Wow! We all know it is a big year for Team USA to celebrate our 250th Anniversary. For your Marin Master Gardener team, it is a big year to celebrate our 40th Anniversary of service to our Marin neighbors. What better place to highlight both accomplishments than the Marin County Fair with the theme “Stars, Stripes and Stories”?
Our booth is called Stars, Stripes & Stories — Celebrating 40 Years of Growing Together
Our “stars” are the gardeners of Marin—home growers, school gardens, community plots, and demonstration sites.
We share your passion and willingness to keep on learning to keep our community thriving organically and sustainably. We will have a large map of Marin highlighting the community, school, and demonstration gardens. There will be an interactive map where visitors can pin their own garden’s location and type (edible, native, pollinator).
Our “stripes” highlight the extraordinary diversity of California’s native plants.
Planned elements include a "Native Plant Wall of Fame" featuring the top ten California natives for Marin gardeners and a native plant garden showcasing 5-7 standout native species perfect for Marin. Some of the plants you may see include:
- California Lilac (Ceanothus spp.) is an evergreen shrub that provides displays of indigo, blue, or white flowers in spring. They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. They are absolute magnets for pollinators and birds.
- Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) is an evergreen shrub or groundcover. It is perfect for sunny, steep chaparral slopes and coast-side edges where it can help with year-round coverage and erosion control. Manzanita is popular for its smooth mahogany bark and pink or white winter flowers.
- Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus) is a woody perennial small shrub for sun to partial shade. It blooms with tubular, apricot-orange flowers from spring to fall. It is deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and a critical host plant for the checkerspot butterfly larva.
- California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) is an herbaceous perennial for bright sun and dry borders. It is covered in bright, torch-like scarlet flowers from late summer into autumn. It is an absolute hummingbird magnet.
- Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) is a rhizomatous perennial for partial shade, oak understories, and coastal moisture. The dark green fan foliage is attractive all year long and in spring treats us to purple, blue, or cream wildflowers.
- Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum) is a dark green evergreen fern that is happy in deep shade, damp areas and north-facing slopes. It provides structure and support for steep hillsides, and deer ignore it.
Our “story” is one of culture and history.
During these last four decades, MMGs have helped Marin gardeners grow thriving, resilient gardens by providing science-based education and solutions to the everyday challenges that we all face when working with Mother Nature. You can find our demonstration gardens at Falkirk in San Rafael, Blackies Pasture in Tiburon, and the Edible Demonstration Garden at IVC. You can find us on our website, in the IJ every Saturday, by receiving our free bi-monthly newsletter, the Leaflet, hundreds of speakers’ events, and countless social media posts. We are also at the Farmers Markets, in the school gardens, doing garden walks to help with water usage, and at fire-wise events. The Help Desk in Novato can be accessed by walking in or online.
This year’s booth centers on a "Plant Clinic," designed as a hybrid help desk and "Plant ER" to triage, treat, and teach. Visitors can explore live samples, view disease photos, and learn about our essential tools rooted in science. There will be a scavenger hunt in the booth to encourage you to explore.
MMGs will always be on site to help with any questions or to help in finding all our resources.
Please join us at the Fair. We are excited to share our knowledge and enthusiasm for this amazing place we call home. For more information, see https://youtu.be/-PZ8wA6AZaw.
By Dot Zanotti Ingels, June 27, 2026