Upcoming Workshops & Events
Expand your mind and your garden.
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Looking for a great way to keep track of all of the wonderful workshops and events at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens?
CLICK HERE to subscribe to the MCBG Events Feed on Facebook!
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Retro Sunday—Community Appreciation Day
Flash back to the 1960s with retro pricing
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Flash back to the early 1960s and the origins of Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens with $1 admission for everyone on Sunday, June 5th from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Retro Sunday is the Gardens' way of giving back to the community that has supported us for more than 55 years!
For those who have not visited in a while, come see what is new and blooming this summer. Tour the expanded organic demonstration Vegetable Garden. Delight in the rhododendrons, roses, coastal wildflowers, and even a few early-blooming dahlias. Introduce a friend to the Gardens and spend the day wandering the 47 acres of botanical bliss. Enjoy special retro pricing—just a buck gets you a delicious single-scoop of Cowlick's ice cream at Rhody's Garden Café. Find inspiration for your home garden, have a family picnic, walk the dog, or find a quiet spot to melt the day away... just a few ideas to get you started.
BONUS: Gardens memberships will be on sale at a 10% discount! Read about the Benefits of Membership and how you can support the Gardens with your membership.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: We would appreciate some volunteer help at the membership booth. Please give Molly a call at 964-4352 ext. 10 if interested in helping pitch membership benefits to our visitors on Retro Sunday.
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Fuchsia Revival
Strait species re-gaining strength and re-building the collection
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Article contributed by:
MCBG Gardener and Plant Recorder, Karen Youngblood
The fuchsia genus has close to 105 species mostly shrubs confined to cool, moist habitats. Seventy-five percent of the species are from the tropical Andes, the remaining species are from Mexico, central America, southeastern Brazil, New Zealand, and Tahiti. It is no surprise that fuchsias love our climate here on the North Coast.
The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens maintains a collection of both species and hybrids. You will find most of our fuchsias thriving in the cool, moist Woodland Garden. Our Fuchsia Collection once large and diverse has slowly dwindled to almost a quarter of it’s size in the last twenty years as many plants have struggled in a losing battle against the persistent fuchsia gall mite (Aculops fuchsiae). The fuchsia gall mite was introduced to our area in the early 80s from South America, where most fuchsias are from naturally, and is now widespread affecting all susceptible fuchsias and hybrids. The gall mite, tiny and insidious, enters the plant tissue and causes the plant stems, leaves, and flowers to twist into unsightly, unrecognizable masses. Because the mite remains in the soil and can be spread far and wide by the fuchsia’s pollinator, the hummingbird, once it appears it is near impossible to eliminate. The only completely effective solution we have found is to completely remove any susceptible fuchsia plants. Sadly, the gall mite is partial to some of the showiest hybrids from the mite-susceptible species Fuchsia magellanica. Luckily, many other species though, have shown to be resistant and those are what you will now find flourishing throughout the Gardens.
Some of the hardy survivors, many from the tropical Andes include: Fuchsia splendens, F. regia, F. hatschbachii, F. arborescens, F. brevilobis, F. paniculata, F. microphylla and F. thymifolia. We also have one of the largest tree fuchsias, F. excorticata with small dark purple and green flowers and one of our smallest ground cover fuchsias, F. procumbens from New Zealand. The Gardens does have some hybrids that have resisted the mite, you can find these rare beauties in the Mae E. Lauer Display House or the Perennial and Woodland Gardens. Volunteers Joe and Eileen Scott have cared for the fuchsias in the display house for six years and have renewed the display this year with the hardiest, healthiest specimens. We also have selected many plants formerly in the Display House plant to soon be relocated to our Woodland Garden.
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Rhody Show Results
The Gardens' own collection wins big!
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Another fantastic show thanks to all of this year's participants! A number of entries from the Gardens' own Rhododendron Collection received accolades at this year's Rhododendron Show held over Mother's Day weekend. One of MCBG's entries, a big leaf hybrid, was selected as the 2016 Best of Show! CLICK HERE to see a full list of results and more photos from this year's show.
Save the Date
The 40th Annual John Druecker Memorial Rhododendron Show will be held at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on April 22 and April 23, 2017.
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THE GARDEN STORE has new t-shirts, scarfs, and jewlery to help update your summer wardrobe. Create your own shade in a stylish yet practical sun hat! Follow The Garden Store on Facebook for updates on the latest: www.facebook.com/MCBGGardenStore
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Learn & Grow with the Gardens
Great time of year to get out and garden!
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Volunteers have made the Gardens all that it is today. Their dedication, cooperation, hard work, and creative energies are the heartbeat of this organization. If you are interested in becoming part of the MCBG volunteer family, please call our Volunteer Coordinator, Molly Rosenthal, at 707-964-4352 ext. 10 to set up a meet-and-greet to figure out your botanical passions and find the most rewarding volunteer opportunities for you.
Current Opportunities
:: Monday ::
Vegetable Garden, Perennial Garden
:: Tuesday ::
Begonia care, Heritage Rose Garden, Heath and Heather care, Dahlia care
:: Wednesday ::
Woodland Garden care, Restoration/Reforestation, Native Plant Garden, Dahlia care
:: Thursday ::
Dahlia Garden, Perennial Garden
:: Friday ::
Vegetable Garden
Daily :: Garden Store, Nursery and Propagation, Rhody's Café, deadheading Rhododendrons, Woodland Garden help, Camellia bloom clean-up
Variable :: Docents, Bulk Mailings, Construction Projects, Library, Events, Office Help
CLICK HERE for a full listing of weekly opportunities.
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Can you dig it?
Your seasonal gardening checklist
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A few tips and tricks provided by MCBG Nursery Manager, Liz Petersen, to help keep your yard in tip-top shape:
✓ Aphid season is upon us... use sticky tape around plants to control the ants that support this garden pest
✓ Remove objects that slugs and snails can hide in and under
✓ Be sure to continue watering new plants as temperatures start to rise
✓ There’s still time to plant a veggie garden, from seed, or from pots
✓ Come see us at Nursery on the Plaza for more inspiration and gardening know-how
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NURSERY ON THE PLAZA has its first batch of Dahlias on sale starting this week. New varieties and old favorites to brighten up your summer garden. Follow Nursery on the Plaza on Facebook for inspiration: https://www.facebook.com/MCBGNurseryOnThePlaza/
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"Voluntourists" at MCBG
The helpful hippies lend a hand
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This week The Vagabus crew, also known as the "helpful hippies", parked their colorful school bus at the Gardens and assisted us with restoration of our coastal bluffs and Native Plant Garden. We gave them a list of projects and they tackled them all!
The Vagabus Project is a collection of adventurous folk that travel from town to town volunteering their time and compassion, giving back to the local communities they visit. The group’s contributions have included gardening, feeding the homeless, helping at animal sanctuaries, and trash cleanup. We hope this fun crew will think of us next time they’re passing through. We wish them the best of luck in their future travels. Thank you Vagabus!
According to Vagabus Project Coordinator, Steven Boutwell A.K.A Huck, most of the time when they volunteer for garden work or environmental restoration, people usually just hand them some gloves, leave them with a bucket, and that's about it... However, they received the full MCBG volunteer treatment—educational and fun—learning why such work is important for our local ecosystem. "By far one of the best gigs we have ever, ever had, hands down."
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