Students, community members bought plants, learned about gardens
During the Davis Farmers Market Fall Festival on Oct. 29, the Central Park Gardens of Davis celebrated its 11th Open House and Plant Sale. The annual event showcases all the garden has to offer and generates awareness and revenue for the Central Park Gardens.
At the event, board members, garden stewards and volunteers managed tables where community members could learn more about Central Park Garden programs, as well as buy plants for their own gardens and yards. All of the plants sold were also featured in the gardens of their corresponding sections: rose and flower, sensory, California natives, meadow, vegetable, beneficial insect habitat and waterwise. Visitors buying plants could then see what their seedlings would look like when they matured.
“People certainly seem happy with the plants, and it’s always a pleasure when somebody comes with a list,” said Ann Daniel, the treasurer of the Central Park Gardens. “So there’s some people who walked up knowing what they wanted and we were able to help them, so that’s always nice to see.”
Other visitors included students looking around during their visit to the Farmers Market.
“We admired the kale,” said Alan Daar, a first-year undeclared major. “It looks very healthy [and has] huge leaves.”
In addition to selling plants, Central Park Gardens used the space to share the history of the garden and to promote the University of California Master Gardener Program and the Garden Steward Program. The Garden Steward Program provides volunteers that join with leadership training so they can lead and educate other volunteers and visitors of the garden, whether at year-round Saturday gardening sessions or at public outreach events like the sale. Both board members and Garden Stewards were able to teach visitors at the plant sale about the garden and horticulture.
“We learned about the common butterflies, when the monarchs come through and what plants attract bees,” said Alice Mathew, a first-year animal science major during her visit to the plant sale. “There’s a crisis — colony collapse disorder — so it’s really great to try to provide bees with more nectar and pollen so that they have energy.”
Overall, board members were pleased with how this year’s plant sale went.
“We couldn’t ask for better weather,” Daniel said. “There’ve been years when the weather has not been quite as cooperative. And you know, October is a busy time for people, and so we hope that we just get a fraction of their time as they’re either visiting the Fall Festival at the Davis Farmers Market or have read the advertising that we’ve fortunately gotten in the Davis Enterprise.”
Board of directors member and recent UC Davis graduate Zac Bouchard compared Saturday to last year’s event.
“2017 was a big year for us just because it was the 10th anniversary, so now we’re just kind of looking toward the future,” Bouchard said. “We’re going to be doing some fence replacement in the next year, so that’s exciting. We’re partnered with one of the Davis Rotary clubs; they’re helping us with that.”
Other new developments include the beginnings of rose growth onto the Twining Rose Arbors, which was a gift from Amanda Larson and Kerry Daane Loux in 2017, and a new donation platform called Friends of Central Park Garden. This allows community members to support and follow Central Park Gardens.
Overall, the board members hoped that the plant sale bolstered Central Park Gardens’ presence in the community.
“It’s a wonderful resource, and you can see how well the community enjoys it,” Daniel said. “There are always people in the garden, and so that’s really affirming for the work that we do to see people enjoying it.”
Written by: Anne Fey — city@theaggie.org
