LIVE OAK

Santa Cruz Garden Exchange set for Saturday

Join fellow gardeners for a free monthly Santa Cruz Garden Exchange from 8-9 a.m. Saturday in the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange parking lot, 1900 17th Ave., Santa Cruz. Gardeners are welcome to bring anything from their garden, seeds, bulbs, succulents, houseplants, veggies, fresh flowers, informational material or any garden-related items to trade within your garden community. You do not need to bring something in order to participate and you must take back anything not given out. Marigolds, Cosmos, Favre, sunflower and many other seeds are available. For questions, call 831-515-7162 or or email santacruzgardenexchange@gmail.com.

SAN JUAN BATISTA

Fruit tree pruning workshop on tap

UC Master Gardeners will host two workshops on the benefits of pruning fruit trees on March 11. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30-3:30 p.m. at San Juan Bautista State Historic Park, 19 Franklin St., San Juan Bautista. Do you have fruit trees in need of pruning? Do you know the difference between a thinning cut and a heading cut? Winter pruning is recommended for most deciduous fruit trees for optimum health and fruit production. Bring your gloves and clippers for a hands-on fruit tree pruning demonstration. After a brief demonstration and orientation, you’ll join UC Master Gardeners Diane Mahan and Debra Stone in the orchard for an opportunity to analyze established fruit trees and practice your newfound pruning skills.

Attendance is limited to 30 people, cost is free. For pre-workshop preparation and to register, go to mbmg.ucanr.edu.

SANTA CRUZ

Spring plant sale coming up slated April 8

The Santa Cruz CNPS Plant Sale will be held in person from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 8 at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum on Arboretum Road on the campus of UCSC. The event features a selection of California natives lined up for this sale featuring plants from our local area and the Central Coast region, ready to brighten local gardens.

This sale will feature more than 100 species of native plants, many of which are new offerings for the chapter. Of particular interest will be a significantly expanded line-up of spring flowering annual wildflowers, which provide instant garden color and diversity for pollinators. Many of these annuals are from locally sourced seed, which means they were grown from seed collected from local lands around Santa Cruz County (with landowner permission, of course). This is an exciting development for the Propagation Team, one we hope to pursue further as we work to acquire additional locally sourced propagules. The sale will also offer a wider selection of spring flowering bulbs and native grasses, which bring beauty and texture into any garden space. As always, there will be a lot of plants in the most popular genre: Iris, Erigeron, Diplacus, Artemisia, Achillea and Grindelia! Please check the chapter’s website and Facebook group page for specifics including the sale plant list which will be posted roughly two weeks prior to the sale date.

For details, visit cnps.org.

SANTA CRUZ

Rose pruning workshops for health and vigor

UC Master Gardeners will host workshops on the benefits of pruning. Workshops will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:30-3 p.m. March 4 at San Juan Bautista State Historic Park, 19 Franklin St., San Juan Bautista. Get hands-on practice pruning roses. Bring your gloves and clippers for a hands-on rose pruning demonstration.

After a brief demonstration and orientation, you’ll join UC Master Gardeners Debra Stone and Suzanne Cook in the rose gardens for an opportunity to practice your newfound pruning skills. Do you have potted roses that need some TLC? You’re invited to bring them, too, and Suzanne will show you how to prune for health and vigor.

The workshops are expected to fill quickly. Each workshop will be 90 minutes and is limited to 30 attendees. Pre-registration is required.

For information and to register, visit mbmg.ucanr.edu.

AROMAS

Stormy weather postpones grand opening

As the Corralitos Farm store & Coffee shop closes we are saying hello to a new on-farm shop and nursery, Blossoms Farm Shop & Nursery at 2033 San Juan Road in Aromas. Grand opening Friday.

They announced they postponed the on-farm shop grand opening this week due to the predicted stormy weather. The new grand opening date will be March 17. All products will be available for sale and a new nursery with herbs, veggies, native and habitat plants, and unusual ornamentals will be open too. Blossom’s Farm is also excited to announce a new workshop schedule. It has been too long since the farm has been able to offer workshops and they are excited to resume this important part of the farm’s mission. These popular workshops are expected to fill quickly.

Opening hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For questions, call 831-246-1137. For required pre-registration, visit blossomsfarm.com/events.

AROMAS

Hydrosol distilling workshop coming this spring

Blossoms Farm will be hosting Carin Fortin, a hydrosol distilling teacher this spring at their new location from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13 at Blossom’s Farm, 2033 San Juan Road, Aromas. Learn how to distill with a 40-liter alembic copper distiller. The workshop starts with a brief introduction to the history of distilling and the basic principles of alchemy. Class includes plant harvesting and observation, preparing and setting up of the distiller. Once the distiller is going there will be a sampling of different hydrosols and more teachings about Biodynamic Herbalism i.e. “What is a medicinal plant?” and looking at the “Essence” of different plant beings. Participants will take a bottled hydrosol home. Tickets are $120. For information, visit https://www.blossomsfarm.com/events.

The Garden Digest is compiled by Jesselyn Rego. To submit items for the calendar including events, meetings, resources, or anything garden related, email sentinelhomeandgarden@gmail.com.