It's a great big gardening world out there and a great time to explore it.

May 1 Gate and Garden Walking Tour, in which the Laguna Beach Garden Club presents 9 gardens of North Laguna. Gardens and the beach in one fell swoop, 11am to 4pm. $35 presale only.

May 2, 3, and 4 Los Angeles Garden Show at the LA County Arboretum, 301 North Baldwin Ave in Arcadia. Sponsored by Monrovia Growers, this event features demonstration gardens, an interesting slate of lectures, and of course plant sales. See website for hours and $$.

May 3 Spring Native Gardens Tour features OC gardens with prominent use of native plant materials. The map is free on the website, 10am to 4pm.

May 3, 4 and 9,10 Spring Plant Sale. Two weekends of interesting plants at Fullerton College Hort Department, located at the north end of campus on Berkeley Ave. Check the website for hours which vary.

May 3, 4 Herb Sale at Fullerton Arboretum. Last year's sale was great; I don't know about you, but I'm looking for rue this year. 10am to 4pm up by the new museum.

May 3, 4 Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour featuring 40+ gardens throughout OC.

May 10 Open Days L.A. sponsored by the Garden Conservancy.

May 17 Lecture: Gardening with Cacti & Succulents at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. In case you haven't heard, succulents are all the rage right now; wouldn't hurt to become more knowledgeable about their cultural needs. $42; 9am to Noon.

May 17 Old Town Tustin Promenade and Home + Garden Tour. $25 day of, see web for presale . And don't forget the tree walk at 9am.

May 18 34th Annual Spring Plant Sale at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino. Free opportunity to spend $$ on more plants and check out the grand old garden. 10:30am to 4pm.

May 31 Cycad and Palm Sale at Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. Admission to the Gardens is $10; 9am to 3pm.

May 31 Lecture: Becoming More Sustainable + Environmentally Friendly presented by Amy Stewart (of Garden Rant) at Descanso Gardens; $12; 10am to Noon.

Labels: Event calendar

Garden tours, shows and sales abound this month:

April 5 Spring Plant Sale featuring native plants at one of the best places to see them: Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 N. College Ave. Claremont; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 11, 12, 13 Mt. San Antonio College Hort Department Plant Sale: Satisfy two urges with one trip by visiting Descanso Gardens during the community college sale, 1418 Descanso Dr La Canada/Flintridge; 9 am to 4 pm.

April 12 North San Diego garden tour includes admission to the Paul Ecke Ranch, famous for their poinsettias but they also grow other cool stuff; $30; 9 am to 4 pm; call 760-753-1156.

April 12, 13 Theodore Payne Foundation California Native Garden Tour: 37 Los Angeles-area homes with at least 50% native plants ! ! ! Buy tickets online or call 818-768-1802; $20; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 12 "What is Environmentalism? On the banks of the Los Angeles River" a talk with Jenny Price, part of the Greenspeak series at Descanso Gardens; $12 preregistration; 10 am to 12 noon.

April 13 Application deadline for the California Friendly Garden Contest; sponsored by Rogers Gardens for people who think their home garden is really special: Go For It, Money Prizes ! !

April 13 Fullerton Beautiful Garden Tour; get your map for $10 at the Fullerton College Hort Department (back of campus off N. Berkeley Ave); good to know where this is because they have good plant sales and classes; 11 am to 4 pm.

April 19, 20 38th Annual Green Scene at Fullerton Arboretum (on the campus of Cal State U Fullerton); annual tradition for hard-core local gardeners, this is OC's lollapalooza garden show event with 100+ vendors and gobs of plants for sale; admission $6, free with membership; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 19 "Native Plants through the Seasons" seminar at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden; 9 am to 4 pm; See website for registration information.

April 19 Annual Spring Sale at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd Palos Verdes; I'll admit I've never been to this garden and it's high time I've done so; Free admission to sale which runs 9 am to 4 pm.

April 24, 25, 26, 27 19th Annual Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza shopping center 3333 Bristol St Costa Mesa; Did I mention Orange County likes to shop; it's so embarrassing; 75+ vendors of garden-related stuff, demonstration garden installations, and talks; free admission.

April 25 "Developing Interpretive Gardens" talk and tour of Noguchi sculpture garden with landscape architect Kenneth Kammeyer. Part of the Spring Garden Show at SCP; see website for sign up and location; starts at 2:30 pm.

April 25 "Carbon Harvesting Landscapes" a how-to on getting your garden to help reduce the enormous size of your carbon footprint ! ! with Douglas Kent; see Spring Garden Show website for sign up and location; starts at 4:00 pm.

April 26 Spring Garden Festival "Conservation in Bloom" at Cuyamaca College; 12122 Cuyamaca College Dr West, El Cajon; Yep, El Cajon: it's hot down there and they know about drought tolerant plants; 9 am to 4 pm.

April 26 Virginia Avenue Project Green Gardens Tour; some interesting gardens on tap in Santa Monica; fundraiser for their community center; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 26 Floral Park Home and Garden Tour; a nice neighborhood in Santa Ana gives you a chance to check out some of their sweet gardens; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 26 (Whew) Elfin Forest Garden Tour "Entertaining Edens"; San Diego County's best-named community survived the fires and invites you down to check out some stunning gardens; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 26 Talk on Vermiculture; that's earthworms for those few of you who don't know; part of the Spring Garden Show; see website for sign up and place; starts at 2:30 pm.

April 26 Spring Festival at Shipley Nature Center; 17829 Goldenwest Huntington Beach; information booths, continental breakfast (hey!), native plant sale, lotsa fresh air; 9 am to 2 pm.

April 26, 27 Celebrating Trees at Descanso Gardens; tree tour with garden staff at 1 pm; people playing flutes made from CA native trees ! !

April 27 The Garden Conservancy Pasadena Open Day; "Opening America's Best Private Gardens since 1995" ! ! Tour of some nice looking gardens in Pasadena, where the real people live; 10 am to 4 pm.

April 27 "Ocean Friendly Gardens" talk with Joe Greever of the Surfrider Foundation on how to reduce runoff from your garden; part of the Spring Garden Show; see website for signup and location; starts at 4:30 pm.

Labels: Event calendar

arrange to TRIM EUCALYPTUS TREES (because the weather is turning cooler so eucalyptus borers are less active and less likely to lay eggs in the freshly cut wood, and because you want to minimize the number of eucalyptus limbs falling when storms arrive.)

SEED LAWNS (because the weater is getting cooler, and warm season grasses like Bermuda are beginning to go dormant. Cut lawns lower or dethatch to make a good seedbed. Annual ryseed is often used because it is less expensive, germinates quickly requiring less water, and though not a permanent turfgrass it will stay green until the weather warms up again next spring. It's also a good time to reseed permanent turf grasses like bluegrass, perennial rye and fescue, while there's still enough sun and warmth for germination but the need for water is reduced.)

PLANT basic landscape shrubs and trees (because, even with the weather getting cooler, in So Cal it will stay warm enough to allow new plantings to grow roots and get a head start on the spring growing season. This is, however, not a good time to plant tropicals like hibiscus, palms, bird of paradise and the like. Wait until next May for that.)

REFRESH MULCH in planter beds (because the weaather is getting cooler and plants need a thick blanket to stay warm! But seriously, the two main functions of mulch are to conserve moisture and moderate temperature in the root zone. While we do expect (hope?) to get rain during the winter, we commonly have extended cool or even cold dry periods which can impede root growth or even damage roots. Mulch helps prevent this. Another benefit when it does rain from mulch is protection of the soil surface from siltation and compaction.)

It's a good time to PLAN HOLIDAY PLANTINGS (because there are only so many shopping days. Cool season plants are coming available, and if planted early they will put on top- and root-growth resulting in a better display in mid-winter.)

CALL CSI to handle any of these landscape tasks for you so you can . . .

VISIT AN ARBORETUM and witness firsthand the changing of the seasons (because it's getting cooler and you need an excuse to wear that new sweater you bought.)

STOCK UP ON FIREWOOD (from those eucalyptus trees you had trimmed last October?) because there's nothing like cozying up to a warm fire on these first brisk nights of the season.

GET THAT PUMPKIN CARVED and those pumpkin seeds roasted.

Labels: seasonal services, trees