Native Plant Extravaganzas 2026 (rain or shine!)

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 October 17, 10:00-4:00

 Talks in the Nurseries

Evergreen Nursery & Garden Center, 350 San Leandro Blvd., San Leandro

10:00-1:00 Cheerful and knowledgeable Homegrown Habitats San Leandro volunteers will be in the nursery for one-on-one conversations to share their native plant expertise and provide both general, and hyper-local information! This includes plant selection, garden planning, and gardening for birds, bees, and butterflies—including the monarch butterflies that overwinter in the eucalyptus trees at the Monarch Bay Golf Course. Evergreen will have mature 1-gallon California native narrow leaf milkweed plants on hand just for you and your butterfly gardens (while supplies last).

Evergreen Nursery is a full-service garden center, including a bulk yard full of organic compost, wood chip mulches, and potting soils. The store is open regular hours 9:30-5:30 on Saturday October 17. Come by and browse; a percentage of native plants sales made any time on Oct. 17 will go to support the Tour.

Oaktown Native Plant Nursery, 702 Channing Way, Berkeley

Talks in the Nursery

Check out Oaktown’s PlantFinder to find the best plants for your home garden or restoration project. Oaktown’s staff are committed to bringing you the best quality plants for your project!

East Bay Wilds, 2777 Foothill, Oakland (the entrance is on 28^th street)
12:00 “How to create a beautiful, thriving native plant garden: Clear easy steps” 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.   While at the nursery 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.

The Watershed Nursery Cooperative, 601 A Canal Blvd. Richmond

Down by the Bay Native Plant Nursery  – note the Fremont location, at 38255 Blacow Road, Fremont

Talks in the Nursery

1:00 and 3:00 “Come learn about the magic of mugwort, awesomeness of acorns, beauty of bay, the yumminess of yampah—and taste samples of food made with these native plants! We’ll also talk about building your food web—how including native plants in your garden ensures our own survival as a species, while bolstering your own food security ” by Josh Rubietta, owner of Down by the Bay

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. See the plant list here. 

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Shop online at these participating businesses on the week-end of October 17 and 18, 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.