Free workshop gives gardening tips in Sonoma County

SANTA ROSA

Is your soil physically fit?

Master Gardener Cathy McFann will give a free workshop Saturday on tending the soil of vegetable gardens. The food gardening specialist will talk about options for keeping the soil healthy for spring planting. McFann will explain the importance of soil biology and how to best care for a living garden. No registration is required. 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Rincon Valley Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa, mgsonoma@ucdavis.edu, 707-565-2608.

PETALUMA

Try out an induction cooktop

Sonoma Clean Power is loaning out induction cooktops at no cost.

Anyone can stop by the office of Daily Acts in Petaluma or Sonoma Clean Power in Santa Rosa and try out an induction cooktop for two weeks.

Residents of Sonoma and Mendocino counties can reserve not just the cooktop but appropriate pots and pans, available in a variety of sizes.

Visit sonomacleanpower.org/induction-cooktop-check-out to reserve one and state your preferred date for pickup.

Equipment can be picked up Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Sonoma Clean Power, 50 Santa Rosa Ave., 5th Floor, Santa Rosa. Daily Acts is at 1364 N. McDowell Blvd., Suite A-2, Petaluma.

SANTA ROSA

Petal it Forward

Sequoia Floral will give away free bouquets - one for you and one for a friend or loved one - as part of the annual Petal it Forward event on Wednesday.

A project of the Society of American Florists, the event is a chance to spread joy and kindness through flowers. Sequoiafloral.com. ?245 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, ?707-525-0780.

GRATON

Fall flower show

Twice a year the Graton Community Club throws a flower show. This autumn’s event on Oct. 18 and 19 has the theme, “Back Roads of Sonoma County.”

It includes floral displays, a plant sale, crafts and homemade gifts, a white elephant drawing and live music.

Lunch will be served from ?11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $10. Dessert and coffee will be available all day for 45. Admission to the show is free. ?9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 8996 Graton Road. ?Gratoncommunityclub.org??HEALDSBURG

Tea & Fragrance Festival

The owners of the Russian River Rose Co. celebrate their Russian heritage and Sonoma County’s Russian history with a two-day Tea & Fragrance Festival Saturday and Sunday.

The nursery’s vast rose display garden, still colorful with some late-blooming roses and rose hips, is the setting for festivities ranging from live folk, Slavic and Gypsy music performed in ethnic costumes to the serving of Russian tea prepared in antique Russian samovars. For a little fun there will be “tea leaf readings.”

Owners Jan and Mike Tolmasoff are also releasing their new “Rose Embrace,” the only estate-grown rose perfume in California, made from the essence of more than ?500 roses.

Rose oil and rose water sorbet will be available to sample. Other highlights include scent salon demos and a plant sale with some roses marked down 50%. $5. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ?1685 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg. 707-433-7455. russian-river-rose.com

SONOMA

Do you have garden sense?

A free workshop on Saturday will offer tips on the best way to manage water use in your garden.

Topics will cover drought-tolerant plants, drip systems and water efficiency.

Master Gardener Leslie Hart will be the expert on hand to lead the workshop and field questions. ?10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sonoma Regional Library, 755 West Napa, Sonoma, mgsonoma@ucdavis.edu, 707-565-2608.

Send Home and Garden news to peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com. Send email at least three weeks in advance of an event.