Every November the UCR Botanic Gardens hosts an outreach event where curated items from local artisans are offered for sale. Come spend a pleasant afternoon strolling through Alder Canyon, where California artists and craftspersons are showcased representing a variety of media including ceramics, jewelry, mosaics, metal work, fiber arts, wood, and photography. Art in the...
Friends members, enjoy early access at the October Member Appreciation Fall Plant Sale to purchase Gardens-propagated horticultural and native plants, cacti and succulents, patio and house plants, water efficient plants, colorful landscape trees, and numerous pollinator-attracting species. Friends members will enjoy admission at the in-person plant sale, as well as many other benefits described under...
JOIN THE BOTANIC GARDENS DURING OUR 6OTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEK SEPTEMBER 24-29, 2023 • Sunday, September 24- Visit during our special Open Sunday, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm (last entry at 3:00 pm). Free house plant for the first 90 UCR students • Monday, September 25- Enjoy a Docent-led tour of the Gardens on the...
Join us on August 19, 2023 from 6-8 pm when Gardens staff and docents will lead an after-hours Twilight Tour of the Botanic Gardens. This will be a nice opportunity to enjoy the Gardens in the cool of early evening as the sun is setting and wildlife is beginning to stir. Light refreshments will be...
Friends members are invited on June 29, 2023 to attend the Members-only Annual Meeting and reception, hosted by the Director and Gardens staff, where they are presented with an overview of the past year in the UCR Botanic Gardens. New garden installations, facility improvements, educational and outreach activities, and fundraising events are reviewed, along with...
Join us on June 10, 2023, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, to learn the basics of natural dyeing, utilizing some native plants at the UCR Botanic Gardens. After a short walk to identify many plants that hold color potential, we will gather on the Gardens' patio to create a beautiful color palette on cloth using...
Join us in the UCRBG Meeting Room on May 6, 2023, 10am-12pm, for a Heart-Shaped Succulent Wreath Workshop. This workshop will be presented by Master Gardener Linda Powell. The $55.00 in-person workshop will include a 15" living wreath form, succulents, and filler ingredients. Please register for this workshop by 4/21/23 at: gardens.ucr.edu, click REGISTER/PAY ONLINE...
The Online Spring Plant Sale will be Saturday, April 15th for Friends members and Sunday, April 16th for the public, both days from 6 am to midnight. The in-person pick-up days will be Tuesday, April 25th and Thursday, April 27th. We will offer a variety of shrubs, trees, vines, shade plants, cacti/succulents, house/patio plants and...
On UCR’s Give Day 2023 we are pleased to launch two new projects in the Botanic Gardens that will greatly enhance our ability to engage with campus and community. “Replace the Geodesic Dome” is our first capital project in over 30 years and will transform the upper precinct of the Gardens. “A New Engagement Venue”...
The UCR Botanic Gardens will host an early morning Bird Walk & Breakfast in the Gardens, timed for ideal sightings. The Bird Walk will be followed by a continental breakfast where participants share sightings and observations and learn more about the local avifauna. UCRBG bird walks are open to all levels of birders, from beginner...
There is among us a form of life whose ancestry traces back nearly 300 million years. This is the ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba, whose closest relatives also have ancient heritage. Although it has broad leaves like angiosperms, ginkgo is a gymnosperm, closely related to cycads and conifers, because it produces “naked seeds” on its branches...
Along the marshy banks of the lower Nile River before it joins the Mediterranean, a sedge plant known to the ancients as “papyrus” or sometimes “biblos” flourished for many thousands of years. The plant was essential to the lives of the Egyptians, providing material for fabric, sails, baskets, and even boats. Papyrus is best known...
The Propertius Duskywing is a Spread-wing Skipper because it usually holds its wings out flat when perched. Only occasionally are the wings folded to show a ventral view. Skippers are separated from other butterflies by the fact that the clubbed antennae are hooked. Also, they have large eyes, stocky bodies, and powerful flight muscles. Propertius...
The Silver-spotted Skipper ( Epargyreus clarus), one of the largest and most widespread species in the skipper family ( Hesperiidae), has a wingspan between 1.5 – 2.5 inches. Both sexes look identical. Although it belongs to the Spread-wing Skippers, this species usually perches with its wings closed. The ground color of the wings and body...
Year end is a time of reflection, and what a year it has been! Contrary to expectations, the easing of the pandemic and Covid restrictions did not return everything to the same state as before. As I’ve reported earlier, we took advantage of forced down time to reflect on processes and activities and reinvent ourselves...
Cooler weather brings the best season for planting in southern California, and staff and volunteers have been busy with many beautification, maintenance, safety, and planting projects. We’ve also been busy with events and activities, as reported below. Gardens and Grounds: Miguel Estrada hired three new student workers, Brittany Carnero, Dahlia Vamstad, and Jai Moreno who...
Not too many people stick with a job for 40 years, but for Pam Roose there’s no other place she would rather work than a Botanic Gardens. When you love plants and nature as much as Pam does, the years seem to fly by. Pam began as a volunteer in the Gardens in 1983 and...
Since I became Gardens Manager, I have walked the Gardens more times than most people. I have walked the Gardens in triple-digit temperatures, pouring rain, and windy conditions. In my experience, the transition periods are the best times to go a little farther in your Gardens walk. That means if you are accustomed to mostly...