Open Garden Day shifts hours for Fair Oaks evening of fun
The gate into the back section of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center will swing open at an unusual time Thursday — 4 p.m. — for an Open Garden Day event planned to coincide with an evening of family fun in Fair Oaks Park.
The UCCE master gardeners will staff the entire Horticulture Center for their usual Open Garden activities until 7 p.m. Meanwhile, in Fair Oaks Park next door, the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District presents the monthly Food Truck Mania, plus the first Classic Car Meetup of the summer. Those two events will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This schedule will allow folks to visit the Horticulture Center who can’t usually stop by during its morning Open Garden Days.
Visitors can stroll the Water Efficient Landscape for planting inspiration, view what’s growing in the Vegetable Garden, see the protective netting set-ups in the Berry Garden, and sniff the array of herbs in the Herb Garden. They can check out the worm-composting set-up in the Compost Area, see the grapes developing in the Vineyard and ask about the various types of stone fruit ripening in the Orchard. Gardeners are encouraged to bring their questions and garden dilemmas to the “Ask a Master Gardener” table for advice.
Visitors then can walk over to the food trucks and see the classic cars on display in Fair Oaks Park.
Food Truck Mania happens on the first Thursday of the month in the park through November (except July 4). The trucks participating this month will be Kados Asian Grill, Mykonos Gyros, Gondo Fusion (Cuban fusion), Cowtown Creamery (ice cream) and Sweet Mother 101 (American-Nigerian fusion).
The Classic Car Meetup is the first of three planned at Fair Oaks Park on summer Thursdays. The others will be Aug. 1 and Sept. 5, each at 5 to 8 p.m.
In addition to food trucks, the event will feature live music.
Admission is free to Open Garden Day and the other events. The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., south of Madison Avenue in Fair Oaks.
The Water Efficient Landscape demonstration garden, in the front of FOHC, is open to the public every day, during daylight hours; the back section is open only during Open Garden Days and Harvest Day (Aug. 3 this year). The next morning Open Garden will be 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 15.
For more on the Sacramento County master gardeners’ activities, go to https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/
