Berkeley Garden Club

Civic Beautification Committee
California Natives Garden for Butterflies and Hummingbirds
Aquatic Park, Berkeley, California

Between May 1, 2007 and April 1, 2008, the Civic Beautification Committee of the Berkeley Garden Club has continued to improve the California Natives Garden for Butterflies and Hummingbirds. The garden is located at Aquatic Park in Berkeley, adjacent to the children's playground. Many of the children and their parents who use the playground also walk through the garden so it is a well-visited site. Signs have also been installed identifying the garden's supporting agencies.

This is the second year of reinvigorating the garden which had been neglected for some time. A group of volunteers from the Berkeley Garden Club work every Friday from 10 a.m. until noon. Activities include planting, pruning, mulching and watering. Work is carried out in cooperation with the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Department. The city has been helpful during this year in providing wood chips to be used as mulch. Berkeley Partners for Parks donated some funds for the purchase of plants. Other plants have been donated from garden club members. The members of the Civic Beautification Committee are Rhoda Alvarez, Mildred Bennett, Betsy Cazden, Joan Embree, Eleanor Gibson, Gay Nichols, Sherrill Reeves and Linda Schieber. We have also benefited from the help and advice of Mark Liolios, a community activist, who has been working to improve and promote Aquatic Park.

Now that the garden is more mature, a number of butterflies and birds are attracted to the plantings. In particular, there are many hummingbird visitors. An effort is made to focus on native plants that are easy to grow and drought tolerant. There is a water source at the garden which functions during the summer so some judicious watering is done as appropriate. Some of the plants found in the garden are Douglas iris, many kinds of salvias, California poppies, buckwheat, ceanothus, mallows, currants, gooseberries penstemon and California fuschias. Work will continue to diversify the plant community so that the garden is sustainable and attractive to birds, beneficial insects and butterflies as well as human visitors.

All pictures courtesy of Rhoda Alvarez