Kid Fun at the California State Flower & Garden Show

flickr photo by noam.armonn

The upcoming show has lots of daily activities for kids (12 and under get in to the show for free!). Learn about bats, make flower arrangements, get wiggly with worms, plus on Saturday, a special cooking school. Check out this Kid's Cooking Convention.

The show runs from April 8 - 11th at Cal Expo. To find out more about the vendors, the speakers, visit the California Flower & Garden website, or the Facebook Fan Page, or both!

Fairytale Town Goes Green! - March 13th

Green Fun at Sacramento's William Land Park

Enjoy a day filled with educational displays focusing on the environment, displays will vary in areas such as responsible conservation, pollution and tips on how to go green. Visit with several Sacramento area organizations and learn about different ways you can go green and help create a healthy environment. Puppet Art Theater will be performing The Three Little Pigs with a green twist in the Children's Theater. Puppet show tickets are $1 for members $2 for nonmembers, showtimes are 12:30PM, 1:30PM and 2:30PM.

shhh...the Spanish Bluebells are just waking up...

And, says Geno's Garden, for a lovely gardening surprise, take a stroll thru the WPA Rock Garden across the street from Fairytale Town on 15th. Parents sometimes wonder how to get their kids interested in gardening. One answer is help them have fun gardening times, these will become treasured memories. Another answer is discover things together, you'll love it as much as they do. The paths at the WPA garden are delightful for kids...they can almost get lost. Exciting!

Sacramento's Trailmix.Net, a Family Store for Outdoor Adventure

Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family!

I think whatever we can do to get kids outside is really valuable. It breaks that perma-link with video games and connects them up with the world we live in. Trailmix.Net seems like a perfect resource...the owners are avid hikers, they've practiced what they preach with their own brood. Plus, what better lure for tech-age kids than activities like GPS-guided Geocaching?

Here's a great video about this new store in Old Sacramento (brought to you by Maria Marriott, Mortgage Advisor in Roseville, CA),  Scavenger Hunting and Geocaching in Sacramento.

You and your kids can get to know them first-hand at next Saturday's free flower seed planting workshop. March 6th at 1 o'clock, flowers and materials donated by Green Acres Nursery.

Extend the fun with an Old Sac Scavenger Hunt. Pick up the free map at the store.

An Easy Hummingbird Garden

Seedpack Wildlife Garden

I don't think it gets easier than this...a seedpack wildlife garden! This pack of Botanical Interests seeds will plant 14 square feet, that's about a 3 1/2 feet square, a 7 x 2 rectangle or, my favorite, a 4.5' diameter circle.
Plop a birdbath in the center for charm and convenience should your hummingbird want to take a bit of a bath!
Here's how to do it:

• Choose a sunny spot.
• Stake out and clear the area of weeds, rocks, etc.
• Add some composty top soil (a 2 cu ft bag should do it).
• Turn the compost in with a shovel or hoe, and rake it nice.
• Broadcast your seeds (the seed packet will give exact instructions as to depth, etc).
• Add a birdbath (the water should be shallow, no more than 1 1/2 inches deep. Add some rocks if necessary so they can have a little something to stand on. Some sort of perch would be appreciated as well. Maybe a branch nearby?

Although Botanical Seeds are sold in many nurseries, I didn't find these specialty seeds locally. If you want to order from them directly, here's the link: Hummingbird Haven seeds!

Family Fun at the Los Angeles Arboretum

If I were in L.A. on February 27th, I'd be at the family event, Hey Kids Get Lost at the L.A. Arboretum...

... or maybe I'd just be looking at these gorgeous structures!