Native, Narrow-leaf Milkweed Seeds Available!
Email SBSeaWeeders@gmail.com to request up to three 10-seed packets. Include your Solana Beach mailing address
Your donations will support future pollinator habitat events
About Us
Our mission is to promote sustainable beautification of the City of Solana Beach, in both public and private spaces. We sponsor hands-on gardening projects throughout our community
Normally, gardening enthusiasts who reside in Solana Beach and neighboring communities are invited to join our meetings on the first Wednesday of each month (September through June).
Meanwhile . . .
Got questions? Our experienced Southern Californian SeaWeeders have answers.
Where & When
Milkweed Giveaway Exceeds Expectations
More than 90 Solana Beach families collected 350 free, native milkweed plants and 1,430 milkweed seeds on April 24, joining a pledge to help make Solana Beach friendly to Western monarchs and other pollinators. To date, the effort also has been supported by more than $1,700 in donations.
On April 23, the City’s landscapers transformed the parking-area garden at La Colonia Community Center into our first public pollinator park. Long-time butterfly gardener (and our Civic Affairs chair) Cindi Clemons helped supervise placement of 100 native milkweed and nectar plants.
Milkweed is the only plant where female monarchs lay their eggs; it’s the only food monarch caterpillars eat. Nearby nectar plants provide food for the adult butterflies and shelter for the caterpillars and chrysalides after they pupate.
Sign-ups for the plants poured in after the City’s eBlast on April 21. Our entire supply — provided by the City and SeaWeeders — was reserved within hours. A last-minute donation and several “no shows” made it possible to meet demand and still have plants to spare for more public pollinator patches. On April 28, after some weeding and clean-up, we began planting at our community garden on the Coastal Rail Trail. Want to help? Email sbseaweeders@gmail.com.
The ongoing pollinator project is a joint effort by the City, Climate Action Commission and the SeaWeeders.
Local growers are working hard to meet demand for native milkweed. For additional seeds and plants, try:
-
Butterfly Farms and the Luca & Micaela Nursery, butterflyfarms.org
-
California Native Plant Society, canativeseeds.com
-
Moosa Creek Nursery in Valley Center, moosacreeknursery.com
-
Native West Nursery, reconnativeplants.com
Upcoming Events
May 20 “Lunch and Learn” More About Monarchs!
Ann Baldridge, Community Programs Director of the Resource Conservation District of San Diego County* will present at our Noon, May 20 Zoom meeting about how local groups are coordinating to support our Western monarch population.
Ann will talk about the monarch life cycle, the San Diego Pollinator Alliance and its native milkweed project, as well as the overall threats to monarchs and why this effort has become imperative.
Join us to to learn how you can become a “citizen scientist” and participate in the Fall 2021 Monarch Count!
Register for May 20 Zoom link
Mayors' Monarch Pledge
In March, Solana Beach City Council approved the Mayors' Monarch Pledge, a challenge sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation to promote habitat for endangered monarch butterflies. Learn more about how to help.
In Our Gardens
