[PCA] CONFERENCE: Growing Natives: Celebrating California's Beauty in Dry Times (Mar 28-29, 2009)

[Olivia Kwong]

Growing Natives: Celebrating California's Beauty in Dry Times

A two-day symposium titled "Growing Natives: Celebrating California's 
Beauty in Dry Times" is being offered on Saturday & Sunday, March 28 & 29, 
2009 in Lafayette and Berkeley. Creating beautiful water-wise gardens with 
California native plants is the theme of this special program aimed at 
professionals, home gardeners, and native plant enthusiasts.

The Saturday program at the Lafayette Community Center includes 
presentations on California native plants (by botanist and author Glenn 
Keator), garden design (by author Carol Bornstein of Santa Barbara 
Botanic Garden), the structure of the garden (by Phil Van Soelen of Cal 
Flora Nursery), herbaceous perennials and bulbs (by plantsman Roger 
Raiche), creating a native meadow (by David Amme), and connecting with 
the garden (by Mike Evans of Tree of Life Nursery). The Saturday program 
includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and wine reception. A selection 
of books will be available for purchase.

The Sunday program at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley begins 
with an inspiring talk by Director Steve Edwards, followed by a choice of 
guided garden walks and workshops on plants for dry gardens, aesthetic 
pruning, principles of irrigation, and gardening practices. After lunch 
in the garden, the program continues at Native Here Nursery with a 
presentation by Charli Danielsen and an opportunity to purchase plants. 
The day concludes with a visit to two spectacular private native gardens: 
the Fleming garden in Berkeley and the Greenberg garden in Lafayette.

The symposium is organized by Friends of Regional Parks Botanic Garden, 
California Native Plant Society, and Pacific Horticulture.
Registration opens January 1, 2009. Members and subscribers of the 
sponsoring organizations receive a discount on registration fees. Early 
registration is recommended because space is limited. For more 
information, please visit www.nativeplants.org or call Margot Sheffner at 
510-849-1627.