Gardening Events & More May 2011

I’m paring down my events list, so I hope you enjoy the weather and some of the highlights that I want to share with you.



As always, I want to remind you to shop local, and get the freshest produce around by heading out to the local Farmer’s Markets in Santa Clarita:

Sundays 8:00am – noon
College of The Canyons Parking Lot
Don’t forget to visit my friend Sarah from Worldwide Exotics

There is also another great Farmer’s Market:
Thursdays in Old Town Newhall from 3-7pm



April 30 & May 1, 2011 (noon – 4pm each day) - This weekend is Rose Days at Otto & Sons – I went last year and it was awesome! They have great speakers, roses on sale, and… it is a beautiful drive our to Fillmore on a lovely weekend day! Take a look at my last years blog post.

May 1, 2011 - The Memorial Garden Tour is this Sunday. You can pick up a program at Green Thumb and any number of other locations around tour… The Community Gardens of Santa Clarita is a stop on the tour as is our Council President’s house!



Next weekend--- Worldwide Exotics is having their plant sale... I'll update this once I chat with them... misplaced my email invite.

May 9, 2011 at 5 pm - Opening Day at the Community Gardens of Santa Clarita. Come celebrate with us as we have our official opening! Refreshments, dignitaries… the works!



May 14, 2011 10 am The Harmonious Home Team in action! Elaine Giftos Wright and I will be speaking at the High Desert Garden Club on Feng Shui in the Garden. The meeting is at the Acton Library.

Descanso Gardens:
They have so much going on so here is a link to the May Calendar. Personal fav highlights:
May 7, & 28, 2011 – Iris Walk & Talk at 11 am – I LOVE Iris!
May 14, 2011 – Clematis Walk & Talk at 11 am & Cali Native Plant uses at 1pm
Don’t forget to check out the dates of Lili Singer’s Garden Chats!

LA Arboretum
Another place that has so much to do here is a link to their events. Here are some of my choices for the month:

May 7 & 8, 2011 – Mother’s Day Geranium Show (hint hint children of gardeners…) 9am – 4pm each day.

May 14 – 15, 2011 – Epiphyllum Show & Sale – Epiphyllum are in the cactus family and native to Central America – the name means upon the leaf because the flower grows there. Here is a link to some more detailed info about them.
May 28 – 29, 2011 – Santa Anita Bonsai Show & Sale

I hope you find a few things to do this month, enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday - What Are The Shrubs Up To?

Rhaphiolepis 'Majestic Beauty' a nice small tree

Photinia in full bloom

Rhaphiolepis makes a great hedge or screen - very utilitarian!

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Tips For Your Vegetable Garden

The weather is warming up and things are looking beautiful around town, so I thought that I’d share a few vegetable growing tips with you that will help you make the most out of your garden this year.

If you have a vegetable garden you should know that your annual Crops should be rotated in a four-year cycle. The same plants should not be in the same bed year after year because they are susceptible to diseases if planted in the same spot year after year. If you have you vegetables in containers it is wise to recycle the soil as well. You can use the old potting soil either for other plants, dump it into your flowerbeds or call it yard waste. Here are the vegetable families and their make up.

Alliums – onion, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks
Brassicas – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale
Crucifers – turnips, radishes, rutabaga, collards
Cucurbits – cucumber, squash, melons, pumpkin
Legumes – peas & beans
Mescluns – arugula, swess chard, chickory, endive, escarole, radiccio
Solanaceae – tomato, peppers, eggplant

Continually planting small amounts of short season vegetables through the season so they mature bit by bit will prevent large harvest all at once. You can also accomplish the same thing by planting an assortment of tomatoes that mature at different times. Check out my post on extending your tomato harvest. You can plant a second crop of (cool weather) tomatoes* in August and have tomatoes through February/March if there is no hard freeze.

Potatoes inhibit the growth of tomatoes and squash, beans inhibit the growth of onions and broccoli inhibits the growth of dill so think about plant placement carefully. The more of your landscape you use for edibles, the easier it becomes to keep them separated! Hint, hint…



Great vegetables for containers:
Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, carrots, chard, lettuce, beans, peas and don’t forget herbs.. most of them are stars in a container! During the winter I had a beautiful container filled with red sails lettuce, green romaine, and some pretty little pansies – darling & delicious!

There are also many vegetables that are also ornamental such as Endive, French green beans, kale, red cabbage, ruby chard, runner beans, and sweet peas. I love mixing them in with my ornamentals and harvesting as I weed!



Don’t forget to plant some perennial vegetable, they can add structure to your garden and will be there for a few years. Artichokes, Asparagus, and Rhubarb, all of which do not need to be rotated. (Rhubarb leaves are poisonous so ... they are not animal friendly)

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