Wow! We all know it’s a big year for the United States; this year is the country’s 250th birthday. For your Marin Master Gardener team, it’s a big year for us too; we’ve been of service to our Marin neighbors for 40 years. What better place to highlight both accomplishments than the Marin County Fair, whose theme is “Stars, Stripes and Stories”?
Our booth is called “Stars, Stripes and Stories — Celebrating 40 Years of Growing Together.”
Our “stars” are the gardeners of Marin — home growers, school gardens, community plots and demonstration sites. We share your passion and willingness to keep on learning to keep our community thriving organically and sustainably. We will have a large map of Marin highlighting the community, school and demonstration gardens. There will be an interactive map where visitors can pin their own garden’s location and type (edible, native, pollinator).
Our “stripes” highlight the extraordinary diversity of California’s native plants.
This year’s booth features a native plant garden, plant clinic and more. (Photo by Becca Ryan)
Planned elements include a “native plant wall of fame” featuring the top 10 California natives for Marin gardeners and a native plant garden showcasing several standout native species perfect for Marin. Some of the plants you may see include:
• California lilac (Ceanothus species). It’s an evergreen shrub that provides displays of indigo, blue or white flowers in spring. They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. They’re absolute magnets for pollinators and birds.
• Manzanita (Arctostaphylos species). It’s an evergreen shrub or ground cover. It’s perfect for sunny, steep chaparral slopes and coast-side edges, where it can help with year-round coverage and erosion control. Manzanita is popular for its smooth mahogany bark and pink or white winter flowers.
• Sticky monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus). This small woody perennial shrub blooms with tubular apricot-orange flowers from spring to fall. It’s deer-resistant, drought-tolerant and a critical host plant for checkerspot butterfly larvae.
• California fuchsia (Epilobium canum). This herbaceous perennial is covered in bright, torch-like scarlet flowers from late summer into autumn. It’s an absolute hummingbird magnet.
• Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana). It’s a rhizomatous perennial for partial shade, oak understories and coastal moisture. The dark green fan foliage is attractive all year long and in spring it treats us to purple, blue or cream wildflowers.
• Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum). It’s a dark green evergreen fern that’s happy in deep shade, damp areas and north-facing slopes. It provides structure and support for steep hillsides, and deer ignore it.
Our “story” is one of culture and history. During these last four decades, Marin Master Gardeners have helped Marin gardeners grow thriving, resilient gardens by providing science-based education and solutions to the everyday challenges that we all face when working with Mother Nature. You can find our demonstration gardens at Falkirk in San Rafael, Blackie’s Pasture in Tiburon and College of Marin’s Indian Valley campus. You can find us and learn more on our website, from our columns in the IJ every Saturday, our free bi-monthly newsletter, the Leaflet, our hundreds of events and our countless social media posts. We are also at farmers markets, in school gardens, doing garden walks to help with water usage and at fire-wise events. The help desk in Novato can be accessed by walking in or online.
This year’s booth centers on a “plant clinic,” designed as a hybrid help desk, and “plant ER” to triage, treat and teach. Visitors can explore live samples, view disease photos and learn about our essential tools rooted in science. There will be a scavenger hunt in the booth to encourage you to explore. Marin Master Gardeners will always be on site to help with any questions.
Please join us at the fair from July 1 through 5. We are excited to share our knowledge and enthusiasm for this amazing place we call home.
Sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension, University of California Marin Master Gardeners provide science- and research-based information for home gardeners on our website, in public workshops, on our YouTube channel, and in the Leaflet, a free bi-monthly newsletter. For help with plant problems, email questions to helpdesk@marinmg.org, drop off samples 24/7 in the box outside our office, or call 415-473-4910 to see when a master gardener will be at the help desk. For more information, go to marinmg.ucanr.edu
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