Native Plant Extravaganzas 2026 (rain or shine!)

Shop in-person on Sunday, March 21, or shop online at native plant nurseries on Saturday or Sunday March 21 or 22, and a percentage of your purchases will go to support the Tour.

Be sure to include our own, local keystone plants in your garden; they are the best for wildlife, and include:

Best plants for sunny areas: Oak, holly leaf cherry, California lilac, lupine, manzanitas, sages, sunflower, native strawberry, buckwheat, aster, coyote brush, and penstemon.

Best plants for shady areas: currant, huckleberry, wild rose, thimbleberry, ocean spray, woodland strawberry, goldenrod, aster, honeysuckle.

Shop in-person

Saturday March 21, 10:00-4:00 (rain or shine!)

Free Talks in the Nurseries!

The Watershed Nursery Cooperative, 601 A Canal Blvd. Richmond

Talks in the Nursery

11:00 “Best pruning practices for California native plants” by Nicholas Crawford, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist at The Davey Tree Expert Company

Nicholas will discuss native plant care, demonstrate hands-on pruning skills, and provide information on California’s evolving fire clearance requirements.

All Day at the Watershed Nursery

Nita Winter and Rob Badger are delighted to invite you to a special pop-up event at Watershed Nursery! Join them as they showcase and sell their award-winning wildflower book Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change, which contains 190 exquisite photos, and 18 thought-provoking short stories, as well as their beautiful note cards, and popular wildflower and monarch butterfly socks.

Nita and Rob will be happy to answer questions about photographing wildflowers and to share stories from their 30-year documentary journey capturing the beauty of California’s native wildflowers through images of super bloom landscapes and floral portraits.

Oaktown Native Plant Nursery, 702 Channing Way, Berkeley

Talks in the Nursery

East Bay Wilds, 2777 Foothill, Oakland (the entrance is on 28^th street)

Talks in the Nursery
12:00 “How to successfully design, plant and maintain a native plant garden” by Pete Veilleux, owner of East Bay Wilds

See East Bay Wild’s plant list here and see photos of gardens that Pete has designed and planted with natives here. Check out the eclectic collection of garden art Pete has for sale! If you are interested in a consult, design, installation or maintenance for a California native landscape, email Pete at pete@eastbaywilds.com or call (510) 409-5858.

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Down by the Bay Native Plant Nursery (at its new, permanent location) 38255 Blacow Road in Fremont

Talks in the Nursery

1:00 “Come learn how to make a flower arrangement using native plants. Bring your own shears, vase, and (to make sure this event runs smoothly and there is enough material to go around) bring any flowers and greens from your yard you would like to include in your arrangement, which you can take home to enjoy with your friends and family.”

Down by the Bay specializes in local native plants – particularly plants local to Hayward and surrounding cities. Most of their plants are sold in depots or conetainers. Check out the plant list on the website.

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You can also shop online at these participating businesses on the week-end of March 21 and 22, and a percentage of your purchases will go to support the Tour
Green Thumb Works is owned by native plant landscape designer Sandra Nevala-Lee. Now available from Green Thumb are Hummingbird Hangout and Beneficial Insect Haven plant bundles, consisting of hardy, beneficial one-gallon plants for full sun to part-sunny areas. Browse Green Thumb’s online list of available plants here.

Down by the Bay, owned by garden tour host Josh Rubietta-Cheng, carries native plants that are genetically local to the East Bay—these are the best plants for wildlife: check out Down by the Bay’s plant list online.

California Native Seeds is owned by garden tour hosts Danny Galindo and Eugene Shabalyanu; check out the incredible variety of native seeds they sell. These seeds are collected from their own Castro Valley garden, which you can visit this spring on the 2026 Tour.