Napa Master Gardener Column

Saturday, May 18, is the date for this year's Climate-Friendly Garden Tour, a partnership between Napa County Resource Conservation District, City of Napa Water Division, and the University of California Master Gardeners of Napa County.

Have you ever wondered how you can learn about plant care, water conservation, botany, tree pruning, soil amendments, lawn alternatives, pollinators, pest management and more while making friends and being part of a mission driven team? Become a Napa County Master Gardener, and you'll see.

As the lead of the Low-Maintenance, Low-Water Garden at the Las Flores Learning Garden at Napa's Las Flores Community Center, my job is to keep the plants heathy and appealing. This includes seasonal pruning and, at this time of year, weeding, weeding and weeding.

I find great pleasure in planting and growing perennials. In contrast to annuals, perennials are the vines, bushes, trees, and other plants that come back year after year. Planting in spring, the season of rebirth, is particularly gratifying.

In the gardener's view of the world, vacationers can be divided into two categories: those who sit around the pool and those who scurry around taking copious pictures of unfamiliar plants. As a Master Gardener, I belong to the second category.