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California Native Plant Society

Santa Clara Valley Chapter

Native Horticultural Symposium - 2016

Creating Habitat in the Dryland Garden 2016symposium flyer button 350px

The symposium was held on Saturday, September 17, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. 

Landscaping with California native plants is a proven technique for creating low-water, low-maintenance gardens that also provide refuge for wildlife and repair the damage to our urban and suburban areas.  As gardeners, we appreciate pretty flowers and beautiful greenery, but a garden can also provide movement by feeding and housing our fellow creatures. Watching hummingbirds nectar, seeing a caterpillar grow and change, and viewing baby birds as they leave their nest for the first time are delightful experiences that transform how we view our gardens’ role within the local ecosystem.

Videos of the presentations at the 2016 symposium are linked below:  

  • The Importance of Being Local for Habitat and Design: Judith Larner Lowry, author and owner of Larner Seeds, talks about the deep reasons to use locally native plants in the habitat garden from the perspectives of the purist, the bees, and the designer.
  • Native Bees Need You!: Sara Leon Guerrero, researcher at the Urban Bee Lab, U.C. Berkeley, describes how native pollinators benefit our gardens, showing some of the most common local bees with their favorite nectar and pollen-rich plants to grow in your garden.
  •  The Butterflies of San Francisco: How They Relate to Your Garden: Liam O’Brien, illustrator, lepidopterist, and conservationist, describes the butterflies in the tiny geographical area of San Francisco.
  • Hedgerows as Habitat: Frederique Lavoipierre, Director of Education at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, shows how you can take a boring, monoculture hedge and transform it into a magnet for wildlife.
  • Designing your Habitat Garden: Bart O’Brien, author and Manager, Regional Parks Botanic Garden, describes easy, practical steps which you can take now to create a landscape rich in wildlife and movement.
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Upcoming Events

Thu Oct 10 @ 7:00PM - 08:30PM
The Diversity of Mariposa Lilies Explained Through a Genetics Lens a talk by Dr. Adriana Hernandez
Sat Oct 12 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM
Lake Cunningham Native Garden
Sat Oct 12 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM
Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park
Thu Oct 17 @ 7:00PM - 09:00PM
CNPS SCV Board Meeting
Sat Oct 19 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM
Lake Cunningham Native Garden
Sat Oct 19 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM
Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park
Tue Oct 22 @ 7:00PM - 09:00PM
Native Plant ID
Tue Oct 22 @ 7:00PM - 08:30PM
Meadow Marvels: Sensitive Habitats and How to Protect Them, a talk by Tyler Feld
Fri Oct 25 @ 7:00PM - 08:50PM
Photography Group - Photo Sharing Meeting
Sat Oct 26 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM
Lake Cunningham Native Garden