By Anne Ryder
Want to see what thrives here in our Mediterranean climate in the dog days of summer? It’s well worth taking the short drive to our Demonstration Garden. The Demo Garden is on the property of Patrick Ranch, located off the Midway. Here, Master Gardeners plant, grow and tend 14 specialized gardens all year round. It’s a place where you can see, touch, photograph, and explore a very wide variety of flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees, succulents, and other plants, from Asters to Zinnias.
Open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11-3, a grove of almond trees will welcome you in. Quite possibly you’ll see a hummingbird, intent on sipping nectar from the flowering plants as you enter the Garden. Dragonflies and pollinating bees like it here too. A tiny pond carved into a rock contains a fountain signaling fresh water for wildlife.
It is a lovely place where one can just wander. Plants and trees are marked with signage indicating both their scientific and common names, enabling visitors to note and record that information should they wish to plant the same in their own home garden or yard. It’s a good idea to take photos of the plants that interest you, with their labels.
Entering the Demo Garden in early August, there is, not surprisingly, a lack of bright color, with the exception of a few penstemons, black-eyed Susans, zinnias, marigolds, and flowering squashes. Many of the plants that flowered earlier in the summer are now going to seed, a most amazing characteristic of many growing things.
An abundance of fruit trees lines the edge of the property adjacent to the stately prior home of the Patrick family (now a museum). A tree bursting with ripening fruit is a wonder to behold, and something many people never see. But here in Butte County we are fortunate to be able to grow and eat many delicious varieties! At the Demo Garden, some of the fruit trees, like the cherries and plums, have by now been picked to be preserved or eaten, but the trees themselves are healthy specimens to observe.
Hanging from the branches of the fruit trees in the Demo Garden are plump round pomegranates and darkening figs. The peaches, just now ripening, will soon be a sweet summer delight. There are pluots that are sweet and juicy (the pluot is a complex plum-apricot hybrid). And on the vines are clusters of grapes and berries. The grapes are so happy in their environment that they are over-growing the beautiful trellis that stakes them up.
Over in the Edible Garden there are blackberries, too! At this time of year our fruit and vegetable gardens can be abundant producers. Hence, the joke that you should never leave your car unlocked, because someone might fill the back seat with zucchini! There are several varieties of tomatoes here: cherry, pear, plum, and several sliceable varieties. Alongside are exuberant squash plants, with amazing yellow-gold flowers and budding baby squash. Look for the butternut squash, flourishing on a strong mesh trellis support that allows them to hang far above the ground. This can work for pumpkins as well (as long as they don’t get too big).
Late summer is the time to re-evaluate how our garden is faring. We ask ourselves, “What worked and what didn’t work?” and “What do we want to do differently next year?” A stroll through the lovingly-tended Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden is an opportunity to see the possibilities that lie ahead for all local gardeners. The plants are healthy and thriving. Come and be inspired! Click here to download a copy of the Demo Garden.
NOTE: A timely reminder that it is always wildfire season in California, and that there is a lot we can all do to prepare our property for the advent of fire. Zeke Lunder, Chico State Alumnus, pyrogeography and wildfire expert, and director of LOOKOUT MEDIA, including The LOOKOUT newsletter, has just launched a new video series, “Danger in Plain Sight.” While it focuses on Los Angeles, it contains information critical for all of us. Here’s the link: Danger in Plain Sight - The Lookout.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.