After a three year hiatus due to flood control work, the Friends of the Napa River will present the 16th Annual River Festival on Sunday, Aug. 31, 4 to 9 p.m, at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Napa.

Ava Huffman of Napa, pictured, and her sister Allie won blue ribbons at the Napa Town and Country fair for their Walla Walla white onions. 

Ron Parsons will show slides and describe the growing conditions of some of the hundreds of Dendrobium orchid species at the next meeting of the Napa Valley Orchid Society, at 7:3 0 p.m., Friday, Aug. 22, at the Napa Senior Activity Center, 1500 Jefferson St., Napa.

UC Davis, celebrating its centennial this year, showcases its landmark achievements in farming and sustainable living  at the California state fair, which opened Friday and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1.

This birdhouse gourd is from Darrell Hutchins garden, which overlooks the Napa River.

Bill, There is a tree on the 300 block of Franklin Street, west side, the block where the big redwoods are growing along the street. It is large and has orange flowers. What is it? I’ve never seen one before.  It’s driving me crazy!  It is blooming as I write. The only tree I know in this area with orange orange flowers is the pomegranate. - LF

Talk about setting: When we met for the second time to survey the progress of the house David Horobin is building in the Montecito area of Napa, the sky was murky with smoke from wildfires burning in California, as Horobin was describing the steps he’s taking to make his house “as fireproof as possible.”

It is tempting to stroll through the aisles of our favorite garden centers, choosing bags of “amendments” to dig into our beds at home. But we are not usually as good as Mother Nature in determining what our soils need.