UC Master Gardeners Annual Garden Tour

UC Master Gardeners know a great garden when they see one. So each year, they raise funds for their educational programs by presenting a tour of outstanding gardens somewhere in the Monterey Bay area. This year the UC Master Gardener tour will be held in Santa Cruz, on Saturday, September 9, 2017, and will highlight eight unique gardens that are "waterwise and wildlife friendly."

All within an easy day's drive in the City of Santa Cruz, these gardens will demonstrate how any gardener can reduce their water use while still creating spectacular, healthy, and useable spaces for their families. You will see Mediterranean and native plants, water saving gardening techniques, and habitats that provide safe havens for the pollinators we need and small mammals that share our suburban spaces.

Besides the gardens, you won't want to miss the Garden Tour Headquarters at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History to enjoy:

a plant sale, with more than 500 plants propagated by UC Master Gardeners, and

free presentations on gardening "waterwise and wildlife friendly" including:

"Bringing Nature Back to Tyrrell Park" by Nancy Lenz

Learn how a handful of neighbors teamed up with the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and city's Parks and Recreation Department to transform a creekside jungle of invasives into a pollinator and California native plant haven.

"Creating Wildlife Friendly Garden" by Tai Moses

Local author, Tai Moses, is at the vanguard of the movement to protect native wildlife in our communities and has lots of recommendations for making your garden a safe habitat for our wild neighbors.

Tickets are $25 in advance ($30, the day of the tour) and are available on the UC Master Gardeners website – www.mgmb.ucanr.edu – or at participating nurseries listed on the website.

About UC Master Gardeners of Monterey Bay:

UC Master Gardeners of Monterey Bay is a volunteer organization affiliated with UC Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Program. Our mission is:

To extend research based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to California residents.

UC Master Gardener programs include a gardening hotline, speakers bureau, information booths, demonstration gardens, events, and special projects.