Upcoming CNPS SCV Events and Activities - March 25, 2025

[CNPS-SCV News]

Dear friends,
Check out our chapter's upcoming events:

[1] Native Plant ID
Tuesday March 25, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Tonight!
Location: Peninsula Conservation Center (first floor), 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306892636/

Native Plant ID is a Chapter group that works together to learn plant identification using botanical keys and other resources. Join us as we look at plant samples collected from local gardens and practice methods of identifying the native plants of our region. Bring in plant samples if you have some from a property where you have permission to collect or just come and work with the materials provided. The group meets at 7:00 PM on the fourth Tuesday of each month. For more information please contact Janet Hoffmann at janet @ cnps-scv.org.

[2] Online plant sale
https://www.cnps-scv.org/events/calendar/eventdetail/11645/-/online-plant-sale

Our online plant sale is open! To celebrate the free Spring Wildflower Hikes at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, we've put our seed-grown Yarrow plants descended from plants at Edgewood on sale! For a limited time, you can get a 5" pot for only $9. The online sale ends Wednesday (3/26) night or when our pickup slots are filled - whichever comes first. Start shopping at: https://california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter.square.site/

[3] Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve Flora Walk
Thursday March 27, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Bonny Doon Fire & Rescue - 975 Martin Rd, Bonny Doon
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306233239/

Join Joe Cernac for an exploration of the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve. The reserve is located atop the higher Santa Cruz Mountains, with lots of moisture and humidity throughout the year, and a unique sterile sandstone, it hosts some unusual flora, including Ponderosa and Knobcone Pine, five manzanitas, endemic Santa Cruz Cypress and Bonny Doon Manzanita among them. The walk is about 3 miles with negligible elevation gain.

Please bring lunch, snacks and plenty of water. Heavy rain cancels. RSVP is required to join the hike. No drop-ins please and space is limited. For questions please call Joe Cernac, 408-499-2515

[4] Photo Group Meeting
Friday March 28, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Online
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306327880/

The Photo Group meets via Zoom on the fourth Friday of every month. In this supportive peer group, beginners and experts are equally welcome. Folks who just want to see pictures and hear photo tips are welcome too. Share your pictures, techniques, and ideas via Zoom. Slots are 20 minutes each. If you have pictures to share, sign up for a slot here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49a9a729aafd0-cnps18#/

[5] Seed and Cutting Exchange & Plant Sale Pickup
Saturday March 29, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: Peninsula Conservation Center (first floor), 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306892790/

This free event provides an opportunity to share and receive both seeds and cuttings of native plants. Browse the diverse offerings, ranging from easy-to-grow to hard-to-find, and go home with seeds and cuttings of new native plants! We will provide coin envelopes for seeds but bring containers to carry cuttings home.

If you have native plant material from your own garden to share, please bring some. Label your cuttings to make them easy to browse – some gardeners attach helpful hints about growing; others display photos of plants in bloom.

[6] Calochortus Treasure Hunt, Part II
Monday March 31, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Online
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306884073

This is the second of two talks. The first talk was on March 24. Recordings of both talks will be available on our YouTube channel.

Dee Himes will share her multi-year Calochortus Treasure Hunt, which aims to find and photograph all the mariposa lilies in California. Calochortus belongs to the Liliaceae family, and California has the greatest number of taxa of any state in North America. There is at least one Calochortus species found in every county in California.
Dee will highlight their distributions with maps and charts, demonstrate morphological differences between the species and, most importantly, showcase photographs of some of the beautiful flowers she and her husband, Ken, have encountered during their three-year treasure hunt.

This video trailer offers a fantastic preview of Dee's talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRpi261ywgQ.

This talk will be shown on both the CNPS SCV YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@CNPSSantaClaraValley) and on Zoom (https://cnps-scv.org/talk-20250331) (registration required).

[7] Growing Natives Garden Tour - by the Santa Clara Valley Chapter and UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County
Saturday April 12, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (north)
Sunday   April 13, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (south)
https://gngt.org/

Are you interested in gardens that are waterwise, low maintenance and attractive to humans as well as birds and butterflies? Learn more at the CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter's annual Growing Natives Garden Tour. This is a free, self-guided tour of home gardens landscaped with California native plants. Gardens in San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, and Gilroy/Morgan Hill are open on Saturday. Gardens in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and San Mateo are open on Sunday. The tour offers a variety of gardens for viewing - from townhomes to 1-acre lots, from newly planted gardens to established ones. You won't have to go far to see one: the gardens are located throughout the Santa Clara Valley and the Peninsula.

Visit as many gardens as you like - for inspiration, ideas, and pictures. What's special about California native plants? They are adapted to our soil and climate and are easy to care for. Many of our native plants are naturally waterwise and drought tolerant. They support a wide variety of wildlife that has co-evolved with them, and their distinctive look and elegant beauty gives your garden a sense of place that is uniquely Californian.

If you can't attend in person on tour days, you can visit online anytime at gngt.org, which has a page for each garden including descriptions, photos, videos and plant lists.

The self-guided tour is open to all. Admission is free but donations to support the Tour can be made at any garden. Registration is required - sign up at the link above. For more information, visit http://www.gngt.org or send a email to: info @ gngt.org.

The tour is organized by CNPS, Santa Clara Valley Chapter, in association with the UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County and San Mateo and San Francisco Counties.

[8] Newsletter Mailing Party
Thursday April 24, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Location: Peninsula Conservation Center (first floor), 3921 E. Bayshore Rd, Palo Alto
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F49A9A729AAFD0-55153369-blazing

The chapter's newsletter, the Blazing Star, is sent electronically to all its members every two months. These days, the chapter does not usually send out paper copies. But when we do, we need all the help we can get to prepare them for mailing.

Our next paper copy is going to be the May-June newsletter. Help is required to label and stamp the copies, as well as to set up and clean up the room. No prior experience is necessary. Snacks, drinks and tales of our CNPS adventures will be provided. So, join us for a few hours of doing some easy tasks while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow CNPS folks.

We need volunteers for the first shift (10 am - 12 pm) as well as the second shift (12 pm - 2 pm). Please sign up for a task by using the SignupGenius link above. Questions? Contact Priya at: priya4cnps @ gmail.com.

[9] Chapter Restoration Activities
RSVP is required for all Chapter restoration activities, in addition to signed waiver forms. Please see the individual Meetup listings for details.

[a] Habitat Restoration at Lake Cunningham Park
Saturday March 29, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Location: Native Garden Parking Lot, Lake Cunningham - 2305 S. White Road, San Jose
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306625151/

Join us to restore habitat (weeding and mulching) in the Native Garden at Lake Cunningham Park. During the winter months, we weed, mulch and plant.

[b] Community Work Day at Kirk Park
Saturday March 29, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Location: Kirk Park Native Garden - Briarwood Drive & Wawona Drive, San Jose
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306626496/

Volunteers meet at the garden on Saturdays, weather permitting, for weeding, watering and other maintenance activities. Occasionally there will be other tasks such as mulching and planting.

[c] Friday Edgewood Restoration
Friday March 28, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Varies - join the email group to receive weekly notices
https://www.cnps-scv.org/events/calendar/eventdetail/11404/-/edgewood-restoration

Help restore habitat at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, known for fabulous wildflowers and amazing diversity. To participate, join the email list and sign the electronic volunteer agreement, by sending an email to weed-warriors-coord @ friendsofedgewood.org.