La Loma Neighborhood

Hope you are out enjoying Modesto’s Porchfest 2026. Large crowds at many locations in La Loma Neighborhood and College Neighborhood.
Some streets are closed off so driving may be a challenge. Bikes and golf carts rule the road today!

The La Loma Native Garden has two beautiful new benches thanks to our talented neighbor, Jose
Gonzalez, who constructed and installed the benches for the garden. Let’s treat them kindly.

Some attractive blooms at the La Loma Native Garden this week. The desert Willow and Palo verde trees are in full bloom . Various buckwheats are full of Lacy blooms attracting native bees.
Big patches of delphinium are showy. Look for the farewell to spring clarkia pink flowers !

What a great day we had at the pollinator festival at the La Loma Native Garden!
The rain stayed away so we could enjoy a pleasant experience celebrating nature! There were lots of enthusiastic participants in the children's costume parade, ladybugs, butterflies, even a cloud costume. Thank you to Evan Elliot for leading the parade and getting the kids to sing "In Modesto there is a garden.....".Dave Rogers led the drum circle in his unique and amazing skill at producing rhythm in every crowd. It was fun to watch and listen to.
We had a new photo op board that was very popular, made by our own neighbor, Bonnie Nixon, who also makes beautiful birdhouses.
Thank you to Mr. Simas' high school students in the Johansen Sustainability Club who volunteered to lead activities to teach kids about bees, butterflies, and pollination. They were a big help.
Loved seeing parents reading to their kids and teaching them about pollinators. We had a lot of creativity in the booth activity as well, from butterfly life cycles with the UC Master Gardeners to bee headbands. Everyone enjoyed the entertainment and food trucks, which added to the atmosphere. Thank you for coming out to share this special day in the neighborhood. We appreciate the City of Modesto's support too. They brought out their mascots to interact with the kids. Once again we released a large number of ladybugs who are now on guard for pests in our native garden. The little ones enjoyed touching their first ladybug!
Thank you to everyone who participated and made our event so successful!

A few people have asked what this flowering shrub is growing along the walkway at the native garden.
It is a flannel bush or Fremontedendron. It is a pollinator magnet.
Very drought tolerant, needing no additional watering. It may cause skin irritation so avoid touching. This California native grows in the chaparral. You may view it naturally along Highway 49.

We had a butterfly release at the La Loma Native Garden. A local family raised the painted lady butterflies and brought them to the garden to pollinate our native flowers. You may see them fluttering around.

April is California Native Plant Month!

Calycanthus occidentalis, known commonly as Spice Bush or Western Sweetshrub, is a California native shrub that naturally grows in canyons, stream sides and moist places but can thrive in water wise gardens if planted in partial shade with a few deep waterings a month in the dry season. More water is needed in inland locations or if planted in full sun.

The lotus-shaped flowers can resemble a small magnolia flower. The seed pods are interesting looking and the foliage has a spicy fragrance when crushed.

It's also one of UC Davis' Arboretum All Stars. What's an All Star? That's a list of 100 plants that even under difficult conditions will grow well in our area. After narrowing down their favorites to a list, testing them in the Arboretum as well as field trials throughout the state, they picked these 100, hence the name, “Arboretum All-Stars.”

More info:
https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant/western-spice-bush

UC Davis All Star List: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/arboretum-all-stars

Reminder, weeding party tomorrow from 9am to 11am. We'll meet in the children's section of the garden (where the hopscotch is.) Bring any weeding tools you may have. Shovels would be especially helpful! We greatly appreciate your contribution as this is a community garden which the city does not maintain. All maintenance is due to volunteers. Thank you!! :)

Weeding Party March 27th from 9am to 11am. Come join us and help get the garden ready for our annual Pollinator Festival!

Merry Christmas from La Loma Native Garden!