Author Archives: Arvind Kumar

About Arvind Kumar

Native plant gardener in San Jose, CA. I have been growing native plants since 2000 in a tract home lot front and back.

Lake Cunningham Native Garden: Where Ecology and Community Intersect

At the October 2022 CNPS Conference in San Jose, Ashok and Arvind made a presentation about the Lake Cunningham Native Garden. This was part of a longer session titled “Native Plants in Public Spaces” consisting of 5 presentations. It offers … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Birds of Lake Cunningham

Leah Moffatt has been volunteering at the Native Garden for over a year. She is a birder and a photographer too. On volunteer workdays, she makes time to go birding around the lake. Over time she has captured photographs of … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Going Native Garden Tour Kickoff includes the Native Garden

The 2021 Going Native Garden Tour kicked off today with a virtual tour of all publicly accessible native plant gardens in the area. The virtual event included a special focus on the Lake Cunningham Native Garden. The presentation starts with … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

How is the Native Garden faring in the era of Covid-19?

You may be wondering what is happening at Lake Cunningham Park and its Native Garden since the shelter-in-place order took effect in California. The park remains open 8am-half hour after sunset. SIP and social distancing guidelines apply: wear masks, maintain … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on How is the Native Garden faring in the era of Covid-19?

30 (More) Native Trees Planted Along Inner Lake Path

Volunteers from the California Native Plant Society and Silicon Valley Volunteers planted 30 more native trees at Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose on Saturday, November 9, 2019. A total of 32 volunteers (17 from SVV, 16 from CNPS) worked from 9am to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Propagating Dudleyas

Say the words “California native plants” to a fellow gardener and sometimes the response is, “No, thanks. I’m not into the cactus look.” Many people are unaware that here in Northern California, there are no native cacti! What we have instead … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Stinkwort Removal

Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens) is an oily, sticky, intensely fragrant plant from southern Europe that has invaded California in recent times (since the mid-1980s). It is an annual plant that grows during the long dry summer. It is now rapidly expanding … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Shade Trees Coming Soon

If you have been to Lake Cunningham Park at the peak of summer, you know that the sunnier portions of the park can get quite hot. Walking along the Inner Lake Path in 90°F+ heat can be particularly trying. There … Continue reading

Posted in Inner Lake Path Trees, Native Garden | Leave a comment

A Fine Summer Morning

Today, we were joined by a father-daughter duo, Patrick and Jane, who drove across the valley to help with summer maintenance tasks in the native garden. On a hot day like this, the shade of trees and shrubs was most welcome … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Weed Warriors

With the abundant rainfall this season, native plants have thrived but so have invasive annuals and perennials. The native garden is regrettably teeming with Russian knapweed, perennial pepperweed, and drying stands of invasive annuals like slender oats, red brome, and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment