I couldn’t resist this! Butterfly walks are offered by Sally Levinson, aka Caterpillar Lady, the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley, March through October. The website said children were welcome, so we decided to check it out this month with friends from my Nature Time! playgroup. This was aContinue reading “Butterfly Walk, Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley”
Category Archives: Gardens
Hummingbird!
Taken July 24th, 2012, at the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley
Plantosaurus Rex Exhibit, Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
A visit to the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco has been on our to-do list for a couple months, ever since the Plantosaurus Rex: Prehistoric Plants exhibit opened a couple months ago. Our five-year-old son is still loving anything dinosaur-related, so a visit here was a must-do. We were warned that the roaring ofContinue reading “Plantosaurus Rex Exhibit, Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco”
Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
What an incredible selection from the tropics. Beautiful gardens, worth a visit! Interested in going? The Conservatory of Flowers is located in Golden Gate Park, near other popular museums and destinations (California Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum). For current admission fee and hours, visit the website… http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/visit/hours. This is an indoor museum, and, needContinue reading “Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco”
San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park
My husband, a 5th grade teacher, is now on vacation for the summer. We celebrated the beginning of the season with a family trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, located in Golden Gate Park. Neither my husband nor I had been here before, so we were excited to explore. The second Tuesday of eachContinue reading “San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park”
Earthquake! And More… California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
For months, my son has been asking when the new Earthquake exhibit will be opening at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Well, it finally opened last weekend, so I took him on Tuesday. How was the exhibit? I thought it was great! First, visitors are shown a short movie about plate tectonics.Continue reading “Earthquake! And More… California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco”
Nectar Garden Fun, Coyote Hills
Nectar Garden Fun Day As many of you already know, we’re in the process of creating a butterfly garden in our backyard. So I couldn’t resist attending the Nectar Garden Fun Day with my son yesterday morning at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. This is one of my favorite parks in the East Bay,Continue reading “Nectar Garden Fun, Coyote Hills”
Learning About Bees: The Great Sunflower Project
We’ve been making progress in planting our butterfly garden, and now we’ve moved onto the next phase… bees! I’ve been researching citizen science programs that might be fun for me and my son to do together. I love the idea of being a citizen scientist, helping in our own way to assist real scientists byContinue reading “Learning About Bees: The Great Sunflower Project”
The Arboretum at UC Santa Cruz
For Mother’s Day, I wanted to explore someplace new with my husband and our son. I reviewed my “to-see” list, considered outings in the Marin Headlands and San Francisco, and decided, instead, that it would be a great day for a visit to The Arboretum at the University of California Santa Cruz. And I’mContinue reading “The Arboretum at UC Santa Cruz”
Bring on the Butterflies…
After tons of research, I finally decided what to plant in our yard to attract butterflies. As you may know, we’ve been creating a backyard wildlife habit, following the guidelines set forth by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). My first goal in creating our butterfly garden was to add plants to our yard that willContinue reading “Bring on the Butterflies…”
Visit a Garden for Free! National Public Gardens Day 2012
This Friday, May 11th, is National Public Gardens Day! Better Homes & Gardens and the American Public Garden Association have collaborated to provide free admission to gardens throughout the United States and Canada. What a wonderful program to help people discover and learn about their local gardens! Interested in attending? Sign up through the BetterContinue reading “Visit a Garden for Free! National Public Gardens Day 2012”
Explore the Botanic Garden at Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley
Our planned visit today to the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley wasn’t meant to be. Today was free day, and, as a result, there was absolutely no parking. We waited and waited for a spot to open up, but no-one was coming out of the gardens to leave, even though it was raining pretty heavilyContinue reading “Explore the Botanic Garden at Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley”
Attract Wildlife to Your Home – Create a Backyard Wildlife Habitat
After struggling with what to do with our little backyard for the last several years, I think I’ve finally found a solution. The main constraint for us is an oak tree that covers our entire yard with shade, making vegetable gardening difficult. The only plant thriving in our yard is rosemary. Kale does pretty well,Continue reading “Attract Wildlife to Your Home – Create a Backyard Wildlife Habitat”
Cherry Blossoms, Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
For a few years now, I’ve been wanting to see the cherry blossom trees while they are in bloom at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. I walked by the gardens a couple weeks ago on our way to the California Academy of Sciences, and poked my head in to see if the treesContinue reading “Cherry Blossoms, Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco”
Newts in the Botanical Garden
We’re lucky to live in California newt country. These magical little creatures can be found throughout the hills in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. We’ve had luck finding them in Jewel Lake at Tilden and crossing the trails in Las Trampas. Our favorite place for newt viewing, however, is in the Japanese Pool at theContinue reading “Newts in the Botanical Garden”
Suburban Nature Explorations 