Events

You will be introduced to the best of the best, easy-to-grow flowers that have staying power. Common plant foliage will complement and add wonderful effect. Learn which specific varieties do well in arrangements. Save money and have more joy growing your own flower bouquets. Purple orach, colorful amaranths, 10 different alstromerias, purple millet, peonies and long-stemmed roses will be discussed. A slide show is included. Nancy will share 20-plus years of knowledge on selecting and growing local cut flowers. She has been involved with the UC Cooperative Extension trials of over a hundred kinds of flowers to find teh most beautiful. Her work with sunflowers has been featured in Sunset magazine.

Location: 559 College Ave., Palo Alto, 94306 Directions to Common Ground

Join other gardeners in learning how to save seeds from your favorite summer vegetables and flowers. Followed by Open Garden until 1 p.m.

Location: Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto, 94301 Directions to Palo Alto Demonstration Garden

Santa Clara County is one the best places in the world to create a year-round garden, whether
you want to grow vegetables or a beautiful sustainable garden full of trees, shrubs, perennials and flowers. Come learn the basics about our climate and soil and the best practices for creating your ideal garden. If you are a beginning gardener, you will learn how to get started successfully. If you have some experience, you’ll learn about sustainable practices and appropriate plants to introduce into your garden. The goal of this class is to enable you to have a successful and sustainable garden in our time and place.

There are six classes on six consecutive Monday evenings from September 8 through October 13 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

To register, visit the web site http://www.paadultschool.org
or call 650-329-3752.

Location: Palo Alto High School, Room 1708, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, 94301 Directions to Palo Alto High School

Learn how to grow "Allium Gardens of Garlic, Onions, Leeks & More!" at the next Master Gardener Workshop at Gamble Garden.  UCCE Master Gardener Susan Zaslaw will explain methods gardeners can use to take advantage of our Bay Area mild winters to grow a gourmet garden of onions, flowering chives, leeks and shallots - all members of the Allium family.  Alliums help conserve water during this drought period since they thrive during the rainy season.  She will also discuss the ornamental alliums, which are very striking, and other edible alliums such as: green onions, Japanese bunching onions, Egyptian walking onions and bulbing onions.  Other topics include: the history of growing onions and garlic; some ancient beliefs and medicinal uses; as well as how to plant, grow, harvest and preserve the Alliums.   Handouts will be provided.

Location: Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverly St., Palo Alto, 94301 Directions to Gamble Garden

Join Master Gardener Karen Schaffer for a two-hour free workshop on Cool Season Gardening.  Now is the perfect time to start winter greens, chard, lettuce, kale, radish, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and more!  You will be harvesting delicious vegetables from November through March.

The class is free but we request that you pre-register by phoning the MetroEd office during business hours at 408-723-6450 or by sending email to RitaB@metroed.net.  Please include a phone number in your email.  Registration forms are available at the door. 

 

Location:

Erikson Adult Ed Center, 4849 Pearl Ave., San Jose, 95136.

Directions to Erikson/MetroEd Adult Education Center

Join the 90,000 people in the United States who have certified their yards and homes as backyard habitats for wildlife. Master Gardener Sharon McCray, whose yard is certified by the National Wildlife Federation, will show the four basic elements required by wildlife for survival and how to provide them in basic landscaping. You'll learn about gardening with natives, how to build a toad house and learn about other wildlife-friendly shelters, discover ways to reduce water use while providing ample resources for animals and so much more! We will even provide the paperwork for you to begin certifying your own backyard habitat. Let's make the world a greener and more wildlife-friendly place.

Location: Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, 438 Coleman Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110. 408-298-7657 Map and Directions to Guadalupe River Park and Gardens

Learn simple techniques of sustainable gardening to create and maintain a beautiful ornamental garden that will be attractive year-round while respecting and protecting the environment. Topics include caring for the soil, using efficient irrigation and choosing the right plant for the right place. The course also covers basic design concepts, non-toic pest management and season-appropriate chores to keep your garden looking its very best.

Six consecutive Wednesday evenings from September 17 - October 22, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.  Register at http://ace.fuhsd.edu or call 408-522-2700.

Location:

Fremont High School, Room Art D, 1279 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Sunnyvale, 94087. 

Directions to Fremont High School in Sunnyvale

Gardening in containers lets us garden anywhere - balconies, patios, driveways and more. With containers we can bring great tastes, textures and smells closer to us, and keep gardening manageable by choosing plants and containe sizes that meet our needs. In this class you'll learn the basics of container gardening: soil, water, fertilizer, container materials (clay, plastic, etc.), container sizes and common pests. Then you'll learn about a wide variety of plants that do particularly well in containers, with special emphasis on fragrant plants, plants that are fun to touch, and edible plants - herbs, fruits and vegetables, including ones that you can plant right now in September.

Location: Community Room, West Valley Library, 1243 San Tomas Aquino Road, San Jose, 95117. Directions to West Valley Library

Fall is the best time to plant ornamentals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Come and learn how to design your dream garden, get ideas of the plants most suited to our area, and where to find them.

Location: Sunnyvale Library, 665 W Olive Ave, Sunnyvale, 94086. Directions to Sunnyvale Library

Did you know that by careful planning and plant selection, you can have beautiful flowers in your garden all year long? Find out from Master Gardeners!

Location: Evergreen Library, 2635 Aborn Road, San Jose, 95121 Directions to Evergreen Library

In September, representatives from the Santa Clara Valley Water District will join us for the first hour, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. to talk about water conservation. From 11 a.m. - noon, we are inviting people to talk about water-saving ideas. Master Composter Lee Phillips will join us to talk about how he has saved money from the Santa Clara Valley Water District's water rebate program. He will lead off the show with a water-related song he composed! For more infomation on the rebate program, see valleywater.org.

Location: KKUP Radio at FM 91.5 mHz. Drop by the studio at 1241 Franklin Mall in Santa Clara ringed by Jackson, Monroe, Homestead and Benton Streets. Call in your questions during the show: 408-260-2999. Directions KKUP Radio Studio

Now is a great time to start winter greens. Master Gardener Karen Schaffer will introduce you to many new and unusual varieties of vegetables.

Location: Los Altos Main Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, 94022 Directions to Los Altos Main Library

The goal of the Harvest Fair & Exposition is to embrace the spirit of the county fair and provide a place for families to celebrate a "county fair" in San Jose.

Entertainment - unusual food - pony rides - plant sale - cooking classes - pumpkin patch - hay wagon ride - apple juice tasting - kids programs - games and fun things to do! Listen to the Mariachi San Jose Youth Band!

Visit the Rare Fruit Orchard - the Heritage and High-Density Fruit Orchards - Emma's German Garden - Friendship Forest - Petting Zoo - and be part of 4H Mega Field Day!

The Master Gardeners will host a booth and will be holding a fall plant sale with fall/winter vegetable seedlings and other plants.

For more information, visit http://pruschfarmpark.org or call 408-926-5555.

Location:

Prusch Farm Park, 647 South King Road, San Jose, 95116. This is near the intersections of highways 280/680 and 101. Admission and parking are free.

Directions to Prusch Farm Park

Tired of watering, mowing and weeding your lawn but don't know what to put in instead?  Replacing your lawn appropriately reduces your water bill and your maintenance costs, encourages habitat for birds and butterflies and does not contribute to global warming.  You'll come away from this inspiring talk with dozens of ideas, illustrated by pictures worth more than a thousand words.  Deva Luna combines her passion for plants with a desire to enhance the environment.  She is a lifetime Master Gardener, Gardening Instructor, Coordinator of Santa Clara Teaching Garden, Landscape Designer and Horticulturalist for EarthCare Landscaping.  She has a degree in "Plants and Art" from UC Davis.

To register, call 650-493-6072.

Location: 559 College Ave., Palo Alto, 94306 Directions to Common Ground

Walk and talk with Master Gardeners as they cut back, clean up and divide ornamental plants for the winter.

Followed by Open Garden until 1 p.m.

Location: Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto, 94301 Directions to Palo Alto Demonstration Garden

Santa Clara County is one of the best places in the world to create a year-round garden, whether you want to grow vegetables or a beautiful sustainable garden full of trees, shrubs, perennials and flowers.  Come learn the basics about our climate and soil and the best practices for creating your ideal garden.  If you are a beginning gardener, you will learn how to get started successfully.  If you have some experience, you'll learn about sustainable practices and appropriate plants to introduce into your garden.  the goal of this class is to enable you to have a successful and sustainable garden in our time and place.

There are six classes on six consecutive Tuesday evenings from October 7 through November 11 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Register at http://www.ci.campbell.ca.us/Recreation/communitycenter

Location: Campbell Community Center, 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell, 95008 Directions to Campbell Community Center

This fall, plant a crop in your vegetable bed to feed the SOIL instead of you and your family. We'll talk about what a cover crop is, why they are useful and which ones are good to plant here.

Followed by Grand Rounds in the Community Garden.

Location: Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden (at Charles Street Community Garden), 433 Charles St., Sunnyvale, 94087 Directions to Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden