Sonoma County Master Gardeners Helping Sonoma Gardeners

 

Every year at the Sonoma County Fair the Master Gardeners plant an environmentally-friendly garden demonstrating sustainable, water-wise gardening and natural pest control techniques. For the 2009 fair, which was titled "The Fair Before Time", our garden was themed "The Garden Thyme Forgot".  Low-water plant selection, drip irrigation, storm water runoff management, permeable hardscape and rain gardens are concepts which are illustrated in the garden.  We planted several species which date to prehistoric time, in keeping with the fair theme, including gingko biloba and chondropetalum elephantinum (Cape Rush). A dry streambed surrounded by beautiful flowering, drought-tolerant plants led to a rain garden, and the rear grapestake fence featured a stunning wall garden of succulents and epiphytes. A central area demonstrated lawn-like substitutes which use far less water than turfgrass.

This year over 8,900 people visited the garden to ask questions or pick up hand-out information.

As always, the Master Gardener demo garden was a teaching garden, and featured clear labels of ALL the plant species (the only garden at the fair to do so) as well as information handouts about all aspects of the garden.  There were Master Gardener docents in the garden at all fair-open times to answer questions, and the Master Gardener information table inside the nearby hall was staffed to answer general gardening questions.

 

The Master Gardener fair demonstration garden is always intended to be beautiful, informative, achievable by home gardeners and one that many people would actually like to have in their own back yard--and this year's garden succeeded in spades.

 

One of the missions of the Master Gardeners is to educate the public on the protection of Sonoma County's water quality and environment by reducing the overall use of pesticides. We provide practical, non-toxic pest management strategies that home gardeners can adopt in their own landscapes.

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
2009 Fair Garden Handouts

• Fair Garden Plant List
• How to Establish Drought Tolerant Garden
• Say NO to Lawns
• Succulents in the Garden
• Water Smart Irrigation
• What is Drip Irrigation

 

Master Gardeners Linda King and Mary Barclay oversaw the design and installation of the garden, to which many Master Gardeners devoted hundreds of hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Click Here to go to the UC Integrated Pest Management Site

The Master Gardeners would like to acknowledge the support for the Pesticide Use Reduction program from the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency.