Providing Advice to the California Home Gardener. The Master Gardeners provide excellent plant advice and tips.

Do you have questions for the Master Gardeners?

In Santa Clara County contact the Master Gardener Hotline for gardening tips between 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday to Friday at (408) 299-2638 or send them your question on-line.

For gardeners in northern Santa Clara County contact the Gamble Garden Master Gardener Hotline on Friday between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at (650) 329-1356.

SummerWinds Nursery is proud to be a Nursery Partner of the Master Gardeners. Bring your membership card into any of our South Bay Locations for a 10% discount.

Founded in 1963, the Western Horticultural Society is made up of horticulturists, botanists, landscape designers and architects, nursery people, students and avid gardeners. The monthly programs are designed to appeal to the dedicated plant lover.

The Western Horticultural Society invites you to join their group of plant and gardening enthusiasts.

SummerWinds Nursery is proud to be a Nursery Partner of the Western Horticultural Society. Bring your membership card into any of our South Bay Locations for a 10% discount.

The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), organized in 1876, is the national trade association of the nursery and landscape industry.

ANLA provides education, research, public relations, and representation services to members. This support enables them to operate more effectively and to provide the public with quality plants, landscape design and installations, and related products and services.

California's Only Horticultural Educational Theme Park

Gilroy Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. After selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarkets, the Park was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante and is designed to educate guests and to foster a greater appreciation of horticulture. The Park features over forty rides, attractions, educational exhibits and majestic gardens.

Now, a Board of Directors guides the decision making for the development, maintenance, and operation of this unique park. The goal is to return a percentage of annual revenues back into beautification and parks projects throughout neighboring communities. The Board of Directors is specifically challenged to find public works projects to initiate and/or support those that follow the ideals of preservation, stewardship and ecology for which the theme park stands.

Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens was formed in 1995 through the merger of two existing non-profit corporations: Friends of the Guadalupe River Park and the Guadalupe Gardens Corporation.

The mission of the organization is to provide community leadership for the development and active use of the park through education, advocacy and stewardship. In addition to working with numerous governmental agencies and providing a citizen perspective on development issues, the Friends promote awareness and community participation by providing educational and outreach programs and volunteer opportunities.

The GRPG has many gardening related programs including Tours and the Adopt-a-Rose program. They have many venues, including a Visitor and Education Center, a Garden Center, the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, the Historic Orchard, the Recycled Water Demo Garden, Arena Green and the Children's Carousel, and the Discovery Meadow.

Guadalupe River Park & Gardens are located at 715 Spring Street, San Jose, CA 95110. For more information, call Guadalupe River Park & Gardens at (408)298-7657, visit their website http://www.grpg.org or email: info@grpg.org.

A tranquil place of peace and harmony. Come experience Hakone Gardens, the oldest Japanese-style residential gardens in the Western Hemisphere--eighteen acres of magnificent beauty nestled in the verdant hills of Saratoga.

The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden is an unexpected jewel in the midst of a revitalized downtown San Jose, California; a five-acre rose garden that will contain over 5,000 plants.

Park hours: open seven days a week, from half an hour before dawn to half an hour after dusk. Nearby on-street parking is free!

Check their website for volunteering opportunities.

Sierra Azul holds a vision of the garden as a place to link with the natural world and its many wonderfully contrasting elements. Specializing in plants and gardens for California's Mediterranean climate; their goal is to promote the aesthetic use of Mediterranean climate and other appropriate plants in water conserving gardens and landscapes.

They also have some excellent articles; like Gardening with Grasses and Mediterranean Mounds.

Sierra Azul is located in the Pajaro Valley close to the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Monterey Bay.

Walnut Creek, California

Developed by Mrs. Bancroft over the past 40 years, this two-and-one-half- acre dry garden is nationally recognized as one of the finest American gardens and displays an extraordinary collection of succulents and cacti.

Situated on what is now the campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz and what was originally part of the vast land holdings of pioneer settler Henry Cowell, the Arboretum occupies one of the most propitious horticultural sites in the world. The climatic and topographic diversity is such as to allow experimentation with almost every species that might be grown along the coast between San Diego and Crescent City, and the diversity of the soils--the underlying rock includes granite, schist, limestone, and several types of sandstone--can scarcely be matched anywhere.

The Arboretum continues to augment and maintain these collections:

Australia, California, South Africa, New Zealand, The Eucalyptus Grove, The Aroma Garden, Conifers, Primitive Flowering Plants, Rare Fruit Exhibit, The Laurasian Forest, Cactus & Succulent Garden, The South American Section, Natives-Come-First Garden

They are enduring value to researchers, instructors, horticulturalists, artists, and the general public. Though still a "young" Arboretum, it has become known as one of the great gardens of the world.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County, California. It acts not only as the county's water wholesaler, but also as its flood protection agency and is the steward for its streams and creeks, underground aquifers and district-built reservoirs.

As the county's water wholesaler, the water district makes sure there is enough clean, safe water for homes and businesses. As the agency responsible for local flood protection, the water district works diligently to protect Santa Clara Valley residents and businesses from the devastating effects of flooding.

Their stream stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts and a commitment to natural flood protection.

This site gives information about the best trees to plant near power/telephone poles and where to plant them, ideas on how to make power lines/poles less visible and links to information on tree trimming and vegetation management around electric power lines.

You can also visit their SafeTree web-site. The SafeTree Program is a five-year public awareness program funded by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, providing information about, and funding for, the planting of trees safely away from electric power lines.

The International Society of Arboriculture is a worldwide professional organization dedicated to fostering a greater appreciation for trees and to promoting research, technology, and the professional practice of arboriculture.

This site is a database of trees meant to create an awareness of the great variety of trees that will grow in California, and to encourage people to think about planting a greater variety of trees.

The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), organized in 1876, is the national trade association of the nursery and landscape industry. ANLA provides education, research, public relations, and representation services to members. This support enables them to operate more effectively and to provide the public with quality plants, landscape design and installations, and related products and services.