Luther Burbank open house, Finley Center craft fair this weekend

Santa Rosa

Burbank Home holiday open house this weekend

A new commemorative Christmas ornament has been added to the collection of special ornaments representing the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa.

The new ornament will be for sale along with other gift items at the annual Holiday Open House Saturday and Sunday.

Holiday shoppers also can look for made-in-the-USA copper garden art including butterflies, dragonflies, birds and frogs, and items handmade by volunteers such as fingerless mitts, hand warmers, microwave potato bags and bowl cozies. Other special items include decorated succulent bowls for gifting and baked persimmon bread.

The historic home and gardens are decorated for Christmas in a fashion reminiscent of the old days when Luther Burbank himself lived there. Complimentary cookies and local cider provided by Manzana and Chop’s Teen Club will be served. The event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. rain or shine. $3; children under 12 free.

Free rides on Santa Rosa’s Rosie the Trolley also will be provided both days between the Burbank Home at the corner of Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues and the Finley Center, on West College Avenue, where the city’s big annual Handmade Holiday Crafts Fair will be underway all weekend. Burbankhome@lutherburbank.org

Keep leaves out of street and storm drains

Leaves are falling fast and furiously now. And while the gold-and-red piles may add color to the landscape at our feet, they aren’t good for streets or storm drains.

The city of Santa Rosa warns that when leaves collect in the street, they can clog drains and carry household materials and pollutants that can harm wildlife and water quality.

Property owners in Santa Rosa are required by city code to remove branches, leaves and other debris from the street or right of way fronting their property.

The city offers good alternatives to placing leaves in the trash where they’ll wind up in the landfill. One option is to add leaves to your home compost pile. Combining shredded leaves with grass, twigs and soil creates a nutrient-rich mixture for gardens and plants in the months to come.

Another option is to chop them and spread them over your landscape and garden beds as mulch. Or you could gather them up and use them in wreathes, centerpieces and other decorative and crafty projects.

If you do dispose of them, be sure to put leaves and other yard waste in your green bin, where they will be diverted from the landfill and into a compost facility.

You can submit home and garden related news to meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com.