Grow Your Own Waterwise, Pollinator-Supporting Plants

Join us in our beautiful Demonstration Garden for a hands-on workshop on seed harvesting and growing waterwise plants from seed. Learn how to properly collect, store, and grow some of our favorite easy-to-grow native and waterwise plants to support your garden and local ecosystems—without breaking the bank and with minimal supplies.

In this class, we will cover:

• Identifying mature seeds ready for collection

• Proper techniques for collecting and cleaning seeds

• Best practices for storing seeds for future planting

• How to propagate different types of native plant seeds

• Hands-on milkweed seed planting to take home

Each participant will collect seeds from spent spring wildflower blooms in our demonstration garden and take them home for future planting. Additionally, all participants will pot native milkweed seeds in starter packs to take home, helping to support monarch butterflies.

Important: Portions of this workshop will take place outdoors in the sun. Please dress accordingly, including wearing a hat and sun protection.

After the workshop, for those who wish to stay, we will be offering a raffle giveaway of some of our favorite waterwise and California native plants, along with insights on where they thrive best in the garden.

Harvesting and propagating seeds is an essential skill for any gardener looking to grow native plants and support local pollinators. Understanding when and how to collect seeds, how to store them properly, and how to start new plants from seed can ensure long-term success in your landscape.

Our instructors for this workshop are Ashley Alfaro and Kaylee Denberger, both graduates of Cal Poly Pomona with bachelor’s degrees in plant sciences. Ashley and Kaylee work at Chino Basin Water Conservation District, where they specialize in working hands-on with California native plants and creating educational content for the community through social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

Also check out other Workshops in Montclair.