MIRIDAE

SIERRA 2 CENTER PLANT STORIES GARDEN

EDUCATIONAL GARDEN
SACRAMENTO, CA | 2021

PARTNERS:
SIERRA 2 CENTER, STUDIO TUTTO, MIRIDAE LIVING LABS

Sierra 2 Center for Arts and Community worked with Miridae Living Labs to secure a grant that would fund the creation of an educational garden in front of the Center’s main entrance. The Miridae design team and Living Labs came up with a concept that divides this entry garden into smaller zones highlighting different “plant stories” about relationships between native plants, insects, and humans. Los Angeles-based artists Sofia Laçin and Hennessy Christophel of Studio Tutto were also brought on board to construct three of their “living” Seed Spire sculptures.

Volunteers from the Sierra 2 community and members of the Miridae build, design, and Living Labs teams came together over a series of workdays to clear and prep the site, lay down irrigation lines, and install the plants. This garden provides an organized framework for future STEM education lessons and initiatives, while also serving as a vibrant welcome to all who pass by or come to the Center for the myriad events they host throughout the year.

Learn more about the Plant Stories Garden here!

HIGHLIGHTED PLANTS

Seed Dispersal Sidewalk:
Aster chilensis ‘Purple Haze’ (Purple Haze Aster)
Epilobium canum (California Fuchsia)

Specialist Pollinator Plot:
Mimulus aurantiacus (Bush Monkey Flower)
Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Margarita BOP’ (Margarita BOP Penstemon)

Generalist Pollinator Plot:
Asclepias fascicularis (Narrowleaf Milkweed)
Eriogonum giganteum (St. Catherine’s Lace)

Trichome Garden:
Aquilegia eximia (Serpentine Columbine)
Sphaeralcea ambigua (Desert Mallow)

Images by Sierra 2 Center, Studio Tutto, and Miridae