Press Release Contact: Christina Lewis; Lewisc916@yahoo.com; (916) 812-2876

Crawford’s Barn, 2715 Tiber Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826

Presentations

The fourth annual Wildflower Weekend, an annual showcase of native plants in their natural habitats of our greater Sacramento region, will be held on April 12 and 13. This year we inaugurate a new exhibit: "The Birds & the Bees (and the Flowers and the Trees)."

Because habitats are more than plants, "The Birds & the Bees" will explore the connections between those creatures and our native plants. Trees, shrubs and flowers provide homes, food and shelter for the winged ones, which in turn help plants reproduce by dispersing seeds and pollen. In some instances, species have evolved together, linking the survival of each to the other. Byron Love, a graduate student researcher in biological sciences at California State University, Sacramento, will host the exhibit and also present a talk on the topic during the weekend. Sacramento Audubon Society representatives will be present and can answer questions regarding attracting and identifying birds.

In the Wildflower Weekend tradition, each stall of a charming converted barn will feature one habitat—oak woodland, vernal pool grassland, California prairie, riparian woodland, freshwater marsh, and chaparral—and highlight its rare and endangered plants. Hundreds of fresh-cut native wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses illustrate each display. Rounding out each habitat area are inspiring photographs of the landscape. Expert naturalists provide friendly and knowledgeable interpretation at each exhibit.

Presentations this year have something to offer everyone, no matter what their interest is in our natural landscapes: landscaping with natives, hiking the Sacramento area, vernal pool endemics (species found nowhere else), Native American uses of plants, Birds, and Bees!

The other component of Wildflower Weekend is a native plant sale where visitors can purchase plants for their own gardens, with free assistance available from gardening experts. As always, a wide variety of gardening books, field guides, and other native plant literature will be for sale. Proceeds from this event support the chapter’s outreach, education and conservation work.

The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to increase understanding and appreciation of California’s native plants and to conserve them and their natural habitats through science, education, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship.