gardeners did a small amount of pruning to get the spring growth going. I love the Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) and Salvia 'bee's bliss' (Bee's bliss sage). The Wildlife Habitat Garden was just put in a few months ago so is still getting its roots in the ground so to speak.

The Weed Demo Garden is in its glory right now with all this rain and then sun. There was some weeding to do but the mulch in its various forms i.e. depth of mulch and various materials like cardboard and newspaper keep everything under control. I'm going to experiment in the control area with vinegar to see how that will affect the weeds involved. Stay tuned.

 

Boy, I think that's it for the moment. Let me know if I've missed anything, all you MG's out there.

The garden—it's become the focus for many of us in many ways. We not only want a garden but now we have to completely rethink about how we will have a garden. Our planet is changing very slowly and the gardens that are developed these days need to reflect those changes. We, as Master Gardeners are at the cusp of this big change. We are learning from others who have the experience, the professionals who have made it their life to know about plants and the planet and our own inquisitiveness as to how to create a garden that reflects the changes in the planet without harm to it. That's a lot. This is the first of what I hope will be many blogs regarding how we as Master Gardeners will be a part of this transition. I will let you know what we are doing out at the demonstration gardens. Those gardens will help all of us to learn and will be the conduit to the community to pass on what we learn to all of those who want to improve their skills. We'll be learning from those who visit the gardens. Ours is a fairly new organization having begun around 2008 or 2009. We have committees that include people with special skills and people that are honing the skills they may have. The gardens will show what we have learned and it's just a nice place to be. I can't wait to see what happens this spring after we just did a major pruning on the entire All Stars Garden. There is so much greenery down there at the base of the plant. But, what if we have a freeze? What if we have a hot spell? What if there's a pest that's been overwintering that we didn't notice? We will see. I look forward to passing on what's happening in the gardens and I hope it will generate more discussion to improve what we do and how we include the community through workshops, tours and just being out there when the public goes through. We love to talk about it and so does the community.