Bring us a shrubbery

By now, you have found time to glance up from the grindstone to which your nose is affixed and notice the leaves on things. And the flowers. There is growth afoot. It must be attended, managed, properly appreciated. This weekend, help is available.

Wendy West and Mike Taylor are weed warriors. No, don’t get the wrong idea. They work for the El Dorado County Invasive Weeds Management Group, which is a pretty rad name for a management group; hopefully Wendy and Mike have matching jackets, with “EDCIWMG” embroidered on them somewhere. Of course, the weather’s getting a little warm for jackets. Maybe windbreakers. Anyway, they’ll be giving a talk, “Alien Invasion: Dealing with Noxious Weeds,” on Thursday from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. “Human development has disturbed nature’s processes and every day invasive plants degrade more of our treasured natural heritage,” they say. Sounds like part science-fiction potboiler, part paranoid foreign-policy brief. Should be fun. It’s at the Placerville Library, 345 Fair Lane. Donations are requested (yes, pitch in so they can buy the windbreakers). Call (530) 621-1224 for more information.

For dealing with less noxious flora, try the tours of Sac State’s arboretum (more than 400 species!) on Friday the 19th, starting at 10 a.m., or the ethnobotany tour at UC Davis’ arboretum (how to use plants for food, clothing, shelter and medicine!) at 11 a.m. on Saturday. All tours are free. Call (916) 278-6494 and (530) 752-4880, respectively, for more information.

Finally, on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., stop by the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center’s annual plant sale and flea market, to acquire some shrubberies of your own. 17894 Tyler Foote Rd., Nevada City; (530) 265-2825.