May Special Events

May 6, Sunday – 1pm-5pm: The East Bay Rose Society 65th Annual Spring Rose Show in the Lakeside Park Garden Center, adjacent to the Gardens at Lake Merritt. For a complete schedule of activities, go to http://www.eastbayroses.org/

May 26, Saturday – noon-1pm:  Tips and tricks for growing great vegetables in containers. Containers are a good option for growing on decks, patios and compact yards. This talk will cover suitable containers, soil, vegetables and herbs for container gardening as well as light, water and fertilizer requirements. General gardening hints and questions & answers at the end. Master Gardener David Blood shares many years of experience gardening in containers great and small.

Community Work Party Events 

“The Gardens have come into their springtime beauty and are looking more colorful each day.  A special thanks to the volunteers who continue to provide TLC,” Bruce Cobbledick, President, Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt

NEW TIME – Every Thursday - 9:00am to noon:  Meet at the Pollinator Gardens adjacent to the community Edible Garden.

May 5, Saturday- 9am-12pm: Mediterranean Garden and Overall Garden TLC. 

May 19, Saturday- 9am-12pm: Sensory, Palmetum, and Rhododendron Gardens

Bring a friend and a garden tool. When volunteering, receive a parking pass at the kiosk by telling the attendant you are a volunteer with the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

In the event of rain, meet behind the lathe house (the Vireya Display Garden) where we will plant cuttings under cover.

May Gardening Tips

Prepared by the Alameda County Master Gardeners

All summer vegetables can be planted (beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc.).

All summer annual flowers can be planted or sown.

Continue planting summer bulbs.

In cooler areas east of the coastal hills, continue planting beets and carrots.

Thin fruit on fruit trees as needed (use the width of your closed fist as a rough guide). For more information, read up on thinning here.

Check to be sure that your irrigation system is working and meets the needs of your garden with the calculator for estimating water needs. For more information on gardening tips and information from the Alameda CountyMaster Gardeners, go to http://acmg.ucdavis.edu/

]]> http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/spring-rose-show-may-6-2012-lakeside-park-garden-center/feed/ 0 http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/twelve-non-profits-demonstrate-urban-edible-gardening-techniques-in-the-gardens-at-lake-merritt/ http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/twelve-non-profits-demonstrate-urban-edible-gardening-techniques-in-the-gardens-at-lake-merritt/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:58:22 +0000 Elise http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/?p=1880

Growing organic produce is an enriching and dynamic process offering innumerable benefits to individuals and the community. Oakland Parks and Recreation is underscoring these benefits with a new demonstration program at its Lakeside Park Demonstration Garden located in the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

Twelve organizations are bringing  expertise to their demonstration plots with missions including: teaching self reliance;  urban seed saving; combating issues of hunger and violence; and growing and making herbal remedies. Special emphasis will be placed on optimizing a garden’s potential through plant selection and growing techniques.

Teams of volunteers will nurture the plots under expert guidance with each organization  featuring free monthly demonstrations and workshops.

For more information on the new Lakeside Park Demonstration Gardens, please contact Community Gardening Coordinator Peter Collier at pcollier@oaklandnet.com or visit Oakland Park and Recreation’s website http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/s/cgardening/index.htm

Kudos to the following organizations for sharing their knowledge and commitment with the community

ALAMEDA COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: Committed to growing plants that thrive in Alameda County. Their workdays are every second and fourth Saturday from 11am to 1pm and every Wednesday from 11am to 1pm where they are available to answer garden related questions. On the last Saturday of the month from 12 to 1pm you can expect some scintillating lectures on various gardening topics. For a complete schedule visit  their website at: http://acmg.ucdavis.edu/Demonstration_Gardens/Lakeside_Trials_Garden/

MERRITT COLLEGE: Grows food for community food banks and offers free classes in urban community gardening every Wednesday from 9:30am to noon. http://merrittlandhort.com/urban-community-gardening

PEOPLE’S VICTORY GARDEN : Meeting the need for communities to be more self reliant by installing gardens throughout the city. Their workdays and demos are every first and third Saturday from 10am to 12pm and every second and fourth Wednesday from 1pm to 2:30pm.Visit their website for topics and schedule changes: http://www.peoplesvictorygarden.org/

SEEDFOLKS : Fosters curiosity about the plants growing in the inner city and is committed to urban seed saving with their seed library at the Cesar Chavez Branch of the Oakland Public Library. Their workdays are every third Saturday from 12pm to 2pm.

TODDLER GARDEN : A miniature community garden with individual and communal spaces dedicated to teaching small children the skills and joys of gardening. Their workdays are every second and fourth Saturday starting at 9am and the fourth Saturday of each month is their demonstration day.

ST PAUL’S SCHOOL: Middle school students  growing produce for low income seniors and learning to care for the earth as part of the school’s service learning curriculum. Their workdays are every Tuesday and Friday from 2:10pm to 3:15pm.

PLANTING JUSTICE: Dedicated to economic and food justice through support of sustainable local food systems. Their workday is the second Sunday of the month. Check out their website for more information: http://www.plantingjustice.org/

FURIOUS DANCING GARDEN : The New Bill Barham & Co. Multicultural Gardeners and Poets Collective is putting in motion the literary soul of planting, nurturing and ever-changing garden landscape conversation. They are preparing to launch their season of workdays and demos, which will consist of literary events in the garden, beginning in April 2012.

COMMUNITIES ROOTING TOGETHER: Bringing the Cambodian Women’s Group together to plant food crops from their native home. Workdays are every Friday from 10am to 12noon and demos are the first Thursday of the month from 10am-12pm.

CHEF ROBERT DORSEY III: Cultivating gardens with the youth of Oakland’s “Junior Chef Society” as a peaceful solution to combat issues of hunger and violence in Oakland communities. Workdays are every second and fourth Saturday from 11am to 1pm.

FRENCH BIO-INTENSIVE DOUBLE DIG: Workdays are every first and third Saturday from noon to 2pm, and every fourth Wednesday from 2pm to 3:30pm.

HOPE COTTAGE: Workdays and demos to be determined.

Butterflies, beautiful and important pollinators, are thriving in the Gardens thanks to Park Supervisor Tora Rocha and the schoolchildren and garden regulars she has enlisted to help incubate and release some 20 Monarch butterflies.

Each Monarch lays about 1,000 eggs with only one or two making it to adulthood. Fungus, wasps and flies are a Monarch egg’s nemesis. The lifespan of a Monarch is about four months, and it takes four generations of Monarchs to make the return journey to the start point of their migration.  Our local Monarchs migrate to the central deserts (Mojave or Arizona) in February, then to British Columbia in late spring, returning to the Bay Area in the fall.

Monarchs thrive on Mexican Butterfly Weed or Scarlet Milkweed. These plants act as hosts for the egg, caterpillar and chrysalis stages.  With this in mind, Oakland Public Works and garden volunteers are restoring the Gardens’ three pollinator gardens located adjacent to the Community Edible Garden.  In addition to providing native butterfly habitat, a native bee and hummingbird garden have been newly planted.

The Monarchs seem to truly appreciate Tora’s efforts of collecting and protecting eggs, incubating and feeding the caterpillars and releasing them in the Gardens.  More than one has landed on her shoulder after being released, offering a quick thanks and hello.

“Butterflies are a wonderful way to teach inner city kids the beauty and importance of nature,” says Rocha. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a native butterfly house in the Gardens at Lake Merritt, she whispered.

“Come, Thirsty Ones, to the Fountain Set Out in the Open for You.  Let the Joyous Multitudes Come” – Easterbrook Fountain inscription translated from Latin

Many famous Italian gardens are noted for their cool wells and delightful fountains, just as the recently restored Easterbrook Fountain, an antique Italian bird fountain, is now the centerpiece of the Mediterranean Garden. The fountain, created from pure white Carrara marble by distinguished Florentine sculptor Petrelli, was shipped to the United States in the early 1900s by East Bay philanthropists, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Easterbrook.

In 1914, Mrs. Daniel E. Easterbrook, world traveler, noted East Bay philanthropist and bird lover, donated the lovely bird fountain to the “little park” adjacent to Lake Merritt (now the Gardens at Lake Merritt).

Mrs. Easterbrook long pleaded with park gardeners to turn down the nearby McElroy fountain at certain times of the day so wild birds could have brief opportunities to drink and bathe.  Her love of birds later led to her presenting the delightful “Easterbrook”  bird fountain to Oakland through former Mayor Frank Howard.

Special thanks to Bruce Cobbledick, President of the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt, for his dedication to restoring this beautiful treasure for the enjoyment of all Oaklanders . . . and the birds.

Top photo by Robert Dorsey III; Bottom photo by Bruce Cobbledick

More than 70 volunteers  enjoyed the results of their weeding and mulching in the Gardens in honor of Earth Day.  The Gardens are beaming from all the good attention.

Please join the fun at the regularly scheduled volunteer work party days: the first and third Saturday of each month; every Thursday from 9:00-noon (meet at the Succulent Garden) and Tuesday evenings from 5:00pm-7:00pm starting in May (meet in the Sensory Garden).

See you there!

The Gardens were featured as Oakland’s hidden oasis by Laura Anthony of  ABC Channel 7  KGO-TV. The segment captured the tranquil beauty and benefits of our unique community asset. Thank you to all  dedicated volunteers, Park Supervisor Tora Rocha and the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

Watch the video here: Hidden Jewel in the Heart of Downtown Oakland ABC7News

 

April Special Events

American Rhododendron Society Show and Plant Sale- April 14-15: Saturday 12:00pm-4:00pm and Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm, (plant sale both days from 10:00-4:00) at  the Lakeside Park Garden Center. Many fragrant rhododendrons for sale including tropical vireyas.  Don’t miss the colorful display of species and hybrids. Educational exhibit and raffle prizes. Free to the public.

Earth Day- Saturday April 21, 9:00-1:00: The Gardens at Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park

Creating A Bountiful Summer Vegetable Garden; Maximize Your Space to Fill Your Plate: Presented by the Alameda County Master Gardeners in the Trials Garden in the Edible Demonstration Garden- Saturday, April 28, Noon- 1:00pm

Community Work Party Events 

NEW TIME – Every Thursday – 9:00am to noon:  Meet at the Succulent Garden.

April 7, Saturday- 9am-12pm: Mediterranean Garden and Overall Garden TLC. 

April 21, Saturday- 9am-12pm: Sensory, Palmetum, and Rhododendron Gardens

Bring a friend and a garden tool. When volunteering, receive a parking pass at the kiosk by telling the attendant you are a volunteer with the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

In the event of rain, meet behind the lathe house (the Vireya Display Garden) where we will plant cuttings under cover.

April Gardening Tips

Prepared by the Alameda County Master Gardeners

• Continue to plant root crops in the garden (beets, turnips, carrots, radishes, potatoes, etc.).
• Set out plants or directly seed  summer annuals (cosmos, marigold, sunflower, petunia, etc.).
• Some cool season crops can still be planted in early April (chard, leek, green onion, lettuce, other salad greens).
• Summer crops can possibly be planted in late April if it’s warm enough. Start cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and melons indoors in peat or newspaper pots.
• Plant summer bulbs (callas, cannas, dahlias, gladiolas, etc.).
• Fertilize and water as needed.
• Manage any pests who have appeared with help from UC Pest Notes at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.homegarden.html

Weeds…. they can be overwhelming this time of year due to spring rains and warming weather. Don’t despair! You can win the battle of the weeds without resorting to deadly chemicals or furious digging and yanking. A weed-fighting method called “sheet mulching” works in harmony with nature; weeds disappear while soil improves at the same time.

How does it work? The weeds are literally smothered and not allowed to see the light of day. Layers of compostable materials (such as newspaper or cardboard, compost and wood chips) are piled on top of the weeds. Then the naturally occurring microorganisms and worms in the soil below do the magical job decomposing the weeds.

With time, the mulch layers break down and provide organic material and nutrients to the soil. Thus, sheet mulching not only gets rid of weeds, it also improves the soil fertility and helps a happy community of earthworms keep the soil aerated.

In contrast, digging out weeds disrupts the soil’s natural ecosystem and destroys earthworm tunnels. Spraying with herbicides adds environmentally questionable chemicals to the garden. Sheet mulching works with nature rather than against it. 

Sheet mulching is simple and inexpensive, just follow the steps below:

1. Dampen whole sections of newspaper or flattened cardboard boxes by placing in a large bucket or play pool filled with water. Remove and place directly on weeds, overlapping for complete coverage. Another alternative is to use cardboard sold in rolls, using at least 2 to 3 layers; spray cardboard with water to dampen after rolling out.
2. Spread a  4” to 6” layer of mulch over the newspaper/cardboard.  The mulch can consist of wood chips or a combination of weed-free compost and wood chips. Wood chips can often be found for free from a local tree company.
3. Plant new plants by cutting holes through the newspaper/cardboard.  Replace mulch around plants, but don’t smother them! Hold the mulch a couple of inches away from the base of the plant. If large plants are being used (such as 5 gallon cans and larger), it is best to plant them first, and then sheet mulch around them. Try to keep soil under the sheet mulching so weed seeds will be smothered.
4. The weeds will naturally bio-degrade within a month or two. The wood chips or compost can be replenished annually as needed. Subsequent weeding is much easier as the soil becomes looser and more organic.The sheet mulching technique was used in both the Mediterranean Garden and the Sensory Garden in The Gardens at Lake Merritt with great success:

   

    Before Sheet Mulching: Dense weeds covered the Mediterranean Garden site.

    

    Dampened cardboard was placed in layers over the planting beds.

   Drip irrigation tubing was installed on top of the cardboard.

    

   

   Compost and wood chips were placed over newspaper layers at the Sensory Garden.

    Holes were dug through the layers for new plants.

    

   The completed Mediterranean Garden 1-1/2 years later.Weeds are still suppressed by sheet mulching and the plants are flourishing

   You’ll find Tricia Christopher in the Mediterranean Garden most work party days (the first and third Saturdays of every month). She’s happy to answer your questions about Mediterranean gardening and/or visit her website http://www.tchristopher.com/

Article by Tricia Christopher, Landscape Architect and Designer of the Mediterranean Garden.

 The Mediterranean Garden is designed to showcase the color combinations possible with plants originating from climates with dry summers and mild winters. This column will feature seasonally noteworthy plants in the garden. Plant Shown: Ceanothus “Concha“

Two of the first spring bloomers in the Mediterranean Garden are bursting with splendid masses of intense blue flowers. While blue is normally considered a “cool” or subtle color that doesn’t shout out its presence, this is not the case with the show-stopper displays put on by Ceanothus ‘Concha’ and Rosmarinus ‘Ken Taylor’.

Both plants are blanketed with brilliant true-blue flowers this time of year. And, they’re not only admired by humans; numerous bees, butterflies, and other insects also appreciate the one-stop shopping provided by all the blooms. On a recent visit to the gardens, I noticed several types of bees intent on their mission.

The Ceanothus ‘Concha’are covered with an enchanting combination of magenta flower buds and deep cobalt blue flower clusters. As the flowers continue to open, they will nearly obscure the narrow, dark green leaves. Ceanothus grow quickly, and these plants are already 4 or 5 ft. high after only three years (we originally planted 1 gallon can plants). They should reach an eventual height and width of 6 to 8 ft., with graceful arching branches forming a tall mound. The Ceanothus are already accomplishing the intended task of providing an evergreen backdrop to the garden, screening the fencing and utilities behind them.

An evergreen backdrop in the Med Garden

Although some types of ceanothus are difficult to grow in our local clay soils, ‘Concha’ is considered a more adaptable variety able to tolerate some summer irrigation. We also took the added precaution of mounding the soil before planting for better drainage, plus we keep the summer watering to a minimum.

The Rosmarinus ‘Ken Taylor’have been blooming for several months. This rosemary variety gives the punch of a vivid dark blue, as opposed to its meeker brethren, which only bloom in paler shades of blue or lavender blue. It has grown very quickly from 1 gallon-size plants into a 1 to 2 ft. height ground cover, spreading horizontally to least 4 ft. wide.

Rosemary 'Ken Taylor'

In addition to enjoying the bright, happy blue color and the busy humming of the bees hovering over the flowers, pluck a leaf or two and breathe in the natural perfume smell. I’ve had the pleasant experience of “wearing” the rosemary fragrance all day after pruning or weeding in the garden. Rosemary is quite easy to grow in full sun, needs little water and tolerates most soils. Good drainage helps, so we mounded these beds prior to planting.

If blue is for you, these plants are worth a visit to the Mediterranean Garden!

You’ll find Tricia Christopher in the Mediterranean Garden most work party days (the first and third Saturdays of every month). She’s happy to answer your questions about Mediterranean gardening and/or visit her website http://www.tchristopher.com/