• Exciting New Project: West Gate Entrance and Rock Garden

• SAVE THE DATE: August 22, Friends of the Botanic Garden 30th Anniversary Celebration!

• Native Fern Sale June 3 and 6

• East Bay Public Gardens Tours June 6

• Botanical Hotspots of Northern California: Snow Mountain Wilderness

• Butterfly Walks in the Garden: June 17 and 20

• Birds in the Botanic Garden

• Free Weekend and Holiday Tours

Last month’s storms caused damage to several trees in the Garden’s Canyon section. Cleanup and tree removal have been completed, and all Canyon trails are now open for visitors to enjoy.

Starting June 1, the Garden is open from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. for the summer season.

Photo: Humboldt's Lily (Lilium humboldtii) by Sandy Steinman.

Exciting New Project: West Gate Entrance and Rock Garden

In celebration of the Friends of the Botanic Garden’s 30th anniversary the Friends are launching a campaign to raise funds for an exciting new rock garden and a renovated West Gate entrance.

SAVE THE DATE: August 22: Friends of the Botanic Garden 30th Anniversary Celebration!

The Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden was established 30 years ago, and we are celebrating! The event also honors Dr. Glenn Keator, who was instrumental in creating the Friends organization. The celebration will be an evening of food, drink, and music in the Garden.

If you are a member of the Friends organization, you will soon be receiving an invitation to the August 22 celebration at the Garden. A limited edition anniversary poster is being designed by Linda Ann Vorobik in commemoration of the event.

All Friends of the Garden will receive an invitation from Signup Genius this month. Join now to receive the exclusive invitation: become a Member of the Friends of the Garden.

Native Fern Sale June 3 and June 6

Announcing our inventory reduction sale of California Native Ferns! The two remaining days of the sale are Wednesday, June 3 from 10:00 a.m. to noon AND Saturday, June 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Additional California Native Plants will be sold at our normal/regular prices during these three dates. See the inventory HERE.

Note that June 6th will be the end of our weekly Wednesday and monthly first Saturday plant sales until our big Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, October 3, 2026.

For our fern inventory reduction sale: quantities and prices are below (all are in 3” pots unless otherwise noted). When these quantities are gone, that’s it for this sale. 

20 – Adiantum aleuticum for $10 each

20 – Aspidotis densa for $10 each

4 – Athyrium felix-femina for $10 each

3 – 1G Athyrium felix-femina for $15 each

20 – Cystopteris fragilis for $10 each

100 – Dryopteris arguta for $7.00 each

20 – Myriopteris covillei for $10 each

40 – Pelazoneuron (Thelypteris) puberulum var. sonorense for $10 each

20 – Pentagramma triangularis for $10 each

20 – Polypodium californicum for $10 each

20 – Polystichum dudleyi for $10 each

20 – Polystichum munitum for $10 each

LEFT: California polypody (Polypodium californicum); CENTER: Lady fern (Athyrium felix-femina); RIGHT: Five finger fern (Adiantum aleuticum). Photos by Sandy Steinman.

East Bay Public Gardens Tours June 6

Botanical Hotspots of Northern California: Snow Mountain Wilderness

Sunday, May 31, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Botanic Garden Visitor Center

The Snow Mountain Wilderness straddles the summit of the North Coast Range within Colusa, Glenn, and Lake counties. The central feature of this wilderness is the large, broad- topped Snow Mountain, which drains water toward the Sacramento River on the east and the Eel River Basin on the west. The deep canyons skirting the Wilderness compress ecological life zones, creating a unique biological sky-island.

Photo: Snow Mountain Wilderness. Credit: Bureau of Land Management.

Butterfly Walks in the Garden: June 17 and 20

Join Sarab Seth for guided butterfly walks in the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on Wednesday, June 17 and Saturday, June 20th. Two walks are scheduled each day, at 1:00 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Each walk is limited to ten participants and starts at the Garden’s Wildcat Canyon Entrance. Walks are free, but reservations are required. The reservation link will be posted on the Garden's website on June 1: https://nativeplants.org/.

From Sarab’s Notebook:

Butterfly activity in the second half of May has been distinctly better than in the first half. But how many different species, and how many butterflies in all, are seen depends very much on the weather. If it’s sunny and at least 65 degrees, and not too windy, I expect to see 10 to 15 species.

Given good weather, I am hopeful we will see at least nine or ten species during our June walks. Likely sightings include acmon blue (Icaricia acmon), California sister (Adelpha californica), gray buckeye (Junonia grisea), mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta), umber skipper (Lon melane), and variable checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedon). Rural skipper (Ochlodes agricola) and satyr comma (Polygonia satyrus) are both possible.

Where to Look Right Now (If You Can’t Join the Walks):

The best spot right now is the area around the large circular bed in the Channel Island section, but the number of species seen here fluctuates. Expect to see acmon blue, gray buckeye, mylitta crescent, and umber skipper.

The area along the creek southwest of the long bridge can also be very productive.

California pipevine swallowtail adults (Battus philenor hirsuta) are quite infrequent now. But look near the tips of young pipevine shoots growing close to the ground for eggs. The caterpillars are still around in large numbers.

Tip: Binoculars help a lot, especially close-focus ones. The happiest people at the end of the walk are usually the ones with binoculars.

Want a virtual walk? See the butterfly pages on the Garden website at: https://nativeplants.org/guides/butterflies-in-the-garden

LEFT: mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta); CENTER: rural skipper (Ochlodes agricola); RIGHT: satyr comma (Polygonia satyrus). Photos by Sarab Seth.

Sarab Seth is a butterfly photographer and docent at the Botanic Garden. Sarab's monthly Garden butterfly walks will continue through October.

Birds in the Botanic Garden

Beth Reuter

The Botanic Garden is always a wonderful place to see and hear birds. Spring is an especially busy time, with some fall/winter residents flying elsewhere and spring/summer residents joining our year-round birds in nesting and raising babies.

Listen carefully anywhere in the Garden and you may be treated to the flute-like, spiraling song of the Swainson’s Thrush. This furtive bird, brownish above, pale and spotted below, can be found foraging through leaf litter, sometimes venturing onto a shady path. The bench near the creek in the Canyon section is a great place to hear their songs ricocheting off the redwood trunks, each phrase more beautiful than the last.

While the thrushes skulk in the shadows, the hummingbirds court our attention. Allen’s Hummingbirds, with males gloriously decked out in iridescent coppery-orange and green, have joined our resident Anna’s Hummingbirds.

Who has arrived: Allen’s Hummingbird, Violet-green Swallow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, House Wren, Warbling Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Western Flycatcher and Olive-sided Flycatcher.

LEFT: Black-headed grosbeak; RIGHT: Wilson's warbler. Photos by Beth Reuter.

Who has departed: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Varied Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow.

What are you noticing?

Beth Reuter is a Garden Greeter at the Botanic Garden and is in the California Academy of Sciences/GGBA Master Birder program.

Free Weekend and Holiday Tours

Come to the Garden for our free, docent-led tours at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Park District holidays and at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays.

On weekends and holidays stop at the Greeters table to pick up Treasure Hunt and I-Spy games for young visitors to enjoy in the Garden. A new self-guided “Horticulture Walk” is also available to use while you are at the Garden.

Tours start at the Visitor Center; no need to sign up. Please remember, if it's raining, we'll have to cancel. 

Bring your group to the Garden! Signup for free group tours on the Garden website.

There is so much in bloom now at the Garden! Below are a few species on display this month.

LEFT: Salmon-flowered prickly-pear (Opuntia vaseyi); CENTER: Stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea); RIGHT: Kellogg's lily (Lilium kelloggii). Photos by Sandy Steinman.