UC Master Gardener Talk: Keystone Plants

This is a free community program. Please consider supporting the Gardens of Golden Gate Park with a recommended donation of $5-20. Your support helps us connect people to plants, the planet, and each other. 

Saturday, September 6, 2025
11am-12pm
San Francisco Botanical Garden — Plant Shop

About the Program

Have you considered adding California native plants to your garden? Would you like to attract more birds, butterflies, and bees to your backyard? Not sure where to start? In this talk, master gardeners will give you the tools you need to be successful in your own journey with native plants. To guide you in the right direction, we will focus on the emerging concept of “Keystone Plants”—what they are and why they’re so important—and share practical information that you can put to work in your own garden right away.

About the Speakers

Greg Barbosa is a cardiothoracic nurse at UCSF and has been in the healthcare field for twenty years. A life-changing trip to the Amazon rainforest led him to a passion for birdwatching, ecology, and all things native. His areas of focus in gardening include the coastal sage scrub habitat and other plants that grow well in the sandy soils of San Francisco.

Shilpa Thanawala is a San Carlos-based UC Master Gardener and experienced garden educator. She runs a leadership coaching practice, and also serves as a grants manager for Planet Bee Foundation. Her small home garden contains more than 30 varieties of fruit trees, canes, and shrubs, a large herb garden, and a growing number of California native and pollinator plants. She teaches workshops on pruning, planting for pollinators, climate change, and soil health.

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RSVP Required. Heavy rain cancels. Admission to the Garden is free for San Francisco residents, veterans, Museums for All/EBT participants, and Gardens members.

Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.