The Bringing Back the Natives garden tour is back for 2023, with both virtual and in-person formats. Last weekend the virtual garden tours took place on Zoom, and in several weeks, the in-person garden tours will take place. As in previous years I attended both days of the virtual garden tours (but will be travelling during the in-person tours, so will miss see the gardens in person).
Doug Tallamy from University of Delaware gave the keynote address, “Restoring the little things that run the world: Why it matters, and what you can do”. Tallamy presented simple steps that each of us can take right in our own backyards to reverse declining biodiversity. Tallamy has written several books including The Nature of Oaks, and is a popular speaker on topics such as keystone plants, creating a wildlife corridor in the landscape, and starting a homegrown national park. His latest book is Nature's Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard is a version of his previous publication Nature's Best Hope that is geared for middle-schoolers. Tallamy has inspired many gardeners to completely change the trajectory of their landscapes (and has deeply influenced our own upcoming landscape project).
Interesting presentations include tours of landscapes with designers and property owners (some of whom also embrace "green home" principles with solar panels, off grid electricity, and so forth); how to design and maintain monarch-friendly gardens; harvesting rainwater for irrigating your garden; and native plant sources in the Bay Area, such as East Bay Wilds and Native Here Nursery. I especially enjoyed learning about sunny and shady keystone plants (plants that are not only beautiful, but also support insect and bird life); native plants as street trees (progress is being made in some cities); and the important role that aphids play in the landscape (hint: they are the basis of the food chain, so embrace them). For the soul, I loved the photo-essay "Life and Death on Silverleaf Lupine" and the video "The Beauty of New Life: March and April in the Native Plant Garden".
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| Upscale bird bath |
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| Resin bird bath and fountain |
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| Neighborhood lending library with succulent roof |
It's not too late to sign up for the 2023 in-person garden tours on Saturday, May 6 (Bayside gardens) and Sunday, May 7 (Inland gardens). Registration enables you to visit the gardens and see the recordings from the virtual garden tours. To learn more about the online agenda from last weekend, see Agenda 2023 Online Tour. To learn more about the in-person agenda in a few weeks, see View 2023 In-Person Tour Gardens. The tours are free, but donations are appreciated to offset costs.
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