Bringing Back the Natives: 2024

I recently attended the online version of the Bringing Back The Natives Garden Tour, which spanned a weekend in early April. As in previous years, Green Home Features Showcase tours were interwoven throughout the presentations. The in-person tours take place in early May, so sign up soon! One of these years, I'll attend the in-person garden tours, but in this season of life, I love the convenience of the online version. 

Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour is back!

Doug Tallamy kicked of the event with his talk, "What's the Rush? The Solution to the Biodiversity Crisis". His presentation is a wonderful distillation of the research and ideas he has been developing during his career, and provides a simple solution, in which all of us can participate. We can use our yards, containers, patios, and decks to provide habitat for nature, in a Homegrown National Park. You can hear the presentation on the website.

Celebrating 20 years of Bringing Back the Natives 

Kathy Kramer, tour coordinator, gave a wonderful retrospective on the origin and evolution of "Bringing Back the Natives" in the Bay Area over the last 20 years. She has received numerous awards for her work, and has influenced many gardeners and landscapers to replace their water-thirsty lawns, and to plant drought-tolerant native plants.

Fountains attract many birds

Do-it-yourself bird bath - attaches to the irrigation system

Rocks, gravel, and mud provide a moist and protected spot for butterflies and bees

Providing habitat for birds and butterflies was a recurring theme during both days of the tour. I took note of a few interesting details that could be easily integrated with our landscape renovation. I had never heard of "catios" before (enclosed outdoor patios for cats). They are a great solution for protecting cats in the outdoors (and protecting birds from cats)!

Owl roost

An outdoor "catio"

Finally, I loved the presentations on native plants, street trees, native plant sources in the Bay Area, and year-round color in the landscape using native, drought-tolerant plants. Doug Tallamy has definitely had an impact on gardeners and landscapers in the Bay Area. Many of the presenters brought up his influence on their designs and decisions, including use of keystone species and native plants. There was some discussion about how to handle "pests" in the garden, such as deer and gophers, but a growing consensus seems to be to that gardens aren't just meant to be pretty, but to provide habitat for nature (with many opinions on that continuum).