Dear Friend of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour and Green Home Features Showcase,
Today I’m writing about:
1) The upcoming in-person Tour of more than fifty gardens that will be open on Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4 (think addresses, maps, and tickets!
2) The keystone species sign sale (which ends on April 30)
3) The new Saturday, May 31 Choose Your Own Adventure, “Saving the Imperiled Green Hairstreak Butterfly.” On this Adventure we’ll work in the native plant nursery that
grows the only plant this butterfly can lay its eggs on, have a picnic, then walk along some of the restoration sites that make up the Green Hairstreak Corridor.
4) A discount code for new members to join the California Native Plant Society and be entered into a drawing to win a free front yard garden design, and a
5) Call for gardens for the May 2026 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
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- Information on the upcoming, in-person Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4! Free (donations requested)
If you haven’t yet signed up to attend the Tour…register now!
The addresses, maps and tickets are ready:
register now, and they will be sent to you in the bounce back email. If you don’t receive this bounce back email, register again. If you still don’t receive it, then your internet service provider is blocking the bounce
back from reaching your in-box. If this is the case, use a different email and register again.
If you have registered already
The addresses, maps and tickets have been emailed to you. If you can’t find this email, then register again to receive these links in the bounce back
email you will receive right after you register.
Plan your route early and invite your friends, family members, and neighbors to join you! (Just be sure they register and bring their tickets.)
I have just completed my route for Saturday and Sunday, and have sent out invitations to friends, hoping they’ll join me and my husband, Mike touring gardens.
I also hope to see you on the week-end of the Tour!
Information on the Tour
Visit any of the
fifty-one beautiful native plant gardens that are open on this year’s Tour. The
2025 Gardens at a Glance matrix can help you choose which gardens and homes you would like to visit.
The award-winning in-person Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour and Green Home Features Showcase allows registrants to visit
more than fifty beautiful, water-conserving native plant gardens on Saturday and Sunday, May
3 and 4, from 10:00-5:00. All of the homes have native plant gardens; twenty-seven of them will also be sharing their green home features, including solar panels and batteries, induction
ranges, heat pumps, and more.
Registrants will learn how design a native plant garden for color and interest throughout the year, garden for wildlife, lower their water bills, protect their
family’s health and the environment by gardening without using pesticides, and electrify their homes.
What’s special about California native plants? They are adapted to our soil and climate, naturally water conserving, and easy to care for. California native
plants are better than non-native plants when it comes to attracting native birds, butterflies, and other forms of wildlife. And, as the gardens on the Tour show, these lovely gardens display a sense of place that is uniquely Californian.
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- Keystone Species Sign Sale ends April 30 (the link to browse or purchase is here)
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The Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour and the Golden Our very own Jennifer Dirking was the brains and brawn behind the creation of the keystone species signs. Jennifer did the research and the layout, and is due all of the credit for these amazing, It has been a big job getting this whole sale system set up, and I would like to thank the Golden Gate Bird Alliance for being such a great partner, and especially Whitney Grover, for the time What are Keystone Species? According to Doug Tallamy, keystone species are the most ecologically valuable plants, as they are the plants that drive the food web that other creatures depend on. Tallamy’s research has shown The Keystone Species list was drawn from Doug For more information on keystone species, and why they are important, watch this Here is additional information from the What are the Keystone Species signs? These 8” wide by 12” high by 1/8” thick signs, available in English and Spanish, describe various Bay Area keystone species—the most ecologically valuable native plants in our area. They feature Where can I see the entire list of Keystone Species signs? You can see the complete English and Spanish language signs on the Tour’s website in the Keystone These keystone species plant signs are meant to be accompanied by the large introductory sign, which is also available in English and Spanish and can be seen here and Where and when can I pick up my signs? The signs will be available for pick-up in late June at ten locations around the Bay Area. The Berkeley pick-up site is the Golden Gate Bird Alliance office. The rest of the locations are private Because the ordering, printing, and collating orders is and will be a long and complicated process, the signs will not be ready for pick-up until late June. Trying to ship them would drive us to drink, so the signs will not be shipped—they must be picked up at one of the pick-up sites. Any signs not been picked up within a month of notification will What are the signs made of, and how well to do they hold up to the sun? The signs are made of PVC, moisture proof, and they hold up to sunlight well. Pete Veilleux, owner of East Bay Wilds Native Plant Nursery, has had them outdoors for two years, and there has been How can the signs be mounted? One HOA has framed the signs and hung them about the facility, to educate residents about why they were installing a native plant garden. Native plant nurseries have used irrigation pins (which can be purchased separately Who can use these signs? These signs have been purchased by landscape designers, HOA’s, nurseries, and teachers. At checkout you have the opportunity to pay the credit card fee as a donation When checking out, you are offered the opportunity to pay the 3% credit card fee that we are charged by financial institutions. If you choose to do this that amount will show up as a donation |
You can order the signs here. Questions? Call
Kathy Kramer at (510) 236-9558, or email Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net.
Please note that all sales are final; there will be no refunds or exchanges.
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- Choose Your Own Adventure: Saving the Imperiled Green Hairstreak Butterfly in San Francisco with Nature in the City
Saturday, May 31, 2025, 10:15-3:15 Free
Limit 25: Registration is required
Background
The Green Hairstreak
Corridor is a butterfly conservation corridor of fifteen restored habitat sites on public land for the small, but spectacularly beautiful green hairstreak butterfly—which was, until its rediscovery in 2006, thought to be locally extinct in this
San Francisco neighborhood.
Nature in the City’s efforts
to create “stepping stone” habitats between larger parks and open spaces have helped increase the population of these rare flying jewels. Volunteers in the Backyard Nursery Network collect seeds and cuttings from restoration sites and grow plants that are
later used in the Corridor. Come learn how you can create wildlife corridors where you live!
Our Adventure!
Our Adventure features a morning of hands-on native plant propagation work opportunities at the Nature in the City nursery, followed by a casual bring-your-own
picnic lunch, and a walking tour of parts of the Green Hairstreak Butterfly Habitat Corridor.
This free event will take place in San Francisco. Registration is required—and this Adventure is limited to 25 people. Participants must arrange their own transportation.
Agenda:
10:15 – Introductions and welcome
10:30 – 12:30 – Hands-on nursery activities – transplant, prune, weed, sow seeds, and help as needed around the nursery
12:30 – 1:25 – Enjoy your Bring-Your-Own picnic lunch and drink
1:30 – 3:15 – Walk the Green Hairstreak Corridor – After lunch we’ll walk along a portion of the Green Hairstreak corridor to see how the plants from the
nursery look when they are planted out in a habitat. The walking route starts at one of the most successful habitat sites, and tours four other habitat
sites/parks, including the beautiful Rocky Outcrop at 14th and Ortega. The walk will include stairs, but participants can feel free to join at just the first site for Q & A.
To register for this event, join the Native
Plant Resource Teams – it’s free to join the Teams, and free to attend our events. After you have joined, check the calendar (which shows event details to members)
to sign up for this Adventure – the address will be provided to registrants. (Note, when joining the Native Plant Resource Teams, to keep your emails to a minimum, select the Digest.)
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- A discount code for new members to join the California Native Plant Society and be entered into a drawing to win a free front yard garden design
Join the California Native Plant Society as a first-time CNPS member for just $30—that’s 40% off the regular price of $50! As a member, you’ll receive
the beautiful Flora magazine, filled with native gardening tips, inspiring interviews, and photo essays. And you’ll be connected with your local CNPS chapter for field trips, workshops, volunteer opportunities and more. This offer is good through midnight
on June 30, and does not apply to current or renewing CNPS members. New members can join CNPS at the discounted rate here.
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5)
Call for gardens
for the May 2026 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
Does your garden contain at least 70% California native plants, on the plant list, and by cover, and do you live in Alameda or Contra Costa counties?
If so, to apply to have your garden on the 2026 Tour, please return the 2026
Host Application and the 2026
Letter of Agreement along with your plant list. (Scans are fine). E-mailed photos would be welcome, but are not necessary.Garden visits take place between May
and July.
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- Will you help support the Tour?
If you appreciate our programs, please help support us. You can make a contribution with your credit card here,
through Venmo at BringingBacktheNatives (the last four digits of the associated phone number are 7048),
or you can mail a check to:
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
1718 Hillcrest Road
San Pablo. CA. 94806
Donations of $500 or more are now tax deductible, thanks to a partnership with the Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Please note that donations sent directly
to the Alliance by check, or from a donor advised fund, for example, must include a note indicating these funds are to support the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour (so the funds are allocated to the correct account). Please notify the Tour of your donation
as well. The Alliance’s federal tax ID number is 94-6086896.
E-mail
Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net or call the Tour at (510) 236-9558 for more information.
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I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events!
Warmly,
Kathy
Kathy Kramer
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator
(510) 236-9558
kathy@kathykramerconsulting.net
www.bringingbackthenatives.net
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I hope you enjoy this article as much as I have:
The Chickadees Guide to Gardening: In Your Garden, Choose Plants That Help the Environment
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