June 1
Wildflower wrap-up
Wildflower season may be winding down but our enthusiasm for native wildflowers is not. Join us and relive the 2019 bloom! Bring your favorite wildflower photos from this spring on a USB drive to share with us! Each person will have five minutes to show-and-tell their highlights. Get tips on where to catch wildflowers next year and where you can still see what’s left of this year’s bloom (hint: the mountains are calling).
June 8
Desert Bonsai Bowl
Observe and learn how to make a “desert bonsai” using a planter bowl or shallow pot in the bonsai tradition. We will match the pot to desert plant species, rocks, pebbles and sand top dress, dry branches or burls and other natural features. The finished pot will exemplify a miniature desert scene that will grow and thrive in the pot for many years to come.
Mike Evans likes the desert. He lives on the coast, and cannot often drop everything and head out there on a whim. However, by creating cool little potted landscapes, he can go in his mind. His inspiration for these little natural scenes comes from the traditional Japanese art form called “bonsai.”
June 15
Gardening with Desert Plants
Tree of Life’s Kevin Alison will give a talk on the plants of our California deserts, covering the evolution of desert habitats as well as common adaptations of desert plants that allow them to survive and thrive in hot, dry climates. He will also highlight desert plants that can be planted throughout the summer and will add summer color to your garden!
June 22, 9:30-1:30pm
BirdLife/Customer Appreciation – BBQ/Tree Planting
9:30- 10:30
Bird Life
Attract beautiful local birds to your garden by using native plants. Alisa Flint will show you how to identify different birds and how to provide plentiful food and proper shelter to attract them to your garden. The nursery’s current bird count is up to 114 distinct species, and 50 of those species have been spotted on our office deck right outside our windows, (if you design it well, they will come right to you!). For more information about native plants that are attractive to birds, download our Sage Advice article: Natives for songbirds.
11:30-1:30
BBQ
Yes, Virginia, there is a free lunch. We will be cookin’ up our famous carne asada tacos. The fare is fairly spare (spartan, but austere), though delicious… tacos and garnishes, your basic taco stand taco, so… dear loyal friends, feel free to bring, as some of you have done in years past, a side dish to put on the side dish table which will liven things up a bit.
3:00 pm
Summer Solstice Planting
Join us to celebrate the Summer Solstice as we plant a new addition to our gardens in a key location here at the nursery. We’ll have popsicles and great company!
June 29, 9:30-11:30
How to Draw Nature
Author, Naturalist and Artist Sama Wareh will lead a 2-hour workshop based off of her award-winning book “How to Draw 60 Native CA Plants and Animals: A Field Guide”. Learn how to sharpen your observation skills in order to capture nature’s beauty with your preferred artistic medium. Learn how to break seemingly complicated drawings into shapes and lines. Registration here.