Botanic Garden Newsletter July 2025

THE BOTANIC GARDEN NEWSLETTER
July 2025

The Garden is open on the Fourth of July with free admission as always. There is a free docent-led tour at 2:00 p.m. on the holiday.

Share Your Vision for the Botanic Garden on the Park District Survey
Botanic Garden’s Members-Only 85th Anniversary Celebration: Saturday, August 23!
Garden Director Bart O’Brien Receives the Edgar T. Wherry Award
Butterfly Walks: Sunday, July 20 and Wednesday, July 23
New Class: California Plant Families
2026 Docent Training
Final Plant Sale of the Summer
Tours and July Blooms

Above: Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) by Sandy Steinman.

Share Your Vision for the Botanic Garden

The East Bay Regional Park District wants your ideas! Let the District know what a special place the Botanic Garden is, and how you would like to see it grow into an even more valuable resource for all of us.

Last month’s newsletter outlined ideas for improvements at the Garden. You can see the list here.

How do you envision the future of the Botanic Garden? Fill out the EBRPD survey and share your ideas here. Please do so before the deadline on July 31, 2025.

Celebrate the Botanic Garden’s 85th Anniversary!

On Saturday, August 23, 2025, Friends of the Botanic Garden will gather to celebrate the Garden’s 85 years of existence. All Friends of the Garden will receive an invitation to attend this after-hours event in the Garden!

Not a member yet? Become a member on the Garden’s website to join the festivities and enjoy all the additional benefits of a Friends membership.

Garden Director Bart O’Brien Receives the Edgar T. Wherry Award

The North American Rock Garden Society has just honored Botanic Garden Director Bart O’Brien with the Edgar T. Wherry Award.

The award is given to a person whose literary efforts have made an outstanding contribution to the dissemination of botanical and/or horticultural knowledge about native American plants.

In over 40 years as a horticulturalist, Bart has communicated his knowledge of and enthusiasm for native plants in myriad articles, newsletters, and talks. He also served as the editor of Fremontia (now Artemisia) from 2006 to 2009 and is the coauthor of three popular general-interest books: California Native Plants for the Garden; Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-Conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs; and the bilingual (Spanish and English) Care and Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens.

Congratulations, Bart, on this impressive award!

Four Butterfly Walks in July

Join Sarab Seth, the Butterfly Guy, for guided butterfly walks in the Botanic Garden. Weekend walks will take place Sunday, July 20, at 1:00 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. And, just for July and August, we’re adding Wednesday walks too—this month on July 23, at 1:00 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Walks are free, but reservations are required. Each walk is limited to 10 participants, and we meet at the Visitor Center. Sign up HERE!

From Sarab’s Notebook:

The weather continues to flip between sunny and chilly, which affects butterfly emergence. We’re seeing fewer species and individuals on cooler days—but June through August remains peak butterfly season.

Currently, the most abundant butterfly in the Garden is the Mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta). Regular sightings include the California sister (Adelpha californica), cabbage white (Pieris rapae), Lorquin’s admiral (Limenitis lorquini), umber skipper (Lon melane), western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus), and Acmon blue (Icaricia acmon), which has recently reappeared. Field crescent (Phyciodes pulchella) numbers are low but should rise soon.

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

The best spots now are:

Around the large circular bed in the Channel Island section.
A new spot: Walk past the greenhouse, cross the small bridge, and go down the steps just before the NOTICE sign. Near the bottom, check the area on the left. The California sister has been a reliable sighting.

Tip: Binoculars help a lot, especially close-focus ones. The happiest walkers are usually the ones who bring them!

Want a preview? See butterfly photos and IDs on the Garden website at: https://nativeplants.org/guides/butterflies-in-the-garden

LEFT: Lorquin’s admiral. CENTER: California sister. RIGHT: western tiger swallowtail. Photos by Sarab Seth.

Sarab Seth is a butterfly photographer and docent at the Botanic Garden. He is helping to finalize a new brochure highlighting butterflies found in the Botanic Garden. Sarab's monthly Garden butterfly walks will continue through October.

New Class: California Plant Families

Sundays July 27, August 3 and August 17, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Although there are hundreds of families worldwide, knowing 50 basic families in California will identify most plants 90 percent of the time. This series, taught by Dr. Glenn Keator, will emphasize families important in California by examining their features in the garden. The maximum number of students will be 16.

$75.00

Glenn Keator has taught at Merritt College, SF Botanical Garden, College of Marin, and California Academy of Sciences among others. His primary focus is on California native plants – their identification, ecology, uses, and cultivation in local gardens. He initiated the docent training program at the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden and has been the principal teacher for all the docent training classes.

2026 Docent Training

Are you interested in assisting the Botanic Garden in its mission to display, promote, and preserve California’s rich native plant heritage? Apply to become a volunteer Garden docent! The six–month training program begins January 7, 2026. Training sessions will take place on Wednesday mornings, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., in the Botanic Garden Visitor Center and in the Garden.

Docents are asked to lead a minimum of ten Garden tours in the year after program completion. Tuition is $275 plus membership in the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. For a full description of the program and expectations for docent graduates, see the “Volunteer” page on the Garden website: nativeplants.org. To apply for the training or ask questions, contact BGarden@ebparks.org

Final Plant Sale of the Summer

Saturday, July 5, will be the last plant sale day until the Garden’s fall plant sale in October. Hours: 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Full inventory of the species for sale is available on the Garden website. The Wednesday and first Saturday plant sales will be on hold until after the fall sale to allow propagators to build up inventory.

Featured plants for the final July sale: rock phacelia and climbing penstemon.

Rock phacelia (Phacelia californica) is a perennial plant native to coastal northern California. It’s a great food source for many butterflies and bees. Watershed Nursery calls it a “pollinator powerhouse.” It forms rosettes of crinkled gray leaves. Stout stems with lavender flowers rise up to a foot above. Plant in full sun. It’s deer resistant and drought tolerant.

Climbing penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia) is a perennial plant native to Southern California and the Channel Islands. It can spread to six feet tall and wide and gets its name from its ability to crawl or spill over rocks, fences, and other plants. Its stunning tubular red flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. It can grow in full sun in cooler coastal areas, and on shady slopes in the hotter inland areas. While deciduous with winter cold or summer drought, it can be evergreen with summer water, especially in milder climates. It is somewhat deer resistant.

Photos by John Rusk.

July in the Garden

Enjoy a free docent-led tour on Saturdays and EBRPD holidays at 2:00 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Tours start at the Visitor Center; no reservations needed. Admission to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, located within Tilden Regional Park, is always free. Directions to the Garden.

Free, docent-led group tours can also be scheduled. The tour request form is on the Garden website.