Ornamentals

The foothills of the Sierra Nevada have a diversity of growing regions. Throughout the region, farmers have been successful in growing many different types of agricultural commodities.

Our annual Spring Garden Fair is held at our Martial Cottle Park Demonstration Garden in San Jose. You can shop our plant sale, stroll through our gardens, attend a talk, and bring your plant, soil, pest, and tool questions to our Information tables.

The flowers and other ornamental plants that we offer at the Spring Garden Fair have been trialed at our research gardens to select varieties that perform particularly well in our climate, with an eye towards ones that are beautiful and long-lasting in flower arrangements. We offer an especially large array…

Christmas tree production has become a lucrative farming business in the foothills attracting more and more growers. The Emeritus Advisor, Lynn Wunderlich, has previously had worked with farms to determine more resilient species and completed a Christmas Tree Cost Study 2005.