Event Calendar
2024 Events
Feb. 2024
- Sat. Feb. 10, 10am-4pm: Orchids, Air Plants, & Bromeliads Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Feb. 11, 10am-4pm: Orchids, Air Plants, & Bromeliads Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
Mar. 2024
- Sat. Mar. 8, 10am-4pm: Magnolias & Friends Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Mar. 9, 10am-4pm: Magnolias & Friends Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
April 2024
- Sat. Apr. 13, 10am-4pm: Growing Natives Garden Tour - Northern Gardens (register for maps & info)
- Sat. Apr. 13, 10am-4pm: Shade Plants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sat. Apr. 13, 9am-1pm: Spring Garden Market and Education Fair, UC Master Gardeners of San Mateo & San Francisco Counties, at San Mateo County Event Center, Redwood Hall, 2495 South Delaware Street, San Mateo
- Sun. Apr. 14, 10am-4pm: Growing Natives Garden Tour - Southern Gardens (register for maps & info)
- Sun. Apr. 14, 10am-4pm: Shade Plants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sat. Apr. 20, 9am-12n: 2024 Seedlings Sale by the Almost Eden Garden Project at 3833 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto (note pre-order/prepayment requirement)
- Sat. Apr. 27, 9am-2pm: Spring Garden Fair, UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, at Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue near Branham Lane, San Jose
May 2024
- Sat. May 11, 10am-2pm: Woodside-Atherton Garden Club Plant Sale, Woodside Library, 3140 Woodside Rd., Woodside (Web site is out of date)
- Sat. May 11, 10am-4pm: Spring Bloomers Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. May 12, 10am-4pm: Spring Bloomers Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
June 2024
- Sat. June 8, 10am-4pm: Houseplants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. June 9, 10am-4pm: Houseplants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
July 2024
- Sat. Jul. 13, 10am-4pm: Pollinators Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Jul. 14, 10am-4pm: Pollinators Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
August 2024
- Sat. Aug. 17, 10am-4pm: Cacti & Succulents Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Aug. 18, 10am-4pm: Cacti & Succulents Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
September 2024
- Sat. Sep. 7, 10am-4pm: California Natives Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Sep. 8, 10am-4pm: California Natives Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
October 2024
- Sat. Oct. 5, 9am-2pm: Fall Garden Fair, UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, at Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue near Branham Lane, San Jose
- Sat. Sep. 12, 10am-4pm: Fall Planting Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Sep. 13, 10am-4pm: Fall Planting Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
November 2024
- Sat. Nov. 9, 10am-4pm: Cloud Forest Plants of the World Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Nov. 10, 10am-4pm: Cloud Forest Plants of the World Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
December 2024
- Sat. Dec. 14, 10am-4pm: Year-End Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. Sep. 15, 10am-4pm: Year-End Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
Past Events
April 2023
- Sat. Apr. 1, 10am-4pm: Growing Natives Garden Tour - Northern Gardens (register for maps & info)
- Sun. Apr. 2, 10am-4pm: Growing Natives Garden Tour - Southern Gardens (register for maps & info)
- Sat. Apr. 15, 9am-2pm: Spring Garden Fair, UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, at Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue near Branham Lane, San Jose
- Sat. Apr. 15, 9am-1pm: Spring Garden Market and Education Fair, UC Master Gardeners of San Mateo & San Francisco Counties, at San Mateo County Event Center, Redwood Hall, 2495 South Delaware Street, San Mateo
- Sat. Apr. 22, 2pm-4pm: Annual Plant Exchange at Mountain View Public Library, Bookmobile Garage
- Tue. Apr. 25, 11am-12:30n: Spring Plant Sale, The Garden Club of Los Altos, at Los Altos Lutheran Church, 460 South El Monte Avenue, Los Altos
- Fri. Apr. 28, 10am-4pm: Plant sale, San Jose Gardening Club, at 2470 Richland Ave. @ Janis Way, San Jose (between Koch. & Curtner)
- Sat. Apr. 29, 8am-3:00pm: Plant sale, San Jose Gardening Club, at 1190 Camino Ramon, San Jose (between Willow St. & Minnesota St., across from Bramhall Park, Willow Glen)
- Sat. Apr. 29, 10am-5pm: CSSSJ Spring Show and Sale, Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose, at Peterson Middle School, 1380 Rosalia Av. (nr. El Camino / Lawrence), Sunnyvale
- Sun. Apr. 30, 9am-3:30pm: CSSSJ Spring Show and Sale, Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose, at Peterson Middle School, 1380 Rosalia Av. (nr. El Camino / Lawrence), Sunnyvale
May 2023
- Sat. May 13, 10am-11:30am: Seed Swap, UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, at Pavillion, UC Master Gardener Parcel, Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue near Branham Lane, San Jose
- Sat. May 20, 9am-12n: Succulent Open House & Sale, UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, at Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue near Branham Lane, San Jose
June 2023
- Sat. June 10, 10am-4pm: Herbs & Medicinal Plants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
- Sun. June 11, 10am-4pm: Herbs & Medicinal Plants Sale, SF Botanical Garden, at SF County Fair Building (arbor at main gate), G.G. Park
Planting Charts for This Area (suitable for printing)
- UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara Co. chart
- UC Master Gardeners of SM & SF Cos. charts for hot areas (e.g., mine), sunny areas, and foggy areas
- Common Ground Palo Alto chart: Ecology Action has kindly permitted me to re-publish Common Ground PA's chart with this notice: "The chart is probably good for most parts of Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Redwood City, Stanford, Sunnyvale, and some of Los Altos, The chart is not good for San Francisco and many parts of the San Francisco Peninsula."
Gardening Clubs (including non-nursery plant sources/sales), etc.
- UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County (was: Santa Clara County Master Gardeners, formerly at mastergardeners.org/scc.html)
- UC Master Gardeners of San Mateo & San Francisco Counties
- California Native Plant Society - Santa Clara Chapter (also covers southern San Mateo Co.) has online store
- California Native Plant Society San Francisco Chapter
- Sunnyvale Garden Club
- Woodside/Atherton Garden Club
- Civic Garden Club of San Carlos Holds plant sales most Saturdays, predicted rain may cancel. Sales are announced on their Facebook page and local Nextdoor.
- Foothill College Horticulture Club (a squatter now owns foothillhort.com): Lath House at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills ($3 for parking)
- San Mateo Arboretum Society
- SF Botanical Garden (no longer at sfbotanicalgarden.org) has October-November sales for native plants and succulents, and for ferns, trees, and rhodododendrons. Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park
- UCSC Arboretum
- Norrie's Gift and Garden Shop @UCSC Arboretum has plants from (mostly) Mediterranean climates for you to purchase online (info)
- San Jose Garden Club
- The Garden Club of Los Altos
- The Garden Faire - annual in June, Scotts Valley's Skypark
- California Garden Clubs: affiliates search
- The Gardeners' Club, Santa Cruz County
- Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose holds an annual Fall Show and Sale, October.
Local Event Info / Misc. Resources
- Growing Natives Garden Tour is an annual co-production, every April, of California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Chapter and UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County
- Menlo Park Library Garden Talks:
- Upcoming events on menlopark.org (w/Zoom signup)
- Upcoming events on Meetup
- Video archive
- Seed library
- Common Ground Garden as an institution was shut down in September 2018. The sponsoring group, Ecology Action of the Mid-Peninsula still operates. Common Ground Palo Alto, its management of the demonstration garden at 687 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, its classes, and the July Common Ground Edible Garden Tour will all be sorely missed.
- The Almost Eden Garden Project is a volunteer-maintained demonstration garden in Palo Alto (behind 4111 Alma St., south of E. Charleston) that sometimes has sales
Pests:
- Whitefly parasite wasps (Encarsia formosa) from Planet Natural. Works best agains the 3rd & 4th larval instars (stages). Needs 62° F. Best at 50-80% humidity and high light intensity. To apply: 2-4 parasites per square foot of infested area or 1-2 per plant after the presence of whitefly is noticed. A second release, 1-2 weeks later, may be necessary. Consider using a non-residual insecticide or insecticidal soap first. Release parasites about 2-3 weeks later. Yellow sticky traps can pick up adults.
(Empirically, I've found that power-washing the understories of affected trees, with just a garden hose nozzle set to "jet", cuts whitefly population by 95%+ for a month at a time, during the warm whitefly season.) - Yellow Stripey Things field guide
Drip Irrigation Vendors:
Ewing irrigation & Landscape Supply
926 Bransten Road near Industrial Road
San Carlos
Tel: (650) 592-9530
Hours: Su closed, Mo-Fr 7am-5:30pm, Sa 8-11am
The Urban Farmer Store
833 Vicente near 40th Ave.
San Francisco
Tel: (415) 661-2204
Hours: Su closed, Mo-Fr 7:30am-6pm, Sa 9:30am-5pm
Horizon Distributors, Inc. (subsidiary of Pool Corporation)
4060 Campbell Ave. (off Bohannon Drive)
Menlo Park
Tel: (650) 323-5161
Fax: (650) 323-2011
Hours: Su closed, Mo-Fr 6am-4pm, Sa 7am-12n
Good online vendor: Drip Depot (also has good instructional material). I can also strongly recommend searching YouTube for drip irrigation tutorials.
Tomato Corner
MP Library Garden Talk: Growing Tomatoes, April 6, 2022: video, notes