Hello Friends –

We've been loving the finally-warm weather here in the city, and enjoying all that the season has to offer. We've also spent a lot of time lately thinking about how our gardens fit into the world around them, and the important role that our urban gardens can play in sustaining the native birds and bugs in our neighborhood. Join us this weekend to learn more about how your garden can serve the wild things that live there.

Acmon Blue Butterfly. Photo coutesy of Nature In The City.

Make Room for the Wild in Your Garden
Saturday, October 9, 2010 11:00am

Join us for a fun-filled autumn day of discovery. We're going to discuss how to bring nature into your urban garden. We'll be talking about the wild birds, butterflies, and bees that live all around us in the Bay Area, and how to provide footholds to help them thrive. Learn how to build beautiful sculptures with resources right around you to serve as habitat for our native neighbors. Get the scoop on which gorgeous plants will feed hummingbirds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and how to design your landscape to welcome them. Fall is the best time of year to plan and plant for the natural community—our community!

Urban Hedgerow:
Artful Ways to Design Habitat and Make Space for the Wild – 11am

Sculptures by several artists will be on display. This bug habitat sculpture was created by artist Paul Cesewski for the Urban Hedgerow.

A bug habitat sculpture created from found materials by Paul Cesewski

Jason Dewees and Lisa Lee Benjamin will talk about a new international campaign for urban biodiversity. We as humans are naturally drawn to bring nature back in to our urban homes. Lisa and Jason will discuss why the creepy crawlies at the bottom of the food chain are crucial to keeping our increasingly urban planet healthy and how art and invention can create beautiful and critical habitats—even 30 stories in the sky! They'll also share inspiring large-scale ideas that can change our communities.

Nature in the City:
Linking Forage and Habitat Corridors – 11:45am

Nature in the City's Amber Hasselbring will discuss neighborhood programs that link nectar and forage gardens with habitat to bring back local butterfly and bird species, such as the Green Hairstreak Butterfly. Amber will also talk about how you can plant pairings of habitat and food sources to make the greatest impact.

Report from an Urban Beekeeper – 12:30pm

Philip Gerrie has been keeping bees in Noe Valley for almost a decade. He'll talk about honeybees, the wealth of local native bees, and how to live peacefully with these charming, essential creatures.

Kids' Event! Sponsored by Little Lane Studios – 10:45am to 1:30pm

www.littlelanestudios.com

We've got a morning full of events for the kids! We'll be making masks with natural materials inspired by bugs and tiny wild habitat houses. A fee of $10 will cover materials. And don't forget: The Pumpkin Truck (in costume this year) will be here filled with jack-o-lanterns to be. If you are lucky you may spot a singing bee in the garden!

Pumpkins Are Here!

Our Pumpkin Truck arrived this year dressed up for Hallowe'en – as an enormous bug! Bring the kids and come and check it out!

From the Desert to Your Living Room

Bring sculptural plants from arid climates indoors into a sunny space to admire their extraordinary forms and colors. If you are tired of tropicals, we've got some plants that will suit your taste. We have a great selection of cactus in stock right now.

Pachycereus schottii f. monstrosus, also called totem pole cactus

Pachycereus marginatus, also called fencepost cactus

Euphorbia tirucalli, Euphorbia ingens & Euphorbia trigona

Fermob Special Orders 15% off!

Have you ever checked out the whole range of Fermob garden furniture? The charming Bistro sets we carry here in the store are really the tip of the iceberg. Fermob has a huge range of high-quality furniture in brilliant colors. Every year we buy a container full of Fermob furniture. We will be placing our order soon, and we are happy to special-order anything you see in the catalog for you. We are offering a 15% discount on special orders of $1,000 or more. Orders must be placed by October 30, 2010.

Luxemborg Table and chairs from Fermob

Flower chair and Table by Fermob

1900 table and chair by Fermob

Costa stacking chair by by Fermob

Changing To Winter Hours

On October 31, we will change to our winter hours.
M-Sat: 9am – 5pm
Sun: 10am - 5pm

Ritual Coffee:
M-Th 9am – 4pm
Fri-Sat: 9am – 5pm
Sun: 10am – 5pm

Join Us on Facebook

It's just like neighbors chatting about their gardens over the fence, but digitally. Please join us.

Come and see us soon. Don't let the chill keep you away. Get your sweater on, and get out there into your garden!

– Flora and everyone at Flora Grubb Gardens