A colorful California hillside in summer. Photo: Connie Lefkowitz Marin's topography is part of our natural beauty. The views are gorgeous, but there are special considerations pertaining to erosion, water, and plant selection.
Themed gardens are fun to build and exciting to enjoy! Each of the sixteen individual gardens at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden has a plant list for garden inspiration. Visit all of our gardens here.
Open Garden Days 251 South Barretta St., Sonora First Saturday of the month (Feb- Nov) 10:00am 1:00pm Open Garden Days are an opportunity to roam the Garden, watch what we are doing, find out what we are growing, attend a demonstration and ask questions about your garden and landscape.
Prune grapes and roses. Cleanup: remove mummy fruit and blighted limbs on stone fruit to reduce brown rot. Remove and destroy fallen leaves to reduce peach leaf curl. Mulch cane berries, cut out all old canes and reset new canes in twine.
Water requirements of landscape plants change throughout the year. Daylength, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed all affect the loss of water from soil and plants. In the absence of rain, these losses must be replenished by irrigating.
The application process for the UC Master Gardeners of Merced County's 2026 Training Class is now open. Any Merced County adult resident with an interest in horticulture (plants, lawns, trees, vegetables and more) and public service are encouraged to apply for the Master Gardener Program.
Year-round food and water are essential for habitat gardens. Photo: Bridget Ahearn "The birds and the bees" is a sweet expression, but the work of pollinators is a serious business. Without pollination, life on Earth would cease.
Redwood trees need moisture from rain and fog. Photo: Public Domain Coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) only grow on the Pacific coast from Big Sur to southern Oregon, where their need for mass quantities of water is met from winter rain and summer fog.
Summer Orchard Care (2024) Citrus from Tree to Table (2023) Growing Olives (2017) Online Olive Resources (2017) Pruning & Remedial Pruning of Deciduous Fruit Trees (2012) Selecting & Planting Deciduous Fruit Trees/Citrus Trees Principles of Fruit and Nut Tree Growth, Cropping & Management - T.