[medit-plants] Fwd: Native Plant Extravaganza Sat. Dec. 16; The Winter Garden; and Native Plant Resource Teams


https://gimcw.org/ (gardening in mediterranean climates worldwide)


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kathy Kramer <k*@kathykramerconsulting.net>
Date: Fri, Dec 8, 2023 at 7:36 PM
Subject: Native Plant Extravaganza Sat. Dec. 16; The Winter Garden; and Native Plant Resource Teams
To: Kathy Kramer <k*@kathykramerconsulting.net>


Dear Friend of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, 

I’m writing to let you know about the upcoming and last Native Plant Extravaganza of 2023, which will take place on Sat. Dec. 16 from 10:00-4:00.  This fundraiser for the Tour will offer you the opportunity to take home a packet of free wildflower seeds, and attend a talk on how to choose and care for manzanitas.  This e-mail will also fill you in on what the Native Plant Resource Teams have done and are planning and describe what’s happening in the garden in December—winter is a lovely time year in a native plant garden.

I’ll start with the home garden: Color and Interest in the Winter Garden
Winter is a wonderful time in a native plant garden! In flower in my San Pablo garden are pink rosy buckwheat, purple coyote mint, lavender aster, and red fuchsia. The coyote brush and two types of buckwheat are bearing cream-colored blossoms.
Buds on the California lilac, currants, and buckeye create a sense of anticipation as they, and the potpourri of wildflowers—including clarkia, buttercups, lupine, poppies, and gilia—popping all up all around them, herald what is to come in spring.  In the shady areas of the garden clusters of white berries can be seen on the snowberries.

After looking closely at the toyon, I’m delighted to discover that caterpillars have wrapped themselves in toyon leaves, and tied the leaves shut with silk thread. The caterpillars will spend the winter snug and warm in their toyon leaf beds. I look forward to seeing what emerges from them in spring! (If you haven’t heard Doug Tallamy’s fascinating and inspirational talk, The Little Things That Matter Most,  I hope you’ll watch this video now; afterward you’ll be yearning to see caterpillars in your garden as much as I do.)

If you’d like to see photos of my garden (taken yesterday), check out this series of three posts on the Tour’s Facebook page.    

Upcoming Native Plant Extravaganza, Sat. Dec. 16, 10:00-4:00 – includes a free native wildflower seed giveaway, and a talk on manzanitas

The winter Native Plant Extravaganza is coming up! Shop for natives in-person at East Bay Wilds or the Watershed Nursery on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 10:00-4:00, and a percentage of your purchases will go to support the Tour. Free packets of Larner’s “Native Wildflowers for Pollinators” seeds will be given away in the afternoon at East Bay Wilds, while supplies last. Read on for details.
Or… shop online - Order online from Green Thumb Works on either Saturday or Sunday Dec. 16 or 17, and a percentage of your purchase will also go to support the Tour. You can browse Green Thumb’s online list of available plants here. 
Shop in-person on Sat. Dec. 16 from 10:00-4:00
Oakland –  East Bay Wilds is located at 2777 Foothill Blvd., Oakland; note that the entrance is on 28th Ave. This nursery is normally only open to the public on Fridays, so don’t miss this chance to shop on a weekend! 

While at East Bay Wilds, browse Pete’s extensive, eclectic collection of garden benches, tables, chairs, statues, planters, antiques, and tchotchkes available at great prices – a percentage of these purchases will also go to support the Tour. See the plant list here and see photos of gardens that Pete has designed and planted with natives here. (If you are interested in a consult, design, installation or maintenance for a California native landscape, email Pete at pete@eastbaywilds.com or call (510) 409-5858.)

Talks in the Nursery at East Bay Wilds
12:00 “How to choose and care for manzanitas” by Pete Veilleux, owner of East Bay Wilds
2:30 - 4:00 Wildflower Seed Giveaway:  Jennifer Dirking will have a table with native gardening information and free packets of Larner Seeds’ “Native Plant Pollinator Wildflower Mix,” while supplies last.

Richmond –The Watershed Nursery, 601 A Canal Blvd. Richmond, (510) 234-2222. The Watershed Nursery, located in Point Richmond, offers hundreds of species of California native plants, and is dedicated to improving habitat from your backyard to the Bay. Use the nursery’s Plant Finder to match plants to your garden conditions, or ask their expert staff for help with choosing plants to suit your specific goals. You can see the list of available plants here.

Join the Native Plant Resource Teams! 

More than 250 people have joined the Native Plant Resource Teams; we hope you will, too. Team members have met over Zoom, visited each others’ gardens and public gardens, and are planning more get-togethers.  Folks who have joined range from beginners (who are especially welcome!), to native plant landscape designers and experienced Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour hosts and volunteers. Whatever your level of experience with natives, we hope you’ll join the Native Plant Resource Teams and participate in the list-serve discussion. Join us here.

The Pollinator Path Team, lead by Jennifer Dirking, plans to help members start pollinator gardens in their neighborhoods, on their own property, on shared (public) areas, and at schools and HOAs. The group met Dec 4 on Zoom, and shared ideas for activities and projects. Field trips are being planned, several people arranged to help each other with their pollinator garden projects, and members with native plant gardens have offered to share plants and seeds with other members. Two members have volunteered to translate the Keystone Species signs into Spanish (thank you, Brenda, Rosa, and Jessica!). The next Zoom meeting will take place in January; details will go out on the list-serve.

Seed & Plant Propagation & Exchange Team – The purpose of the Seed & Plant Propagation & Exchange Team is to help members develop skills in California native plant propagation and seed collecting; to promote ethical collection and best practices; and to share seed and plant material and information with each other and the broader community. The team will accomplish this through an online plant and seed exchange, regular meetings and educational programs, and periodic seed and plant exchanges. The Team has developed a spreadsheet to make it easy to list native plants or seeds people have to offer, and to post plants people would like (thank you, Jessica!).  The group hopes to visit each others’ gardens, share plants and seeds, and learn about propagation.  They have collected video and book links that will be helpful.  There will be a Zoom meeting at 6:00 pm on Monday, Dec. 11.  (Join the Teams here to get the Zoom link.)

Tri-Valley Team – The Tri-Valley Team toured the Granada Native Plant garden in Livermore.  Granada is a large garden – 1/3 of an acre – that was planted in 2004. While at the garden members were invited to take cuttings, collect seeds, and dig up excess seedlings. The Garden needs to find some new caregivers; if you have time to work in the Garden, please join this team. Training will be provided!   Several members offered to open their native gardens to the group. They are also creating a list of possible field trips to public gardens and nurseries.  

Berkeley Team – The Berkeley Team has meet twice, first at a restaurant, and then at a private home. They plan on meeting in-person on the 1st Monday of each month.  They discussed the pollinator gardens that have been created in Berkeley parks, and several of the members came to a work party at one of those native plant gardens. Laura is interested in creating a Pollinator Pathway on her block. In addition to gardening with natives, Erin is interested in electrification.

Will you help support the Tour?

If you’d like to support our work, you can make a donation here.  (Thank you in advance for helping us keep going!)

That’s it! On Saturday, Dec. 16, I hope you enjoy the talk on mazanitas, are able to bring home free native wildflower seeds, and find the best native plants for your garden.  Thank you for shopping at thisfundraiser for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. 

Warmly,

Kathy


Kathy Kramer
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator
(510) 236-9558
k*@kathykramerconsulting.net
www.bringingbackthenatives.net
Visit the Garden Tour on Facebook


I hope you enjoy this article as much as I have:

The Chickadees Guide to Gardening: In Your Garden, Choose Plants That Help the Environment 

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