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A roundup of local home and garden news, including how to use a native plant database to find plants that help butterflies and Gamble Garden’s announcement that their Spring Tour is canceled.
NATIVE PLANT DATABASE … If, with all the extra time at home, you’re thinking of sprucing up the garden a bit, now’s your chance to also give local butterflies and moths a helping hand. Spend some time perusing a special feature of the California Native Plant Society’s Calscape native plant database that will help you choose butterfly and moth host plants for your garden. Type in an address or even just a city name, and you will find information about which moths and butterflies are native to that specific area as well as which native plants support them best. Many of these insects require a particular type of plant to serve as host a place to lay their eggs with leaves that newly hatched caterpillars can eat. The database also offers sources for most plants, some of which are available to purchase online in seed form. Explore the database at calscape.org.
CANCELED: GAMBLE GARDEN SPRING TOUR … Due to ongoing public health concerns related to the coronavirus, Palo Altoís Gamble Garden announced the cancellation of its spring garden tour, which had been scheduled for April 23-25. A March 20 news release indicated that staff at the nonprofit public garden canceled the tour following guidance from federal, state, county and city agencies. The release stated that the spring tour is Gamble’s “largest annual fundraising event and generates essential revenue for maintaining Gamble’s garden and facilities.” The release also noted that the historic Gamble House on the grounds of Gamble Garden, along with the facilityís restrooms and offices, are closed until further notice. The garden remains open to the public, although some sections of the garden will be “closed periodically so that staff can work safely,” according to the Gamble Garden website. For more information, visit gamblegarden.org.
ACTERRA 50th ANNIVERSARY … Local climate action nonprofit Acterra, which is marking a major milestone this year, has canceled the in-person fete for its 50th anniversary and moved the party online due to the coronavirus outbreak. The event will take place via Zoom on Saturday, March 28, 6 p.m. and will include an online fundraiser for the organization’s climate action programs, the presentation of business environmental and lifetime achievement awards and an announcement of the organization’s “new strategic direction,” according to the Acterra website. For more information and event updates, visit facebook.com/Acterra/.