Cameron Park youth tackling hunger

Faith Episcopal Church

News release

While millions of Americans are gearing up for Super Bowl LVII watch parties, local youth are prepping for Super Bowl Sunday in a different way. Faith Episcopal Church’s youth group will celebrate Youth Sunday Feb. 12 by battling hunger in El Dorado County. The youth group will hold its annual food drive for the Food Bank of El Dorado County and asks for the community’s help by dropping off any non-perishable food donations prior to the big game.

The FEC youth group food drive is one of the largest single-day donations supporting the food bank. Last year, with community support, youth collected 1.2 tons (or 2,415 pounds) of food. This year the group wants to break that record and collect even more food for the hungry in the community. Additionally, $615 in cash donations was collected, all of which went to the Food Bank of El Dorado County.

The food bank needs boxed cereals and pastas, canned soups, fruits, vegetables and meats. Parishioners and anyone in the community can drop off food in the parking lot of the church. Youth will accept canned and non-perishable food donations 8 a.m. to noon at 2200 Country Club Drive in Cameron Park.

The mission of Faith Episcopal Church is to be a welcoming and safe place to worship, love and serve all. The church has opportunities to meet the needs of everyone who joins, offering Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., programs for children and youth ongoing adult education, facility rental space, community outreach events, mission projects and opportunities to serve. For more about the church visit faithec.org or email faithec@faithec.org.

Planting and enchanted garden

some colorful plants like Tillandsia maxima have red leaves to create accents when the plants are not flowering. For tiny flowers, Sinningia pusilla and other miniature gloxinias grow just 3 inches tall.

Kitty Stewart

Fairy gardens and fantasy creations create bright spots of interest in your garden, captivating children and adults alike. They can be full of pixies, dragons or dinosaurs ... or perhaps have little dwellings that invite the imagination to fill them. Tiny walkways, stone cottages and decorated tree stumps, all in miniature, create a space that can be decorative or allow rearrangement and play for all ages. Your garden can be tucked under a tree in your yard, layered in a broken pot or displayed in a decorative container filled with enchanting accessories and set up to admire outdoors on your patio or indoors in a terrarium. There is even a Fantasy Gardens category of entries for the El Dorado County Fair this year.

To create an enchanted garden, assemble a variety of small succulents and tiny flowering plants, sand, twigs, small branches and colorful or painted rocks. I like using natural materials, such as bark, branches or tree stumps, and wooden discs to create the walls of a cottage. Consider using a small string of holiday lights, best if battery-operated, to twinkle around or above the setting — or inside tiny houses to welcome fairy occupants.

Certain plants lend themselves to the miniature garden theme more easily. Succulents, mosses, ferns and air plants (Tillandsia spp.) all work well in small scale and miniature cultivars of other garden plants will stay small for months. Hostas, oregano and small leaf varieties of mint will all look great in tiny spaces, but do require regular watering, especially if in a pot. Most of these require shade to grow well in our area, especially in the heat of the summer, and will need regular misting or watering depending on the species. The air plants can be established on gravel or rocks above the soil to keep their roots out of the moisture. They prefer just a weekly rinsing or sprinkling and do particularly well inside a glass globe or terrarium out of the direct sun. The silver or gray-leaved varieties tolerate drier conditions than green varieties and

Add tiny tables and chairs with mushroomshaped houses on the same scale as your plants. It is best to choose the same scale for items within each display. Choose plants that fit the scale of your creation in a container. If working on a larger scale, garden gnomes or carved dragons can occupy more normal-sized gardens, along with scrying crystals and small fountains or other artwork.

Children may love the fantasy gardens, but adults also adore these creations and find the additional whimsy lends character to the garden or outdoor space and provides your own personal imaginary realm to relax in.

Sherwood Demonstration Garden is closed in February due to storm damage. Beginning in March, Master Gardeners will offer tours, answer questions or guests can just enjoy the garden during weekly open garden days on Fridays and Saturdays. Check the website for further information about the Sherwood Demonstration Garden at ucanr.edu/sites/EDC_Master_Gardeners/ Demonstration_Garden.

Master Gardener classes are offered monthly throughout the county. Find the class schedule at mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Public_Education_ Classes/?calendar=yes&g=56698 and recorded classes on many gardening topics at mgeldorado. ucanr.edu/Public_Education/Classes.

Have a gardening question? Master Gardeners are working hard to answer your questions. Use the “Ask a Master Gardener” option on the website, mgeldorado.ucanr.edu, or leave a message on the office telephone at (530) 621-5512. To sign up for notices and newsletters visit ucanr.edu/master gardener e-news. Master Gardeners are also on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.