Sustainable Gardening Series: Fall 2024

Introduction to Sustainable Gardening Series - Fall 2023

October 19th, 26th, and November 2nd - Saturdays from 10am to 12pm. Cost: $30 for the full three-part series, and receive a $10 gift card at each workshop. Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

The Introduction to Sustainable Gardening series is a three-part workshop series designed to help you transform your yard into a thriving, sustainable garden. This course will teach you everything you need to know to nurture perennial gardens that conserve water, provide beauty, and attract pollinators and beneficial insects.

San Francisco is a beautiful and unique city, with year-round mild temperatures and dry, foggy summers. Learn what plants are adapted to our coastal climate and grow without the need for toxic pesticides or large amounts of water. This course will focus on native and drought-tolerant ornamental gardens but will cover broad topics that can also apply to vegetable gardening.

The full series is $30, but you will get $10 gift cards to the Urban Farmer Store at each workshop (for a total of $30 in gift cards if you attend the two workshops).

Registering will sign you up for the full series of three workshops. Please only register if you plan to attend all three sessions.

SERIES SUMMARY:

Part I: Sustainable Garden Design This workshop will teach you how to design a beautiful, functional, and thriving home garden space. San Francisco urban gardens come with all sorts of unique challenges (fog, wind, steep hillsides, sandy soil) and it can be difficult to know where to start. Instructor Ellyn will provide information to help you evaluate and design garden spaces and choose plants to match the space, a principle called "Right Plant, Right Place".

Part II: Water-Wise Gardening This workshop will take a more detailed look at the many beautiful plants that grow well in San Francisco and how you can care for them without using lots of water. Even with San Francisco’s dry and foggy summers, there is an amazing palate of climate-appropriate plants that will thrive here with little or no summer water so that you can conserve water and save on your bill. Instructor Ellyn will teach you about all of this and also about how to water your plants properly and group them by similar water needs to help them reach their full potential.

Part III: Organic Pest Control Learn how a healthy and biodiverse garden can thrive without the use of pesticides. Ellyn will discuss the notion that most plant health problems are caused by poor growing conditions or improper planting, and that pests and diseases may be secondary problems. Plant health care involves a combination of strategies including monitoring, and you'll learn strategies to attract beneficial insects, and keep pests, diseases, and weeds at bay naturally.

Instructors:

Sessions 1 and 2: Ellyn Shea is a Bay Area gardener, garden coach, Certified Arborist, consultant, and educator. She is a longtime Garden for the Environment teacher and supporter and shares her extensive gardening knowledge in this workshop series.

Session 3: Laura Stratton. Laura's gardening journey began alongside her wife in the mid-nineties, transforming the neglected space behind their 12-unit apartment building near San Francisco's Panhandle. What started as a love for digging in the dirt and watching plants grow evolved into a remarkable 17-year opportunity as the manager of Flora Grubb Gardens in the Bayview district. Laura immersed herself in the world of horticulture, fostering a deep love for connecting with plants and people. In the past year, Laura began providing freelance administrative support and project management to local landscaping companies. In this capacity, she remains deeply committed to cultivating green spaces and thriving local businesses.

COVID-19 information:

• GFE Mask Guidelines: Please bring a mask to accommodate your level of comfort in a group outdoor situation.
• Please cancel your shift and do not come to GFE if you develop COVID19 symptoms on or before the day of your workshop (fever, chills, repeated shaking / shivering, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, feeling unusually weak or fatigued, new loss of taste or smell, muscle pain, headache, runny or congested nose, or diarrhea)
• GFE will continue to monitor the COVID19 situation in San Francisco and make any necessary changes to the workshop based on current information.

No walk-up registration permitted for this course.

Full garden workshop schedule

What to bring to the workshop

Directions to the garden

More about Ellyn and our other gardening Instructors

Host or Publisher Garden for the Environment