Calendar of Events
Spring 2008
All events free and open to the public.
Information: (530) 752-4880 or arboretum.ucdavis.edu
Saturday, March 1
Guided Tour: Native Plants from a Gardener’s Perspective
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
Learn about some great native plants for Central Valley gardens.
Friday, March 7
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, March 8
Guided Tour: Signs of Spring
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
Look for swelling buds, early blossoms, new leaves, and emerging shoots.
Wednesday, March 12
Guided Tour: Walk with Warren
Noon, Arboretum Headquarters
Join Superintendent Warren Roberts for a lunchtime tour of the collections.
Wednesday, March 12
Day Trip: San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
7:45 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Fee: $55 / $45 members
This year’s theme is “Make Life Beautiful.” Enjoy thousands upon thousands of flowers and plants with all their rich colors, fragrances and textures, four acres of inspiring gardens, and free seminars for all gardening levels. Shop at 300 exhibits, all strictly related to gardening, outdoor living and gardeners. Fee includes transportation and admission. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring a bag lunch or eat at the cafe. Advance registration required—call (530) 752-4880 for information.
Saturday, March 15
Spring Plant Sale & Social
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Members only
12:00-4:00 p.m. Open to the public
Orchard Park Nursery
Get first choice of our spring sale plants! Enjoy music, refreshments, and children’s activities. Expert garden advice, 10% discount and free plant for members. Bring a new member and receive an additional free plant coupon. Join or renew at the door and receive a free plant coupon.
Sunday, March 16
Guided Tour: Early Spring in the Storer Garden
2:00 p.m., Gazebo
Learn about the best plants for early spring bloom in Central Valley gardens.
Friday, March 21
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, March 22
Guided Tour: Living under the Redwoods
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
Learn about the redwood forest ecosystem and see the understory plants in bloom.
Saturday, March 29
Guided Tour: Spring in the Native Plant Garden
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
Late March is peak bloom season for the native plant collection.
Saturday & Sunday, March 29 & 30
Botanical Art Workshop
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Fee: $170/$150 students, members + $10 materials
Learn techniques of botanical drawing and watercolor painting with instructor Catherine Watters, a botanical art instructor at Filoli in Woodside. Her work has been exhibited at the Oakland Museum, the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, the Weisman Museum in Minneapolis and the New York Horticultural Society. Advance registration required. Click on Event Registration to download registration form. Space is limited so please register early.
Friday, April 4
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, April 5
Guided Tour: Improve Your Container Gardening
11:00 a.m., Arboretum Terrace Garden
Learn ways to garden successfully in pots, troughs, window boxes, and other containers.
Wednesday, April 9
Walk with Warren
Noon, Gazebo
Join Superintendent Warren Roberts for a lunchtime tour of the collections.
Saturday, April 12
Guided Tour: Spring in the Native Plant Garden
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
See what’s in bloom after the winter rains.
Saturday, April 12
Pre-Nursery-Move Plant Sale
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., Orchard Park Nursery
We’re clearing out the nursery in preparation for moving to our new site! Take advantage of some great bargains on locally-grown, uncommon garden plants. Special 20% member discount and additional discounts all day. Join at the door and receive a free plant.
Friday, April 18
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, April 26
What’s New? Bicycle Tour of Arboretum Highlights
11:00 a.m., Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
Visit new paths and plants in the Acacia Grove, find art fusion projects, see the new nursery location, Valley Wise gardening signs, big plans for the east end, and much more. We shall even see flowers ! This will be an easy, slow bicycle ride lasting about an hour and covering less than five miles. Bring your bike
Friday, May 2
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, May 3
Guided Tour: Bring the Mediterranean Into Your Backyard
11:00 a.m., Arboretum Terrace Garden
Explore ideas and examples from the Terrace Garden that can be used in your own garden.
Sunday, May 4
Birds of Song and Clay: Celia M. Hastings Art-Science Education Day
1:00–3:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Come listen to local folk trio MudLark perform music exploring our relationship to nature and the environment. Then roll up your shirt sleeves and create native birds of California from clay. The co-director of UCD’s Art-Science Fusion Program, Professor Diane Ullman, will help us hand-build clay birds which will be included in a large ceramic mural of the state of California for the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman Mike Thompson.
Tuesday, May 6
Writers in the Garden: Karen Joy Fowler
7:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Karen Joy Fowler is best known as the author of The Jane Austen Book Club, which was recently made into a widely-distributed motion picture. She will read from her work and talk about the importance of the natural world in her writing.
Sunday, May 11
Guided Tour: Choosing Spring Plants for Your Valley-Wise Garden
2:00 p.m., Gazebo
Visit the Storer Garden to see plants that do well in our hot summer climate.
Wednesday, May 14
Walk with Warren
Noon, Mrak Hall south entrance
Join Superintendent Warren Roberts for a lunchtime tour of the collections.
Friday, May 16
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, May 17
Guided Tour: Herbs and Herbivores
11:00 a.m., Gazebo
Look at herbs as living organisms adapted to surviving their enemies.
Saturday, May 17
Moonlight Music at the White Flower Garden
8:00 p.m., Gazebo
Join us for a concert under the full moon in the white flower garden. Composer Luciano Chessa will perform a set of his own compositions for electrified Vietnamese dan bau. Chessa has taught at the Conservatory of Music in Bologna, Columbia University, and UC Berkeley. He currently teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His Inkless Imagination IV recently premiered at the Mondavi Center. The program will also include collaborative pieces with Keith Cary and Erin Espeland.
Sunday, May 18
Aquatic Life in the Arboretum
1–3 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Join us for an exciting look at life in the Arboretum waterway with Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology Professor Peter Moyle, an expert on the ecology and conservation of freshwater and estuarine fishes in California. Ryan Thoni, President, American Fisheries Society, Sacramento-Davis chapter, and fellow students will lead hands-on activities including fish printing, fish identification, and more.
Tuesday, May 20
Writers in the Garden: Matt Biers-Ariel
7:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Matt Biers-Ariel is author of three books on Judaism and the environment and is currently writing a book on the bicycle trek his family took from San Francisco to Washington D.C. to deliver a petition on global warming to Congress. He will read from his work and talk about the importance of the natural world in his writing.
Saturday, May 24
Guided Tour: Use a Mediterranean Garden Model for your Garden
11:00 a.m., Arboretum Terrace Garden
Learn to use hardscape to show off your plants.
Friday, May 30
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, May 31
Guided Tour: Get Ready for Your Roses
11:00 a.m., Gazebo
Growing roses in the Central Valley doesn’t have to require lots of time or chemical sprays.
Saturday, June 7
Guided Tour: Arboretum All-Stars in the Storer Garden
11:00 a.m., Gazebo
A look at some Arboretum All-Stars—our favorite plants for home gardens
Wednesday, June 11
Walk with Warren
Noon, Gazebo
Join Superintendent Warren Roberts for a lunchtime tour of the collections.
Friday, June 13
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!
Saturday, June 14
Guided Tour: June in the White Flower Garden
11:00 a.m., Gazebo
White flowers and silvery foliage look cool in the summer heat
Friday, June 27
Folk Music Jam Session
12:00 p.m., Wyatt Deck
Campus and community folk musicians play together over the lunch hour. Listeners welcome!