The Sutro Stewards native plant nursery and garden were established in 2013. We are located on Mt. Sutro Open Space Preserve, in the shadow of Sutro Tower.

The native plant demonstration garden consists of two terraced garden beds next to our native plant nursery shade house. Most notably there is an established Pink Flowering Currant that attracted many a hummingbird this Spring, a Dutchmen’s Pipevine with beautiful pitcher shaped flowers and the abundance of Douglas Iris that’s purple blooms cascade delightfully over the terrace bed.

Recently, since the nursery has been particularly quiet, I spotted a skunk sneaking around in the garden.

My favorite thing about the Sutro Native Plant Demonstration Garden is the sheer abundance of diversity of plant species in a relatively small space, diversity is beautiful!

The biggest challenge is keeping the weeds down but such is life!

Some advice I’d offer for folks that want to start a native garden is to keep an open mind and commit to having fun with it while you go, someone once told me that “the seeds want to grow, don’t be afraid to put them in the dirt”- things will go awry most certainly but as long as you keep putting the seeds in the ground and trying to learn from what you sow then it really ain’t that bad.

Sutro Stewards is also offering online plant sales now through our website: https://www.sutrostewards.org/shop

Questions? Please reach out to our native plant nursery manager, Millie, at millie.c@sutrostewards.org

Millie Calzada

Native Plant Nursery Program Manager

Sutro Stewards, sutrostewards.org

(Pronouns: She, Her, Hers| Why Pronouns Matter)

The mission of Sutro Stewards is to build community, connect people with nature, and protect and enhance Mount Sutro, one of the city’s wildest and most beautiful green spaces.