Buy local plants and help beautify Novato
The Novato Garden Club will once again offer its long-running annual Spring Bloom Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 15 at two Novato locations, 7 Estates Drive and 6 Equestrian Court.
The sale will feature a variety of annuals, perennials and shrubs such as roses, small orchids, fuchsia, hydrangeas, lavender, aloe and seeds; edibles; succulents and trees, and garden items, including flower dish gardens and decorative seed cards.
Organic edibles will include varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatillos, basil, mint, oregano, rosemary and raspberries.
All plants have been propagated from club members’ Marin gardens or started from seed. Plants in 4-inch pots are $3 and those in 1-gallon pots are $6. Larger specimens, such as small maple trees, are priced higher.
Decorative and utilitarian pots, from 4 inches to 1 gallon and larger, will be for sale, too, but only at the 6 Equestrian Court location.
Because different plant varieties will be available at both sale sites, the club suggests that people shop early and at both locations for the best selection. A portion of the proceeds will be earmarked for Novato city beautification, such as the container plantings along Redwood Boulevard.
Cash or checks are accepted at the sale. For more information, go to novatogardenclub.org.
Finding wildflowers
It’s not too late to get out and take a hike and see some of Marin’s prettiest wildflowers and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust has a way to make the trip even more interesting.
It offers a free online wildflower guide that can be downloaded and tucked into your pocket.
According to Lily Verdone, MALT’s executive director, the guide, which was originally produced in 2021, is intended to encourage people to get outdoors and enjoy the natural wonders of our region.
It’s not a comprehensive survey of all wildflowers in Marin, but rather a sampling of MALT staff’s favorite flowers and, she says, “these are some of the best of the best.”
It includes 24 wildflower species that she believes “are some of the most abundant and beautiful flowers to discover across Marin’s varied landscapes.” It includes the special Tiburon mariposa lily, which is endemic to Marin County’s serpentine, growing “nowhere else on the planet,” she says. “It typically blooms in March and is a pretty spectacular piece of our local biodiversity.”
To find specific wildflowers found in several of Marin’s parks and trails, Vega points hikers to a MALT blog post (malt.org/recreation/wildflowers-in-marin-county), which makes searching for your favorite wildflowers even easier by noting their location and general bloom times.
Wildflower bloom times vary by habitat type and from year to year. “But late March through early April is generally the peak of bloom for most locations, especially for our serpentine soils, which boasts some of the most dramatic displays,” she says.
A recent MALT blog post, malt.org/recreation/serpentine-soils, highlights these areas.
Native plants sale
Monday is the last day to order hardy and drought-tolerant California native plants during the California Native Plant Society, Marin chapter’s Spring Plant Sale.
A complete list of the plants and seeds for sale can be found online at cnpsmarin.org/native-plants/nursery-and-plant-sales/item/870-spring-2023-plant-sale.
Among the beautiful and colorful plants are yellow-eyed grass, coffeeberry, seaside daisy, fringe cups, spice bush, narrow-leaf milkweed, blue elderberry, California buckeye, sundew poppy, California buckwheat and hairy gumplant.
Plants can be purchased online by 6 p.m. Monday and picked up under the large oak tree at the west end of Bon Air Center in Greenbrae from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 15.
To purchase plants, go to cnpsmarin.org.
Show off
If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.
Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it, and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.