Get ready for a day of viewing beautiful new gardens, hands-on learning and fun-filled activities for the entire family, plus expert gardening advice. Join the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County on Sunday, June 26, from 11 am to 2 pm, at the grand opening of the Las Flores Learning Garden at 4300 Linda Vista Avenue in Napa.
The Las Flores Learning Garden is a partnership between the City of Napa and the UC Master Gardeners, a collaboration formed in 2019. The garden's features include a low-water and low-maintenance garden, a pollinator garden and a California native plant garden. Additional gardens are in the planning stage.
The low-water, low-maintenance garden was installed in the fall of 2020. Each of the 12 plants selected for this area has compatible water needs. They all require little water and can survive drought conditions. The plants are also low maintenance, requiring only minimal pruning and shaping as they grow. What's more, they display color on a rotating basis, providing interest in the garden all year long.
Among the plants in the low-water, low-maintenance garden are crape myrtle, a summer bloomer with showy pink flowers; star jasmine, a vine with white flowers that blooms in spring and early summer; and Asparagus meyeri (foxtail fern), which has light green foliage, red berries and tiny white flowers from late summer to March.
Visitors will find permanent interpretive, bilingual signage in that garden with QR codes that take the viewer directly to the Las Flores Learning Garden website. There they will find a complete plant list for that garden with descriptions, growth habits and images in an easily viewed format. This signage will be installed in all the gardens as they develop.
The pollinator garden and California native garden were installed in early June. Among the pollinator plants are goldenrod, lion's tail, kangaroo paw, Mexican bush sage and California fuchsia. A pollinator garden attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other beneficial creatures that transfer pollen from flower to flower or, in some cases, within flowers.
Plants in the California native garden include white sage, Point Sierra ceanothus, golden yarrow and monkey flower. California native plants are the best pollinator plants, as they have evolved with native pollinators to adapt to our local soil, climate and growing season.
You can learn more about all of the gardens from UC Master Gardeners and other experts at the grand opening. There will be 25 hands-on learning stations offering information on soil and climate change; on pesticides with various products to view; on vegetable growing and seed sorting; and on composting, with a how-to demonstration.
Also planned are a drip-irrigation demo; information on dry gardens and growing succulents; a seedling demo and plant giveaway; a wellness garden labyrinth, and a sensory garden “walk the labyrinth” contest, with a prize. UC Master Gardeners will answer gardening questions at a help desk.
Kids' activities include a pollinator team-coloring activity, good bug/bad bug viewing with a magnifying glass, children's garden coloring pots, a face-painting station and an appearance by Audrey the Talking Plant.
Other participating community organizations include City of Napa with a water station, Friends of the Library with a gardening books giveaway, The California Native Plant Society, Dirt Girls, City of Napa Waste Management, Napa Parks and Recreation, Audubon Society and the Soscol Intertribal Council.
The UC Master Gardeners will be offering monthly educational events on horticultural topics on the last Saturday of every month at the Las Flores Learning Garden. For more information and to register for upcoming events, visit the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County website (https://napamg.ucanr.edu).
Library Talk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for “What's Hot in Compost” on Thursday, July 7, from 7 pm to 8 pm, via Zoom. Learn about successful composting: what to add, when to harvest and what about those worms? We'll discuss how “hot” composting works and why to try it. The talk is free. Register to receive the Zoom link at
http://ucanr.edu/2022CompostQuestionsLibraryTalk.
Food Growing Forum: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a free forum on “Integrated Pest Management” on Sunday, July 10, from 3 pm to 4 pm via Zoom. Learn about IPM and what to do in the July food garden. Register to receive the Zoom link at https://ucanr.edu/2022FoodForumJuly
Got Garden Questions? Contact our Help Desk. The team is working remotely so please submit your questions through our diagnosis form, sending any photos to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a detailed message at 707- 253-4143. A Master Gardener will get back to you by phone or email. For more information visit https://napamg.ucanr.edu or find us on Facebook or Instagram, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.