Pollinators are essential for a thriving garden ecosystem, but often cannot access all of the elements they need to flourish and raise the next generation. Learn how you can create a beautiful low water “paradise” for bees, butterflies and other pollinators in your garden, and boost your fruit and vegetable yields in the process. Attendees will receive a free packet of California native wildflowers for pollinators to try out in their own gardens.
Brian Dirking has loved gardening from an early age, helping his grandmother in her backyard and nurturing her prizewinning African violets. For much of his adult life he dedicated his leisure time to fruit and vegetable gardening, and maintaining a healthy lawn.
But in 2020 he realized that he could save time, money and the planet by converting most of his yard to a native habitat garden. Inspired by Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope, he has planted hundreds of California native plants in his small San Carlos garden to create a lush and vibrant oasis that feeds bees, butterflies, birds and more! Now that he is freed from the tyranny of lawn maintenance and expense, you can find him lounging in a hammock listening to birdsong and admiring year-round blooms and berries in his garden.
You can visit Brian’s garden on the Growing Natives Garden Tour on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Register for the tour at gngt.org.
Sun Dec 22 @ 9:00AM - 12:00PM Bird and Plant ID Walk at Lake Cunningham Park (San Jose) |
Fri Dec 27 @ 9:00AM - Edgewood Restoration |
Sat Dec 28 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM Lake Cunningham Native Garden |
Sat Dec 28 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park |
Sat Dec 28 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Cataldi Park Native Garden |
Wed Jan 01 @10:00AM - 02:00PM New Year’s walk to Franklin Point, part of Año Nuevo State Park (Hwy 1 coast, southern San Mateo County) |
Fri Jan 03 @ 9:00AM - Edgewood Restoration |
Sat Jan 04 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM Lake Cunningham Native Garden |
Sat Jan 04 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park |
Sat Jan 04 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Cataldi Park Native Garden |