• Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden 30th Anniversary Celebration

• Mothers Day Plant Sale and Weekly and Monthly Plant Sales

• Botanical Hotspots of Northern California

• May Butterfly Walks in the Garden

• Temporary Canyon Closure

• New Unit Manager

• Weekend and Holiday Tours

Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden 30th Anniversary Celebration

The Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden was established 30 years ago, and we are celebrating! If you are a member of the Friends organization, you will be receiving an invitation to the August 22 evening celebration at the Garden. A limited edition anniversary poster is being designed by Linda Ann Vorobik in commemoration of the event. Join now to receive the exclusive invitation: become a Member of the Friends of the Garden.

Remember to save the date: August 22, 2026.

Mother’s Day Plant Sale

Instead of our usual monthly first-Saturday Plant Sale, we will be moving the sale to Mother's Day, Sunday May 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This will allow native plant lovers to attend the Bringing Back the Natives Tour that is taking place during the first weekend of May. Enjoy the Garden on this special day and take this opportunity to add a new native plant or two to your own garden!

You’ll be able to compare the Botanic Garden’s four species of pitcher sages (Lepechinia): white pitcher sage (L. calycina), San Diego pitcher sage (L. ganderi), fragrant pitcher sage (L. fragrans), and Ross’ pitcher sage (L. rossii). Lepechinias are beautiful aromatic shrubs in the mint (Lamiaceae) family. They all have pendulous flowers ranging from white to lavender. The shrubs can grow to five feet in height and can be pruned to shape. The flowers are attractive to pollinators, and the plant’s strong fragrance makes it repellant to deer. Ross’ pitcher sage is a rare variety from the Transverse Ranges of California, described scientifically for the first time in 2006. White pitcher sage is the most common variety, growing in several different habitats throughout the state. California has a fifth Lepechinia species that we look forward to adding in the not-to-distant future: heart-leaved pitcher sage (L. cardiophylla). This rare California Floristic Province endemic species is only found in the Peninsular Ranges from Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties and in northwestern Baja California, Mexico.

Weekly Wednesday plant sales continue through June 3, from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Saturday, June 6, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., will be the last Saturday plant sale until the Big Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, October 3. After June 6, the propagators will be building inventory for the Fall Sale.

Current inventory is listed here.

Botanical Hotspots of Northern California

Northern California is one of the most diverse floral hotspots in the world, with much of this richness concentrated in well-defined ecological areas. Dr. Glenn Keator will present a series of free talks exploring this diversity. Please join us at the Botanic Garden Visitor Center on the following Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Talks are open to the public. Directions to the Garden.

May 17: Mines Road and Mount Hamilton Area. This long road south of Livermore goes through some pristine habitat that makes you feel miles away from civilization. It features vast chaparral, meadows, gray pine-oak forests, rock scree, and springs including adjacent Del Puerto Canyon.

May 31: Bear Valley and Walker Ridge. This particular Bear Valley lies in the inner north Coast Ranges east of Clear Lake and is accessed from Williams. Besides vast inner grasslands with a plethora of geophytes and annual wildflowers, the ridge to the west has both serpentine and ordinary soils and has not only a selection of beautiful geophytes but is also the only place where two different species of western cypress occur.

July 12: The Smith River Watershed. California’s most northern undammed river feeds into wetlands and sea promontories and extends into deep forested canyons, with peaks rising to 5,000 feet. It is home to many special endemics.

July 19: Cook and Green Pass. Just short of the Oregon border, 5000-foot Cook and Green Pass has an unparalleled diversity combining lowland species with high and subalpine species in a series of forests, meadows, and rock outcrops.

July 26: Mt. Eddy. At 9,000 feet, Mt. Eddy is the highest point in the Klamath Mountains. It is an entirely serpentine area featuring several gem-like lakes, large meadows, a range of interesting conifers, and true alpine habitat. It is also home to vast populations of the curious insectivorous cobra plant, Darlingtonia californica.

Dr. Glenn Keator is a botanist and horticulturist specializing in California native plants. He teaches the docent training classes and many additional courses at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley. Dr. Keator was instrumental in starting the Garden’s docent program and the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden organization.

May Butterfly Walks in the Garden

Join Sarab Seth for a guided butterfly walk in the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on Sunday, May 17. Two walks are scheduled, 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. Reserve here.

From Sarab’s Notebook:

The wonderfully warm March weather brought elevated butterfly sightings all through March and the first half of April. Butterfly activity is now back to normal levels. Current numbers are 10 to 12 butterfly sightings per hour, depending on the weather.

I am hopeful we will see at least 8 or 9 species during our May walks. Likely sightings include acmon blue (Icaricia acmon), cabbage white (Pieris rapae), California pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor hirsuta), northern checkerspot (Chlosyne palla), Lorquin’s admiral (Limenitis lorquini), umber skipper (Lon melane), variable checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedon), and western brown elfin (Callophrys augustinus iroides).

Where to Look Right Now:

• Around the large circular bed in the Channel Island section. The number of species here varies, but there is still a chance of seeing western brown elfin and western pine elfin (Callophrys eryphon) on the two large manzanitas north of the circular bed.  The pine elfin is a real prize; it is not easily seen in our local area and will not be around much longer.  Acmon is also usually seen here. Other possibilities include northern checkerspot, field crescent, and Lorquin’s admiral.

• The large ninebark bush (Physocarpus capitatus) on the trail just above the creek on the east side, below the Visitor’s Center. It’s still flowering (but not for long!). There is a chance of seeing western pine elfin, northern checkerspot (Chlosyne palla), field crescent (Phyciodes pulchella), California sister (Adelpha californica), and Lorquin’s admiral on or around the bush.

California pipevine swallowtail adults have dwindled over the last few weeks. They live for roughly a month, so the ones that emerged from their chrysalises before early April have been dying off. However, there are still plenty to be seen around the large California pipevine (Aristolochia californica) east of the long bridge: females close to the ground going about their extended egg-laying process (full description here: https://nativeplants.org/california-pipevine-swallowtail), as well as courting pairs flying close together, sampling each other’s pheromones. Look near the tips of young shoots growing close to the ground for eggs. The caterpillars are everywhere right now, and easy to spot. This is the best time of year for seeing the caterpillars!

Tip: Binoculars help a lot, especially close-focus ones. For a preview, see the butterfly pages on the Garden website at: https://nativeplants.org/guides/butterflies-in-the-garden

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

Canyon Section and Rainforest Trail Closed

New Unit Manager

Jeff Manley is now the new Unit 5 Manager in the Park District, with oversight over the Botanic Garden. Jeff has 30 years experience in the Park District. Dan Sykes had been the Unit 5 Manager for more than ten years, and recently retired.

Bart O’Brien, Botanic Garden Director, along with Garden staff and all Garden volunteers, congratulate Jeff on his new position and look forward to a productive future.

Weekend and Holiday Tours

Come to the Garden for our free docent-led tours on Saturdays and Park District holidays at 2:00 p.m. and on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. There will be a 2:00 p.m. docent-led tour on Memorial Day, May 25.

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.

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.