By Native plant program
The California Native Plant Society meets Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the program room at the Los Altos Library. Speaker Jodi Isaacs will discuss preservation of grassland habitats in her presentation, “Resource Management at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.” The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call Georgia Stigall at 941-1068.
Local builder honored
Remodeling Magazine named Kacey Fitzpatrick of Avalon Enterprises Inc., in Mountain View, to its 2001 BIG 50 list, which designates the professional remodeling industry’s top achievers. Fitzpatrick, who studied architecture at Stanford University, has been in the design/remodeling business for seven years. She launched her business by buying and renovating a Palo Alto house that won awards and attracted attention.
Tour coastal growers this weekend
The 10th annual Tour Des Fleurs, an opportunity to visit horticultural enterprises on the San Mateo County coast, will take place Saturday. Visitors must drive themselves and may choose three different sites out of 10 that will be open. Locations include Money’s Mushrooms, featuring a tour through various mushroom houses; Thomas Fogarty Winery; Oku Nursery, one of the premier rose growers in the United States, which now also features field flowers; Jacob’s Herb Farm, an organic farm that grows peppermint and spearmint for Tom’s of Maine toothpaste; and Repetto Nursery, featuring guided tours through fields and hothouses of cut flowers, field flowers and pumpkins. Admission price is $15.
For more information, call the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors’ Bureau at 726-8380, ext. 15.
Nursery recommends sub-tropicals
This month Yamagami’s Nursery in Cupertino recommends incorporating sub-tropical fruit into the existing landscape. The nursery carries pomegranates, strawberry guavas, pineapple guavas, passion fruit and even bananas. During July the nursery will special-order lesser-known sub-tropicals, such as tropical guavas and the loquat varieties. Also available on site, in limited quantities, are sapote, lychees and longans.
The nursery is located at 1361 South De Anza Boulevard; the telephone number is (408) 252-3347.
For information about growing sub-tropical fruit, Yamagami’s recommends attending the meetings of the Santa Clara Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers in San Jose or visiting the organization’s web site at www.crfg.org.
Rebates offered
This summer the California Energy Commission will offer rebates on installation of solar window screens. The screens can improve air-conditioning efficiency. The $1 per-square-foot rebate applies to south-, west- and east-facing windows, skylights and glass doors. For more information, log on to www.SolarScreenRebate.com or call (800) 517-4848.
Habitat for Humanity raffle
Coldwell Banker is sponsoring the construction of three homes this summer - in Redwood City, San Francisco and El Dorado County - in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity. Last year more than $100,000 was raised to pay for the new homes. The company hopes to raise $300,000 this year (for next year’s construction) through raffle sales, which end July 30. Tickets are $2. For more information, call any local Coldwell Banker office.
