April’s Plant Sale

Thank you to everyone who helped prepare and label plants, and beautify the Nursery last month for our semi-annual sale. We facilitated the planting of 250 California native plants in and around Sonoma County and netted $3000. Thank you especially to Kim P., Tom, and Jeanne for staffing the sale, assisting customers, making recommendations, handling sales, and transporting plants. Here are some of our 60 customers with their new plants.

Animal visitors to the Nursery

The pipevine swallowtail butterflies are back, as evidenced by their eggs and very young caterpillars on the pipevine (Aristolochia californica) leaves.The numerous butterflies around the park are the more obvious evidence, but they’re less cooperative about being photographed.

One warm afternoon, this large gopher snake nonchalantly slithered across the hardware cloth from the Little Shade house, past the work tent, and into the wooded area.

Also in house were the colorful Johnson’s jumping spider, and a very fuzzy tussock’s moth caterpillar, which I pulled off my neck. 

Trip to Hedgerow Farms in Winters

Mieko and I had the opportunity to attend a Native Nursery Network event at Hedgerow Farms in the Central Valley. Hedgerow collects, grows and cleans seeds collected from all over the state for restoration projects. We enjoyed a tour of the 300 acre farm, and presentations about seed propagation and seed amplification (the growing of plants from a small lot of seeds with the goal of producing a large number of seeds.)

To the left, you can see one of the California native plant “hedgerows” built along an irrigation ditch. It serves as a habitat for native animals, and, in contrast with the unplanted bank on the right, is less prone to erosion.

The photo on the right shows me in front of a planted field of Eriophyllum lanatum (wooly sunflower).

Bay Area Butterfly Festival

Our own butterfly activist Cindy L. is helping to promote this event May 19th on Mare Island, an overwintering spot for monarch butterflies. A beautiful venue with live music, vendors, and a focus on sustainability and environmental education, it promises to be an enjoyable, family friendly event.

For more information click here.

I’ll be updating this blog on a monthly basis. Until next time, stay green!

Hannah

Native Plant Nursery
Sonoma Garden Park
19996 Seventh Street East
Sonoma, CA, 95476
hannah@sonomaecologycenter.org
707.933.7788