Wondering why your roses aren’t
blooming or considering xeriscaping your lawn?

The Rancho San Diego campus becomes
a growers’ mecca, with fun programs, exhibitors and demonstrations designed to
inspire the gardener in everyone. From urban
farming to water-conserving landscaping ideas, the festival is the place to go
to learn about sustainability and growing greenery in the midst of a historic
drought.
Sure to delight kids are the critters,
including alpacas from A Simpler Time, an alpaca farm and mill in El Cajon.
Face-painting is also a children’s favorite.
The event showcases the college’s
renowned Ornamental Horticulture
program, as well as the Water
Conservation Garden and the Heritage
of the Americas Museum, both located on the Cuyamaca College campus. More
than 50 vendors, craftspeople, and artisans will be offering their wares and
services on the campus’ Grand Lawn. A host of activities, exhibits, tours,
vendors and demonstrations of sustainable gardening and landscaping promise to inform
and entertain the public at one of the region’s largest outdoor community
events of the year.
Cuyamaca College alum and DJ Miguel
Martinez will be providing music and the college’s food vendor, Sodexo, will
grill hamburgers, hot dogs and carne asada for sale.
The Ornamental Horticulture
department’s largest plant sale will feature a wide selection of modestly
priced plants and flowers. Sales from the nursery supplement the Ornamental
Horticulture program’s regular funding, helping to pay for supplies and
equipment. The nursery is a learning lab for students on the identification, care and landscape uses of Southern California’s
ornamental trees and shrubs.
Faculty and students will give demonstrations
and provide a bounty of information on the horticulture program and topics
including floral design, landscape design, pest control, plant propagation,
arboriculture, irrigation, plant identification and more.
The Water Conservation Garden also
will have plants for sale at stations along the garden’s paths.
“A big thing this year is the
California Native Plant Society, which has a big sale in the fall at Balboa
Park, has agreed to bring its plants to the Spring Garden Festival for the
people in East County,” said Diane Owens, the Water Conservation Garden’s director
of events.
A horticulture book sale and San
Diego-area garden clubs will also be part of the day. The college’s
Intergenerational Garden and Child Development Center will share an information
booth in the exhibitor’s area on the Grand Lawn and also host children’s
activities.
“Cuyamaca College has long been a proponent of
sustainability and the Spring Garden Festival is a great chance to showcase
Cuyamaca’s strong commitment to the green movement,” college President Julianna
Barnes said. “At its core, the event is an opportunity to highlight one of the
college’s premiere academic programs, but it is also a fun day for families to
enjoy exhibitors and demonstrations promoting resource conservation.”
In addition to its plant sale, the
Water Conservation Garden will add an artistic flair to the event with plein air (French for “open air”)
painting by the San Diego Watercolor Society from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
A composting demonstration takes place between
10 a.m.-1 p.m., and an open house with docent-led tours of the Garden will be
available at 10 a.m. and noon. Between 10 a.m.-2 p.m., professional landscape
designers will give 20-minute consultations to help homeowners get started with
converting thirsty green lawns into attractive, water-saving gardens and yards.
To pre-register for the $20 consultations, call the garden at (619) 660-0614,
ext. 10.
Dream Raffle
![]() |
A drawing prize of an amethyst cathedral can be won. |
The Heritage of the Americas Museum, which features historic art,
culture and natural history of the Americas, will have free admission during
the festival and docent-led tours at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A “Five-Choices
Dream Raffle” starting at 2 p.m. for prizes including a foot-long amethyst
cathedral or geode; a case with 63 ancient Paleo points, or arrowheads, from a
Native American buffalo kill site in Idaho; a Sioux dance wand; a framed Chinese
brush watercolor painting, and a $50 museum gift card.
Raffle tickets for $1 can be bought on the day
of the festival or in advance by calling the museum at (619) 670-5194. Ticket-holders
need not be present to win.
“This is our biggest fundraiser of
the year,” said museum director Kathleen Oatsvall.
The work of local artist and museum
volunteer Diana Kam will also be displayed. Kam, who retired from 22 years
teaching in the Cajon Valley School District, keeps in touch with young
students by teaching summer art classes at the museum.
Bill Evans, a Sierra Club national
outings leader for 20 years who has led hiking tours and photographed most of
the western U.S. national parks, will give a presentation, “100th
Anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service,” at 11 a.m. in the museum
conference room.
For more information about the event,
call the Ornamental Horticulture department at (619) 660-4023, or the Water Conservation
Garden at (619) 660-0614. For a program and maps, visit the Spring Garden
Festival website at www.cuyamaca.edu/academics/departments/oh/springfest/default.aspx
Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho
San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.
No comments:
Post a Comment