- Author: Chris M. Webb
The Ventura County Master Gardeners are offering a series of lectures this month at the City of Camarillo Public Library.
Remaining topics include:
- Growing your own Grub – Vegetable gardening for the beginner and expert (Tuesday, May 17)
- The Joy of Homegrown Tomatoes (Tuesday, May 24)
- 17 Steps to Sustainable Landscape Design (Tuesday, May 31)
All lectures will be held in the Library Community Room from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome. There is no cost to attend.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
On Saturday, May 21 the Ventura County Master Gardeners will hold Summer in the Garden, part of the Mastering Your Home Garden Seasonal Workshop Series. These workshops are specifically designed for Ventura County home gardeners and focus on seasonal garden tasks.
Summer in the Garden will be held at the UC Hansen Agricultural Center. Attendees will receive a half day of informative gardening education, with presentations by horticulture experts and Master Gardeners.
Scheduled topics for the day are:
- All about tomatoes
- Growing orchids
- Summer tasks for the home gardener
The presentations will be held from 8:15 am to noon. Self-guided garden and docent-guided farmhouse tours will be available to attendees. Those who wish to stay for optional hands-on activities in the afternoon should bring a brown-bag lunch.
There is a $25 fee for this event. Space is limited, so please register early. Additional details and registration instructions can be found online. For additional information, please call Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator, Leah Haynes at (805) 645-1450.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Designed for elementary and after-school gardening programs, UC ANR’s A Garden of Words/Un jardin de palabras: A Bilingual Gardening Dictionary will help verbal communication in any bilingual garden.
The author of this publication is Susan Spector, a Master Gardener volunteer from Santa Barbara County. The vocabulary is quite extensive and includes the following word categories
- Tools
- Measurements
- Gardening vocabulary
- Gardening phrases
- Plants
- Vegetables
- Herbs
- Fruits
- Garden helpers
- Garden pests
This resource can be accessed by clicking here.
Youth with vegetables harvested from school garden.
Photo by Suzanne Paisley.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
A small group of Ventura County Master Gardeners have received additional training which allows them to survey nurseries and provide information to nursery owners. This program is part of a statewide UCCE effort designed to help reduce the spread of invasive plant species.
Currently many nurseries unknowingly sell invasive plant species. Consumers many not realize the plants they are purchasing are invasive and are likely to cause harm to our local ecosystems. The Master Gardener volunteers talk to the nursery owners and provide suggestions to nursery owners for replacement plants, which have similar characteristics to the invasive species as alternatives for their customers.
Many resources are available to help consumers avoid planting invasive species. The UC Davis Arboretum has an extensive database of recommended plants for California gardens. The California Invasive Plant Council has a Don’t Plant a Pest page on their website; in addition to recommending alternatives, photos of commonly seen invasive species are provided. You can also contact our Master Gardener helpline at 645-1455 or by email at mgventura@ucdavis.edu.
Chinese fringe tree Chionanthus retusus
UC Davis Arboretum recommended plant for California gardens
Pigsqueak Bergenia crassifolia
UC Davis Arboretum recommended plant for California gardens
California pipevine Aristolochia californica
UC Davis Arboretum recommended plant for California gardens
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Beautiful gardens are brimming with color and life at the Veterans’ Home in Ventura. These gardens have been planned, planted and cared for by a group of UCCE Master Gardeners and many people in the community.
Flowers and ornamental trees provide color, shade and permanence. Raised garden beds are filled with a wide assortment of vegetables to enhance nutrition and dinner salads of residents. An orchard of donated fruit trees has taken root on the west side of the building. Garden lectures provide enrichment for the mind.
A native garden is well under way. This garden has been created with the guidance of the U.S. Department of Fish and Game to provide a habitat for migrating birds, bees and butterflies. A Memorial Rose Garden, designed in the shape of encircled hearts, has been started -- there is much curiosity as to how the design looks from the air.
An additional vegetable garden and succulent garden are planned.
Started shortly after the home opened, the gardens and the activity they generate provide much joy to the Veterans’ who reside at the home. To learn more, or if interested in becoming involved, please contact Barbara Hill.
We are enormously thankful to everyone who has donated materials, talent and time to make this garden possible! We hope the list of donors that follows is complete. If we have missed your name, please let us know so we can add you. Lisa Wickenden, Tina Van Coops, Sharon McGahan, Peggy Black, Jim Abing, Barbara Hill, Carol Piros, Kathleen Diermier, Kaaren Valdez, Diana Borchard, Robin Beers, Diane Bertoy, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, Nopalito Native Nursery, Jon’s Nursery of Somis, and the real estate community.