BONNY DOON
Winter pruning workshops
The orchard is calling. The Bonny Doon Food Growers will host a free winter pruning workshop and demonstration with local gardener and specialty pruner James LoPrete at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at two orchards in the Pine Flat and Winter Creek areas of Bonny Doon.
Participants will review training and pruning techniques on 3 to 8 year-old dwarf apple trees and other fruit varieties, then break for a potluck lunch before visiting a more mature orchard of apples, pears, stone fruit, pomegranate, citrus and more. The workshop includes time for discussion and questions about home fruit tree care. All are welcome. RSVP by direct message or email dabney.alix@gmail.com.
LIVE OAK
For the love of plants, evening garden exchanges return
Join fellow gardeners for the free monthly Santa Cruz Garden Exchanges from 5 to 6 p.m. Feb. 11 and from 8 to 9 a.m. Feb. 27 in the parking lot of Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave. Please park in the northern rows of the parking lot away from the building. Gardeners are welcome to bring seeds, bulbs, succulents, houseplants, veggies, fresh flowers, informational material, manure or any garden-related items to trade within the garden community. You do not need to bring something in order to participate and you must take back anything not given out.
The Santa Cruz Garden Exchange 2026 Garden Tour sign-ups are open. Six garden tours are scheduled from April through September. October is open for anyone interested in booking a fall tour. There are also multiple openings for those who would like to host an 8:30 a.m. workshop. To participate in the garden tour line up, or if you would like to host a workshop, call 831-515-7162 or email santacruzgardenexchange@gmail.com.
APTOS
The Gardeners’ Club monthly meeting
The Gardeners’ Club will host its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 12, at Aptos Grange Hall, 2555 Mar Vista Drive. Special guest Renee Shepherd will present on cultivating sweet peas, sharing tips on growing, selecting varieties and getting the most fragrant, colorful blooms from your garden.
Attendees are encouraged to browse the plant sale tables, a favorite part of each meeting. The Gardeners’ Club monthly gathering is community-powered, with members donating plants to stock the tables and keep the selection fresh and interesting. Guests are invited to bring a plant to share or purchase a new one to take home. Memberships and plant sale proceeds go directly toward covering the rental costs of the local grange, helping ensure this welcoming space remains available for the club and the community.
More information is available at the club’s website thegardenersclub.org/community.php.
LIVE OAK
Orchid Society meets monthly, second Friday
The Santa Cruz Orchid Society’s next meeting starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 13, at the Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave. During February’s program the group will view an American Orchid Society webinar, “Growing Specimen Plants” with Sandra Svoboda, a society past president and judge. Svoboda will explore the latest American Orchid Society award for culture, the Certificate of Cultural Excellence and view the plants that earned this highest honor for their grower/owner. Gain tips on how to cultivate an orchid to specimen size.
Meetings are held the second Friday of every month at the Live Oak Grange Hall. Guests are welcome to attend. Meetings include a speaker presentation or panel discussion by an orchid expert(s), a show-and-tell table of blooming plants brought in by members who gladly share information on how they grow them and a chance to win an orchid from the opportunity table, as well as light refreshments.
Check out santacruzorchidsociety.org for information.
SANTA CRUZ
Grafting workshop set at Live Oak Grange
Learn the art of grafting and go home with a tree of your own at a hands-on grafting workshop Feb. 21, at the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave., from 3-6 p.m. Participants will receive rootstock and graft a scion onto it to create an apple tree to take home. Whether you’re brand new or looking to level up, this is a great chance to build confidence and ask all the questions.
Registration is limited to 50 people, so grab your tickets soon if you’d like a spot at mbcrfg.org/event/grafting-workshop-2.
CAPITOLA
Bonsai, cactus and succulents plant sale, show slated for April
The Monterey Bay Cactus and Succulent Society will be hosting a free weekend-long bonsai, cactus and succulents plant show and sale, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., all at the Capitola Mall in the former Sears location.
The event features 10,000 square feet of plants, pottery and horticulture supplies, wide aisles, two dozen specialty cactus and succulent vendors, handmade pottery, a plant hotel, specimen plant displays, expert advice, live demonstrations and conservation information. There will also be planting and re-potting demonstrations as well as a help desk to answer questions on how to take care of plants throughout the show and sale.
Guests are encouraged to bring a box for purchases or use one provided, and may pay by card, tap or cash. Coupons are accepted, and visitors can join the mailing list to receive one for a future sale. The plant hotel allows shoppers to store plants while enjoying the show. Saturday morning is typically the busiest; Sunday and Saturday afternoon tend to be less crowded.
Volunteer sign-up is open, and attendees can join as members for early entry. There will be free and accessible parking. Members may skip entry lines all weekend. Proceeds support the Monterey Bay Area Cactus and Succulent Society’s education and conservation programs. Visit mbsucculent.org/meetings for information.
The Garden Digest is compiled by Jesselyn Rego. To submit items for the calendar including events, meetings, resources or anything garden related, email sentinelhomeandgarden@gmail.com.
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