As fall comes to the Central Coast, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden encourages planting California-native plants so they can get established during the coming rainy season.
From Saturday, Nov. 5 until the end of the month, the Garden Nursery is offer an expanded variety of native plants, plus some unique plants not always available for sale. Weekly in-person Nursery Chats are also held throughout the month, along with new online instructional videos.
Also on Nov. 5 the Botanic Garden will debut its new online shopping site shop.SBBotanicGarden.org. The e-commerce site has been integrated into the garden’s new website which went live in June.
It allows customers to shop for the plants available at the nursery, and will expand to include a selection of gift and retail items from the Garden’s Shop in the coming months. Purchases made online are available for pick up at the garden.
“Gardening with native plants not only helps you conserve water used on landscaping, it also provides critical habitat for pollinators and birds, and helps conserve plants that are unique to the Central Coast, said Keith Nevison, director of Horticulture and Operations. “Even adding a few native plants to your garden can have a big impact.
“Now, with the option to purchase plants online, we’re making it even easier to cultivate biodiversity right in your own backyard.”
Located just inside the Garden’s gate, the nursery is open daily 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Garden admission is not required to visit the nursery. A preview for Botanic Garden members will be held Friday, Nov. 4. The nursery will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 2-3, for stocking and preparation.
For those unsure on how to get started, nursery manager Matt Straka offers tips and instruction at weekly in-person Native Planting Techniques sessions at the nursery held every Sunday in November, starting Nov. 6.
A four-part video series on How to Garden with Native Plants, hosted by the garden director of education Scot Pipkin, will be posted weekly on the garden’s social media platforms, starting Friday, Nov. 4.
An in-person workshop on how to attract animals to home gardens will be led by Stephanie Ranes, garden grounds manager, on Friday, Nov. 5.