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Open House Celebrates Jepson Nursery

Open House visitors view the plants under the new shade structure at the Jepson Nursery.

On August 3, the Jepson Board of Directors hosted an open house for chapter members at the Jepson Nursery to celebrate the completion of recent upgrades to the nursery.  About 30 visitors attended the two-hour open house where they enjoyed light refreshments and toured the new shade structure and storage shed.  The open house was also marked the first time plants were offered for sale at the nursery.  Over 60 plants were sold.  [READ MORE]

Native Plant Sale News

Customers at the Spring 2025 Native Plant Sale held at Benicia's Heritage Presbyterian Church.

At its July Board meeting, the Treasurer reported $6,229 in nursery sales since April 1.  Most of this revenue was from the Spring Native Plant Sale which concluded on May 2.  The Butterfly Festival on June 1 generated over $1,300 in sales, which was nearly twice what was sold at the 2024 festival. 

“I wasn’t expecting the Butterfly Festival sales would be that high since we weren’t in a very visible location compared to last year,” said Barbara Reiley, Chair of the Horticulture Committee.   “We had more space this year so we filled it up with plants and sold most everything we brought.”

Salmon in Our Future

 Putah Creek photo by John Mosbaugh (CC by 2.0).

Putah Creek forms part of the county line between Solano and Yolo counties and has been the subject of various efforts to restore its habitat for salmon.  A new study has documented that juvenile salmon hatched in Putah Creek returned from the ocean 2-4 years later to spawn as adults. This remarkable finding signals the first step in what could become a new population of Fall-Run Chinook salmon in California. The study also highlights how restoration and reimagined flow management can help us leverage even highly modified waterways into viable salmon habitat at a time when bolstering California’s salmon populations is of dire importance. [READ MORE]

Nursery Storage Room Installed

 The new storage room was placed on its foundation using a fork lift.

The final stage of the upgrades to the Jepson Nursery was concluded on June 15, 2025 with the delivery of a new 8’x20’ storage room. This modified shipping container was manufactured by Transport Products Unlimited located in South Vallejo. The shipping container was a “1-trip” model, which is a container used for one overseas shipment then sold at its destination. Modifications included a 6’ side roll-up door, side- and roof-vents, and an electrical outlet/lighting package. The room will be used to store supplies, pasteurized soil and space for a computer work station to track nursery operations. The room has a pig-tail electrical cord that plugged into one of the electrical outlets that was installed along with other nursery upgrades. [READ MORE]

It May Be Time to Prune Manzanitas

 Arctostaphylos photo courtesy of Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble (CC by 2.0)

August is a good time to consider pruning manzanitas. If you are growing manzanitas and think you should prune them, please review Guidelines for Pruning Manzanitas. These guidelines were prepared by Pete Veilleux, owner of Eastbay Wilds, a company that includes a nursery in Oakland and a full service native landscape company.

Native Plant Garden Tour in 2026

This Benicia front yard contains Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle' in front of a Salvia leucophylla, a Quercus agrifolia sapling and a row of recently planted Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Sentinel'; a Frangula californica 'Eve Case' is in front of the window.

A member of the Chapter has proposed to stage a native plant garden tour in Solano County for next spring.  A garden tour would help introduce people to how native plants can be part of a residential landscape and be a great way to further support the efforts of our nursery and plants sales.  If you would like to help with this effort please contact Johanna Derkacz at jmderkacz@att.net.

Native Plant News from Others

This site plan shows proposed elements for habitat restoration and public access improvements at Lake Solano Park.

The Solano Resource Conservation District has recently announced progress on the Lake Solano Park Habitat Restoration and Public Access Project.  The RCD partnered with other organizations to receive a $1,143,500 grant from the State to restore habitat and improve public access and education opportunities on 19 acres at Lake Solano Park.  Volunteers will be needed for 24 community planting events that are planned for this project. Click here If you are interested in helping restore native plants and improving wildlife habitat at Lake Solano Park.

Calendar of Events 

• See the CNPS Calendar of Events for on-line or in-person native plant events.
• See the Solano Land Trust Calendar of Events for hikes.
• See the Sonoma Center for Environmental Inquiry for six naturalist education events in January and February.
• Every Monday & Thursday, 10 to Noon, volunteer at Jepson Native Plant Nursery, contact Barbara.
• Aug. 20, 3rd Wednesday at Glen Cove Waterfront Native Plant Park, Vallejo for planting and weeding.  Email john.woodruff@solanorcd.org to volunteer.
• Sep. 2, 8:30-10:30 AM, 1st Tuesday at Lake Solano Park Habitat Restoration Project. Click here to volunteer for this event.
• Sep. 5, 10 AM, 1st Fridays at Ledgewood Creek, Fairfield to care for native plants and remove trash.  Email beck.vanderstoel@solanorcd.org to volunteer.

CNPS Statewide Website  |  Jepson Chapter Website
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