Events

The native plant garden at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge demonstrates how native plants can attract wildlife and beautify your yard. Join us for a short walk 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m to view native plants and learn about the wildlife they attract. The walk will feature the garden in front of the Visitor’s Center, and along parts of the Tidelands Trail, if there is time.

Native plants with showy flowers include several species of buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), wild lilac (Ceanothussp.) and sages (Salvia sp.). This garden provides shelter and food for a host of wildlife species, including Anna’s hummingbirds, golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows, American robins, cedar waxwings, western fence lizards, bees, and swallowtail butterflies, to name just a few.

In this hands-on workshop you’ll get information on how to remove your lawn, select native plants, and design a water-conserving, pesticide-free garden that attracts wildlife. Most importantly, you’ll have the hands-on experience of sheet-mulching a lawn, and you’ll depart confident that you can do this at home.

These plants, which you can see in the garden, are easily obtainable, and they are also easy to grow. Come learn how to transform your own garden into a haven for wildlife!

Plant List for Garden: Hummingbird sage – Salvia spathacea Coyote brush – Baccharis pilularis California sagebrush – Artemisia californica Pink-flowering currant – Ribes sanguineum glutinosum Alkali heath – Frankenia salina Quailbush – Atriplex lentiformis Yarrow – Achillea millefolium California black sage – Salvia melliferaSonoma sage – Salvia sonomensis Wild lilac – Ceanothus “Ray Hartman” and Ceanothus “Dark Star” Toyon – Heteromeles arbutifolia California poppy – Eschscholzia californica California fuchsia – Epilobium canum California sagebrush – Artemesia californica California buckwheat – Eriogonum fasciculatum Coast buckwheat – Eriogonum latifolium California buckeye – Aesculus californica St. Catherine’s lace – Eriogonum giganteum Red buckwheat – Eriogonum grande var. reubescens Santa Cruz Island buckwheat – Eriogonum arborescens California wildrose – Rosa californica

Plants on Trail Walk Sticky monkeyflower – Mimulus aurantiacus Island snapdragon – Galvezia speciosaMugwort –  Artemisia douglasiana