Whether you’re looking to tour historic landmarks, learn some gardening skills or spend the day on a community farm, you’ll find plenty of opportunities on the Peninsula. Check out our September home & garden events calendar.
Visit the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden to learn about replacement plantings for conventional sod lawns. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
Alternative lawn choices
10-11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 6 | Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto | Free| Information
Visit the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden to get a firsthand look at replacement plantings for your conventional high-water-using sod lawn and learn techniques for removing old lawns, best planting times, water usage, irrigation and maintenance. The garden features many choices for lower-water, lower-maintenance and less fertilizer-using plants for your home landscape. On display are various types of lawns with smooth, mowable surfaces for kids and pets to play on; different groundcovers that have a walkable, low-growing surface; and a selection of high-growing meadow grasses for low foot traffic.
Rob Kleinschmidt works on a bike at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange booth in Mountain View. Photo by Lizzy Myers.
Learn basic bike repair
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 6 | Silicon Valley Bike Exchange, 3961 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto | Free | Registration required (waitlist open)
The Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s certified League Cycling Instructors are partnering with Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange‘s mentor mechanics to teach the basics of fixing your bike so it is safe and smooth to ride. This hands-on workshop is aimed at empowering cyclists with how to repair and maintain their own bike for the most frequent issues, including fixing a flat. This three-hour class is open to ages 14 and up.
Bring your own bike to learn and practice on!
A woman trims the tops off of shepherd’s purse at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
September on the farm
9 a.m. – noon, Wednesdays & Saturdays, Sept. 6, 10, 13, 17 | Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills | Registration required.
Help Hidden Villa’s farm team care for food grown in the fields for the local community. Volunteers are needed to help remove weeds from the farm fields as well as assistance with other tasks. Participants should come ready to get dirty. The farm recommends wearing clothes that you’re okay with getting dirty, sturdy boots and a sun hat. Bring a water bottle and snacks, if you like.
Volunteers meet at the front of the property at 9 a.m. and then head out to the fields from there.
Hidden Villa grows on about 7 acres of land, producing food for the community and donating 25% of the harvest to the food bank at the Community Services Agency of Mountain View. Anyone under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by a guardian.
Learn the basics of making cob, a natural building material similar to adobe that is made from a mixture of clay, sand, straw and water. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
‘Building with Cob’ workshops (Part I & II)
10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Sat., Sept. 6 & 13 | 230 Demeter St., East Palo Alto | Free | Registration and information
Learn the basics of building with cob, a natural, earthen building material similar to adobe that is made from a mixture of clay, sand, straw and water. The nonprofit Fresh Approach will lead a hands-on natural building workshop where participants will explore a variety of techniques, including how to identify and test clay soil, and how to source and prepare natural materials. Together, the class will put these skills into practice by building a garden wall.
Fresh herbs grown in compact containers suitable for backyard or patio gardening. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
Winter container gardening
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13| Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin St., Mountain View | Free | Information
It’s possible to grow vegetables year-round in Santa Clara County’s mild climate. Come and learn which vegetables will grow best in the winter and which ones will thrive in containers. Many herbs grow well in winter, too. Master Gardener Martha Carpenter will explain what’s different from gardening in the ground and how to be a successful container gardener. Types and sizes of containers will be discussed along with soil, fertilizer, water requirements and pest control. Come and learn everything you need to know to get started.
Herbs, flowers and vegetables growing in a backyard garden. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
Introduction to vegetable gardening
6-7:15 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 | Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto | $40 (nonmembers) | Registration required
Learn about the basics of growing your own vegetables with Grace Floyd, the edible garden manager and youth program coordinator at Gamble Garden. This class covers essential plant needs and how to raise common annual vegetables from seed to harvest. Designed for the hopeful backyard gardener. This will include demonstration and practice of potting plants, as well as a tour of the edible garden. This class is suitable for adults and teens. Please bring garden gloves if you have them. All other supplies are included, and gloves will be available.
The “other” Winchester house in Los Altos was designed by Sara Winchester and her sister, Isabel Merriman. Photo by Kevin Legnon.
Sarah Winchester and Isabel Merriman’s iconic homes
5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 17 | Los Altos History Museum, 51 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos |$15 | Tickets and information
Winchester Mystery House Historian Janan Boehme will discuss how two sisters from New Haven, Connecticut, left their architectural mark in 19th-century California during this 90-minute talk about Sarah Winchester and Isabel Merriman and their landmark “dream houses.” Each of their homes started out as “plain, old” farm houses and were remodeled into Victorian splendor.
Sarah Winchester is the namesake of the iconic South Bay landmark the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Her younger sister, Isabel, who, like her sibling, also made her mark on local history, designed a smaller version of Sarah’s mansion in Los Altos. And though the Winchester-Merriman House at 762 Edgewood Lane in Los Altos may be smaller and less famous than its sibling house a bit further south, it is a historic landmark as well.
The talk is part of the exhibition “Building El Sueño: Isabel Merriman, Sarah Winchester, and the California Dream” is on view at the museum through Nov. 30. losaltoshistory.org/exhibit/elsueno/.
Often classified as “pests” in residential areas, this baby raccoon, or “kit,” is eating acorn beneath a live oak in a backyard. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
‘When Wildlife Become Pests’
Noon- 1 p.m., Thursday., Sept. 18 | Online, presented by the UC California Integrated Pest Management Program | Free| Registration required
This free, online presentation will cover information on wildlife common to urban areas, including coyotes, birds, rodents, raccoons, skunks and opossums. Participants will learn how to identify, prevent and manage common negative human-wildlife interactions and pest problems.
Filoli’s formal gardens boast ever-changing colors and blooms year-round. Photo courtesy Getty Images. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Insider’s garden tour at Filoli
1:30- 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 18 | Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside | $175 | Registration and information.
Discover Filoli’s garden anew on this exclusive tour with the seasoned horticulture staff who know every inch of it. Learn about the history of the 16-acre English Renaissance garden, the stories of its treasured specimens and journey behind the walls to see the magic that makes it happen. This is your opportunity to ask our horticultural experts your burning questions — whether about your home garden or your favorite Filoli tree.
A trail cuts through the trees at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. Photo courtesy Getty Images.
‘Signs of Fall’ hike
9 a.m. – noon, Friday, Sept. 26 | Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve, Redwood City| Free | Information
Join Docent Naturalists Mike Lohr and Susan Dunn to explore signs of fall at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. Participants will see a variety of trees and bushes with berries, as well as dusky footed woodrat nests. At the top of the ridge, enjoy a spectacular view of the surrounding hills and the San Francisco Bay. This is a moderately paced 4-mile hike with several steep hills and uneven terrain. No dogs.
Santa Clara County Parks’ annual fall fair will feature agricultural workshops, a plant sale, a pumpkin patch and more. Embarcadero Media file photo.
Fall Garden Fair
9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Oct. 11 | 5283 Snell Ave., Martial Cottle Park, San Jose | Free | Information
Learn about fall gardening, sharpen your tools, swap seeds and get expert advice at the annual Fall Garden Fair, which features local arts, crafts, kids activities, agricultural workshops, historical autos, antique farm equipment, live music, food trucks, exhibitors, entertainment, a pumpkin patch and more. The regional event, hosted by Santa Clara County Parks, also includes a plant sale with vegetable, native and ornamental seedlings, along with garlic, shallots, succulents and herbs.
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