April 16, 1998 Contact: Martha Brown, (408) 459-3376; Jim Burns (408) 459-2495; John Fisher, (408) 459-3248

UC SANTA CRUZ PLANT SALE WILL HELP YOUR GARDEN BLOOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--If El Nino showers bring spring and summer flowers, then this should be a banner year for gardeners. Help your garden bloom with selections from the annual UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden plant sale on Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day in the Barn Theater parking lot at the intersection of Bay and High Streets at the base of campus.

The plant sale features a wide selection of organically raised plants, including more than 400 types of vegetables, flowers, landscape plants, gourds, ornamental grasses, California natives, and both culinary and medicinal herbs. All plants grow well in the local area.

Perennials are a feature of this year's sale. Many of these long- lived plants not only bring color and fragrance to the garden, they also attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and the beneficial insects that help control pests. Among the popular perennials available will be butterfly weed, angelica, honeysuckle, yarrow, St. Catherine's lace, and a wide variety of salvias and penstemons.

An expanded selection of medicinal herbs will also be on hand, including echinacea, feverfew, St. John's wort, Chinese wolfberry, chaste tree, skullcap, huang-quin, and valerian. Culinary herbs will include cilantro, lemon grass, French tarragon, rosemary, and several varieties of basil, mint, sage, thyme, and oregano.

This year's vegetable collection includes six-packs of salad mix, lettuces, sweet and hot peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and a large selection of slicing, heirloom, cherry, and paste tomatoes, including early girl, enchantment, Camp Joy cherry, French dona, brandywine, old flame, peacevine, and San Remo.

The flower selection will include six varieties of sunflowers, as well as lavenders, zinnias, columbine, roses, and cosmos.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Farm & Garden and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the sale will benefit the UCSC Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture. Members of the Friends will receive a 10 percent discount on purchases; memberships will be available at the sale. For more information, call (408) 459-3248 or 459-3240.

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