Bay Area Gardening Events & Classes
Join a garden club or volunteer your horticultural skills. See our list below for organizations that are looking for members!
Groups: Add your garden related listing or class by emailing us. Please send 3 to 5 sentences that include website link, dates, times, pricing, etc.
Garden for the Environment Workshops
Our hands-on workshops teach the San Francisco Bay Area to garden sustainably. Join our gardening experts each week to learn how to grow food, conserve water with native and drought-tolerant plants, and build soil with compost.
Volunteer with RENEW the ZOO in the Horticulture Department
Spend a Saturday beautifying the Zoo. The role of the Zoo’s Horticulture Department is more than just to create beautiful gardens for the animals and visitors, it is also to help spread the message of habitat conservation and vegetation management.
Participation means:
- Weeding and clean-up to eliminate the need for harmful pesticides
- Meeting new people of diverse backgrounds and all ages who share your commitment to conserving the Earth’s plant and animal species
- Sharing your expertise and developing new skills and interests
- Becoming part of San Francisco Zoo’s history
- Contributing to the ongoing development and improvement of the Zoo
- Getting really, really dirty
Who can volunteer?
Adults and children (adult:child ratio must be at least 1 adult per 5 children).
When can I volunteer?
The second Saturday of March, June, September, and December, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am Please be prompt. We will be closing the gates at 8:15. No late entries allowed.
Where do we meet?
Meet by the old entrance gate on Sloat Blvd. and 45th Avenue.
What do I wear?
Something warm and comfortable that you don’t mind getting dirty. The Zoo provides tools and work gloves, but if you have work gloves, bring them just in case. Please wear sturdy work shoes.
E-mail other questions to renewthezoo@sfzoo.org.
Watch out for ticks!
Ticks on vegetation and wood are spreading Lyme disease and co-infections, illnesses that can rob us of our health. Tick repellent is recommended on us and our indoor/outdoor pets. For more information: visit www.lymedisease.org
We instruct people how to protect against tick bites, can suggest protective measures for humans, pets and environment, and also have monthly support/advocacy meetings in SF.
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library
(See first floor info desk for meeting room location)
30 Grove St, next to the Civic Center Muni/BART station, SF
WHEN: 3rd Tuesday each month: 2-4 PM
CONTACT: Robin Krop
E-MAIL: sf_seal@sbcglobal.net
PHONE: 415-202-0174
San Francisco Rose Society Monthly Meeting
2nd Sunday of each month — June through October
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m
- San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park – Hall of Flowers
- (County Fair Building – 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way)
- Meetings conclude with raffle prizes and refreshments.
For Beginners
Ask questions and discuss rose culture with a consulting rosarian before each monthly meeting.
- 12:30 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.
Join the Mount Diablo Rose Society
The Mount Diablo Rose Society meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 P.M, except July and August.
Meet in the: Dublin Library Community Room, 200 Civic Center Drive, Dublin, CA
Learn more by visiting their website.
Ruth Bancroft Garden ongoing educational workshops
The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a nonprofit public dry garden that was planted by Mrs. Ruth Bancroft in 1972. The Garden was opened to the public in the early ’90s. For more information & to register for an assortment of workshop events, visit the Ruth Bancroft Garden website >>
Peacock Garden Club in San Rafael
Peacock Garden Club welcomes all garden enthusiasts, including beginners. Meeting and garden program, or garden outing, 10:00 a.m.
2nd Wednesday each month (except on garden tour days — Please contact Carol Randall 455-0840 to confirm location).
Where: Year-round meetings at Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Avenue, San Rafael.
Info: Carol Randall 455-0840
The Gardens at Heather Farm events & classes
The Gardens at Heather Farm events & classes
For more information and registration of new classes and events>>.
The Marin Rose Society
The Marin Rose Society meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. (except December). The meeting location is the San Rafael Corporate Center, 750 Lindaro St, San Rafael. We offer:
- great speakers and mini rose shows
- refreshments and raffles
- free Consulting Rosarian advice.
Members enjoy an award winning newsletter, garden tours, social events, exhibitions, demonstrations and a great deal of fun!
Join the Marin Open Garden Project
Wondering what to do with excess bounty from your garden? Join the Marin Open Garden Project at one of their weekly exchanges where gardeners meet to share fruit, vegetables, eggs, cut flowers and other goodies from their backyards. Visit the MOGP website for the most current schedule of their exchanges as well as other useful gardening information.
Marin Master Gardeners Public Seminars
The Marin Master Gardeners offer public seminars year round. Learn more about all aspects of gardening and growing: from site preparation through harvesting – even managing the bounty from your garden. See their list of upcoming events>>
UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
The UC Botanical Garden is a non-profit research garden and museum for the University of California at Berkeley, having a notably diverse plant collection including many rare and endangered plants. Established in 1890, the Garden, which is open to the public year round, has over 13,000 different kinds of plants from around the world, cultivated by region in naturalistic landscapes over its 34 acres.
Though each event is free, I highly recommend you register to ensure your spot!
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society Events
The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. See their calendar of events here >
Contra Costa Master Gardeners
Become a Master Gardener in Contra Costa County. The Contra Costa Master Gardener Training Program trains volunteers to provide research-based horticultural information and education to County residents. Master Gardeners are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), an outreach and public service unit of the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR).