- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
- Members-Only Online Plant Sales with Curbside Pick-Up. You shop at the online plant store Tuesday, Oct. 19 through Thursday, Oct. 21, starting at 10 a.m. and then schedule a pick-up at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. Members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and the Davis Botanical Society gain early access to the online plant sales, get the best selections, and save 10 percent. This is for members only, but you can become a member anytime. Sign up here. Contact: arboretum@ucdavis.edu or (530)-752-4880. See more information here.
- Public Online Plant Sales with Curbside Pick-Up. You shop at the online plant store Friday, Oct. 22 through Monday, Oct. 25, starting at 10 a.m., and then schedule a pick-up at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. To gain access to the online plant sale store, you need to subscribe to the Arboretum's online e-newsletter, The Leaflet. Sign up here. (A link to access the online store will be emailed to current subscribers the morning of Oct. 22.) See more information here.
Curbside pickup dates are Oct. 26 through Nov. 13, excluding Sundays, Mondays and Veterans' Day. As earlier mentioned, when you place youronline order, you will receive a confirmation with a link to schedule your pickup time. Check out more questions and answers here or contact plantsales@ucdavis.edu.
COVID-19 Pandemic Rules. To keep everybody safe, there are important COVID-19 pandemic rules posted on the Arboretum plant sales website:
- "Before you come to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery for curbside pickup appointment, please complete the UC Davis COVID-19 Daily Symptom Survey for visitors."
- "Our nursery staff will be wearing masks. We encourage you to do the same."
- "A staff member will take your name, ask that you stay in your vehicle and load your trunk with your order — please be sure there is enough room."
- "If you have any COVID-19 symptoms on the day of your appointment, you will be able to reschedule."
Meanwhile, here are a few photos of pollinators and past plant sales to help inspire you to "go green" and "think pollinators," while helping the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you want to draw pollinators to your yard, think of the plants for sale at the teaching nursery maintained by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
A public clearance sale will take place Thursday, May 20 through Monday, May 24, with members saving 30 percent and the public, 20 percent. The online "plant store" will open at 1 p.m., May 20. Just access the Arboretum's plant sale website, and follow the directions to select, order, and pick up your plants at curbside. The site is located on Garrod Drive, near the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
The nursery looks a bit barren now, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (few people, but lots of plants, carts and enthusiasm). On a recent visit, nursery manager Taylor Lewis was tending to business, nurturing the plants. Honey bees buzzed, butterflies fluttered, and a California scrub jay rapped.
Some of the restrictions regarding the online plant sales:
- Before you come to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery for curbside pickup appointment, please complete the UC Davis COVID-19 Daily Symptom Survey.
- When you arrive, be sure to wear a face covering — this is mandated by UC Davis across campus.
- A staff member will take your name, ask that you stay in your vehicle and load your trunk with your order — please be sure there is enough room
Questions? Contact plantsales@ucdavis.edu.
Meanwhile, make your selection, plant it, and wait for the pollinators to arrive. Photographing them is a blessed bonus. Thought we'd share some images of honey bees drawn to one of our favorite plants from the nursery: Salvia "Hot Lips."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A black butterfly with iridescent blue hindwings, it's a frequent visitor to our garden, where it nectars on such plants as the butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii, the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), and sage (Salvia).
But if you want it as a permanent resident, plant its host plant, the California Dutchman's pipe, Aristolochia californica. You'll see the cycle of life--from eggs to caterpillars to chrysalids to adults.
And that breathtaking "bolt of blue."
The Dutchman's pipe is just one of thousands of plants that will be offered at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Plant Sale on Saturday, March 9 at its nursery on Garrod Drive, near the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Members can shop from 9 to 11 (you can join at the gate or online) and the public sale is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
As they say online: "Members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden or the Davis Botanical Society are welcome to shop our first spring plant sale and receive early admittance for the best plant selection, a $10-off member appreciation gift, complimentary refreshments and 10% off their plant sale purchases! In addition, new members receive a $10-off coupon as a thank you for joining. Not a member? Join the Friends online, at the door or call ahead.
Most of the plants are grown onsite, says Taylor Lewis, nursery manager. Native plants, drought-tolerant plants, host plants for butterflies, and plants that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators are popular, not to mention the much-in-demand Arboretum All Stars, plants that do well in our area, even if you don't have a green thumb.
Want to know what plants are available? The website provides a list in both PDF and Excel. If you peruse the list--and you should before you go--you'll find narrow-leaf milkweed and showy milkweed (host plants for monarchs), and plants with such fascinating names as Bush Tango Kangaroo Paw, Aster Bugtopia, Dazzleberry Stonecrop, Bee's Bliss Purple Sage, Pocahontas Beard Tongue, Red Dragon Monkey Flower, and Baja California Fairy Duster. And lots of lavenders and salvia!
California figures into many of the names, from Calistoga California fuchsia, California Dutchman's pipe, California buckeye, California lilac and California sagebrush.
Is it spring yet?
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're looking for plants to attract pollinators, including bees and butterflies, then the UC Davis Arboretum's Plant Sale on Saturday, Oct. 22 is the place to "bee."
A public fall clearance sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive, UC Davis campus. It will feature a "wide selection of Arboretum All-Stars, California natives, and gorgeous drought-tolerant plants," officials said. Members (new members can join at the door) save 10 percent and also reap other benefits.
The sale will include more than 16,500 plants and more than 450 varieties.
Will they have milkweed? Yes.
"It looks like we'll have plenty of milkweed, two varieties--Kotolo (Asclepias eriocarpa) and showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)," said Katie Hetrick, director of communications.
Will they have butterfly bush (Buddleia)? Yes.
"We have a ton of Buddleia," said Hetrick, mentioning just a few: Magenta Munchkin, Dark Dynasty, Buzz, Orchid Annie, Purple Haze, Lavender Cupcake--and "The Chips": Lilac Chip, Pink Micro Chip, and Blue Chip Jr.
"And let's not forget all the Salvias!" Hetrick said. "Those are a nectar fave with pollinators including butterflies, bees and hummingbirds!" Among the Salvias on sale: Bee's Bliss, Pacific Blue, Marine Blue, Pozo Blue, Debbie's Rose, Little Kiss, Red Swing, Violet Riot, Royal Bumble, Hot Lips, and Scott's Red.
Taylor Lewis, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Nursery Manager, related that pipevine, the host plant of the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor), will be available.
Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture, listed some of her favorite sunflower family plants that attendees can buy:
- Aster 'Monch'
- Coreopsis, 'Little Penny'
- Coreopsis, 'Enchanted Eve'
- Coreopsis, 'Red Elf'
- Echibeckia, 'Summerina Brown'
- And lots of Echinacea (cone flowers)
For a full list of the plants available, download the PDF.
And, it's interesting to see what folks in the area have planted instead of lawns. The Aboretum's web page offers great ideas.
Do you know how much acres in the United States are planted in lawn? Huffington Post reports in a 2015 news story: "According to a new study from NASA scientists in collaboration with researchers in the Mountain West, there is now an estimated total of 163,812 square kilometers, or more than 63,000 square miles, of lawn in America — about the size of Texas."
All that manicuring, all that water, all that work. And little or no food or shelter for the pollinators.
Every well-manicured lawn "uses up to 900 liters of water per person per day and reduces sequestration effectiveness by up to 35 percent by adding emissions from fertilization and the operation of mowing equipment," Huffington Post says.
Indeed, lawn is our nation's single largest "crop."
But it doesn't have to be. There IS life after lawn. And there is MORE life after lawn.
