Category Archives: Events

Tearing up the Front Lawn

We attended an interesting talk yesterday in San Francisco by Fritz Haeg put on by the Garden Conservancy and held at Flora Grubb in San Francisco. His Edible Estates project was an interesting project undertaken at 9 residential  homes across the country to tear out front lawns and plant vegetable gardens in were the landscape was previously dominated by little used front lawns.

Haeg’s ideas were to promote gardening, highlight discussion and debate about how we use residential landscapes, and how lawns are often traditionally used as filler with no real practical usage.

An interesting lecture and an idea that promotes sustainable and local food production. His work on the project in chronicled in his book, Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, well worth a look.

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Upcoming Events

We updated our event listings- both in our landscape discussion board calendar and in our blog posting of good places to find garden and other related events in and around Marin County.

A couple of interesting upcoming garden events:


The Lawn Dilemma

Date:   17-Nov-07
Time:   9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location:   Marin Art and Garden Center
Address:   Ross, CA
Description: Roger
Waters presents lawn alternatives for adults. Learn the pros and cons
of keeping or adding a lawn to your garden. Waters is a water
conservation and irrigation specialist. He teaches participants how to
decide if a lawn is a good option. For those who are looking for lawn
alternatives, Waters offers many beautiful and eco-friendly options.

Cost is $10. No reservations necessary.
 http://calendar.ucanr.org/eventdisplay.cfm?caleventnum=27601

Butterflies & Bulldozers Screening 12-6-07
7:00-9:30 pm
Advance screening of a new documentary about the largest urban open space in the country. The filmmakers will be in attendance.
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum
9th Ave./Lincoln Way
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 661-1316

Fee $20.00; pre-registration required

Monet in Normandy Exhibition

I had the good fortunate to visit the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco on the opening weekend of the new Monet in Normandy Exhibition, a showcase of over 40 paintings for museums and collectors around the world.

Monet had a wonderful talent for capturing light and landscapes and the exhibition shows a great variety of his work from nearly 50 years of painting in the region.

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Claude Monet: Grand Canal- Venice

Check out our images of Monet’s home in Giverny in our Great Gardens and Parks Portfolio.

 

Garden Events for Summer

Summer is fast approaching, and with it an interesting palette of garden
events. As usual Pacific Horticulture
Magazine has a great list of what is happening in Northern California.

Garden
Design Online
has a great listing of events for the East coast.

A few interesting items from the list in the next couple months
are:

May 20: Training & Taming Your Espalier, workshop with Alex Fernandez,
9:30 to 11:30 am, Filoli. Fee $35; pre-registration required.

May 21: Gardening Successfully with Oak Woodland and Chaparral Plants, a
class with Maggie Cutler and Glenn Keator, 10 am to 4 pm, Friends of the
Regional Parks Botanic Garden at the Cutler Ranch in Livermore. Fee $50;
pre-registration required at 510/531-8122, www.nativeplants.org.

May 28: Myco-Dynamic Gardening, an intermediate workshop with Mia Rose and
Patrick Garretson, Solar Living Institute. Fee $120; pre-registration required.

June 3: Sick Plant Clinic, with Robert Raabe, 9 am to noon, UC Botanical
Garden at Berkeley.

June 4: Outside the Bungalow: America’s Arts & Crafts Garden, class with
Paul Duchscherer,2 to 4 pm, Gamble Garden Center. Fee $25; pre-registration
required.

June 10: Saturday Plant Sale, featuring perennials, 10 am to 1 pm at the
nursery, San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.

June 10: A Sense of Place: Homes & Gardens in Historic Inverness, a tour
of eight private homes and gardens, 10 am to 4 pm, sponsored by the Inverness
Garden Club, www.invernessgardens.org. Tickets $40; pre-registration suggested.

June 15: The Cornerstone Garden Lecture Series, a garden design talk followed
by a reception in the Gardens, 3 to 7 pm, sponsored by the Garden Conservancy at
Cornerstone Festival of Gardens, 23570 Highway 121, outside the town of Sonoma.
Call 415/561-7895 for information and registration; pre-registration
recommended.

June 19: Luscious Stonework for Gardens, lecture with Jeffrey Bales, 7:15 pm,
California Horticultural Society.



SF Garden Show

The San Francisco Flower and Garden
show is this week, Wednesday-Sunday March 15-19. Among the show’s features
are 27 exhibition gardens, seminars, a plant market, and lots of home and garden
vendors. It is being held as usual at the Cow Palace, with its cavernous
exhibition space, which while more functional, lacks the intimacy and central
location of Fort Mason where the show used to be held.


Garden Events- Northern California

Here are some selections of Northern California Garden events from the
current listing of Pacific
Horticulture Magazine
, check their complete listing for
events throughout the west. If you live on the west coast Pacific Horticulture a
must have magazine for gardeners and horticulurists.

February 20
California Native Plants for the Garden, lecture with Carol
Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O’Brien, 7:15 pm, California Horticultural
Society.

February 22-March 29
California Natives in Style, class with Glenn Keator
and Alrie Middlebrook, 6:30 to 9 pm, plus three field trips, San Francisco
Botanical Garden Society. Fee $115; pre-registration required.

February 26
Microclimates in Your Garden, guided tour and discussion, 2
pm, Arboretum Terrace Home Demonstration Garden, sponsored by UC Davis
Arboretum.

March 4
Sick Plant Clinic, with Robert Raabe, 9 am to noon, UC Botanical
Garden at Berkeley.

March 5
Healthy Soils, Healthy Roses, lecture with Lakshmi Srisharan, 1:30
pm, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum. Fee $15.

March 5
Wildly Successful Plants, a class with Pam Peirce, 2 to 4 pm,
Elizabeth F Gamble Garden. Fee $25; pre-registration required.

March 8
Mixing It Up: Combining California Natives with Plants from Other
Regions, lecture with David Fross, 7 pm, Western Horticultural Society.

March 15-19
Where Gardens Meet Art, 21st Annual San Francisco Flower &
Garden Show, 9 am to 8 pm daily (to 6:30 pm Sunday), Gala Preview Party, Tuesday
5 to 9 pm ($150), The Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, 415/771-6909,
www.gardenshow.com. Admission $20 or $17 in advance; half-day tickets ($13) at 3
pm. Call for schedule of events.

March 16
The Lure of Lavender, a class with Susan Ditz and Sharon Shipley,
6:30 to 8:30 pm, Elizabeth F Gamble Garden. Fee $25; pre-registration required.

March 20
Flowers of Greece and the Mediterranean Basin, lecture with Bob
Gibbons, 7:15 pm, California Horticultural Society.

March 28
Becoming a Resident Naturalist in Your Garden, lecture with Kathy
Biggs, 7 to 9 pm, The Marin Art & Garden Center. Fee $5.

March 30
Napa Gardens, a coach tour with lunch and refreshments, with
Charmain Giuliani and Fred Bové, 8 am to 5 pm, San Francisco Botanical Garden
Society. Fee $165; pre-registration required.

March 31-1
Gardens to Match Your Architecture III: Fresh Design, West
Coast, a seminar featuring Andrea Cochran, Craig Steely, and Bernard Trainor,
Golden Gate Club, The Presidio, San Francisco, cosponsored by The Garden
Conservancy and Pacific Horticulture. Fee $135; pre-registration required at
www.gardenconservancy.org.

April through June: Poppies of the World, an exhibit of qouache paintings by
Gianna Marino, daily except major holidays, 10 am to 4 pm, artist’s reception
Thursday, 4/13, 5 to 7 pm, Helen Crocker Russell Library, San Francisco
Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum, 415/661-1316 x303.

April
1
First Aid Plant Walk, with Chuck Garcia, noon to 2 pm, San Francisco
Botanical Garden Society. Fee $5; pre-registration required.

April 8
Spring in the Perennial Garden, guided tour and discussion, 11 am,
the Gazebo, UC Davis Arboretum.

April 9
Garden and Climate, lecture with Chip Sullivan, 1:30 pm, UC Santa
Cruz Arboretum. Fee $15.

April 12
The Canopy Above: A Walk Among the Trees of Stanford University,
lecture with Ron Bracewell, 7 pm, Western Horticultural Society.

April 17
The Savage Garden: Growing Carnivorous Plants, lecture with Peter
D’Amato, 7:15 pm, California Horticultural Society.

April 22
Cob Construction Workshop, a hands-on class focusing on
straw/clay construction, 10 am to 3 pm, Brooks Park Community Garden, San
Francisco Botanical Garden Society. Fee $15; pre-registration required.

April 22
Fabulous Containers, workshop with Charmain Giuliani, 10 am to 3
pm, San Francisco Botanical Garden Society. Fee $35, plus materials fee;
pre-registration required.

April 30
4th Annual Going Native Garden Tour, self-drive tour of
water-wise gardens featuring native plants in Santa Clara Valley and the
Peninsula, 10 am to 4 pm, sponsored by Santa Clara Valley Chapter, California
Native Plants Society. Free; register at www.GoingNativeGardenTour.com.

April 30
Third Annual Alameda County Bay-Friendly Garden Tour, a
self-guided tour of Mediterranean retreats, edible gardens, wildlife habitats,
and gardens designed for children. For details and registration, call
510/444-SOIL or visit www.BayFriendly.org.


Oil + Wax- Art League of Northern California Exhibition

I attended the opening night of Oil + Wax
this weekend, an encaustic art exhibition put on by the Art League of
Northern California. For those unfamiliar with encaustic, it is an ancient
technique whereby the artist applies layers of wax and pigments to create a
composition. The work may look like a traditional oil painting (at least to my
untrained eye), or can be applied to three dimensional objects. This national
exhibit with contributions of local artists is excellent. It is located at the
League’s building in Hamilton in Novato, now thru November 30th.(check their
website for directions).

For more:
Fayum Mummy
Portraits
– An Example of Ancient Encaustic Art from Wikipedia
Encaustic.com

encaustic.jpg
Example of Fayum Mummy Portraits (Portrait of a young woman, A.D.
110-20 Encaustic on wood; 43.7 x 34 cm (17 1/4 x 13 in.)Royal Museum of
Scotland, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh)-Source Wikipedia


Marin County Garden & Landscape Events

Around the Bay Area and Marin check out these websites for some interesting garden (and other) related events.

Strybing Arboretum Events

SF Sierra Club Events 

California Native Plant Society Events

Marin County Visitor’s Events

Pacific Horticulture Events

Marin ReLeaf Events

Marin Rose Society Events

Marin Photography Club

Marin County UC Extension Master Gardener- Community Service Events

Mediterranean Garden Society Events

Marin Society of Artists Events

Marin Art and Garden Center

Marin IJ Calendar of Events


Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Calendar

The Garden Conservency

Marin Bonsai Club

Marin Magazine Events

Pacific Sun Events

Marin Organic Association Events

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See Trees like this one at Marin ReLeaf’s fall color tour