Rose Creek Native Plant Garden is a hidden treasure in Pacific Beach, which is judiciously maintained and supported by its custodian, the nonprofit Friends of Rose Creek.

Friends accomplish this task, in part, through hosting work parties on the second Saturday of every month. The next garden work party will be Saturday, Nov. 11 from 9-11 a.m.

PB social activist and environmentalist, Karin Zirk, founder/executive director of Friends of Rose Creek, conducted a tour of the native plant garden recently. She discussed the origin of the garden, its purpose, and the joys – and challenges – of keeping it properly tended.

Zirk explained that the original linear community garden near Rose Creek Cottage was begun and run in the ’90s by The Nature School, a group that did educational programming for children. She related an interesting tale about how she “inherited” stewardship of the PB community garden.

Zirk said the head of The Nature School contacted her unexpectedly and said, “We’ve been taking care of the creek for the last 15 years, but I’m retiring and moving. Why don’t you take the creek over?”

To which Zirk replied: “I need to think about this. And the creek and I had a ‘conversation,’ and the creek said, ‘Somebody needs to look out for me. So I said, ‘I’ll do my best. That’s all I can do.’”

Zirk said Friends wanted to have a hands-on activity with the garden that created a positive impact in the community. “So we decided it made sense to expand the native plant garden,” she said adding, “The goal is to get the native plants in the ground, and then help them through those first two to three years. Then they’re free-range plants. They just grow on their own.”

An ongoing problem in properly tending Rose Creek Native Plant Garden, noted Zirk, has been keeping the native plants in, and the non-native, invasive plants out.

“Once established in natural areas, these non-native plants grow so fast that they crowd out native vegetation, block streams causing flooding, and produce so much biomass that they become serious fire hazards,” she said. “They also increase landscaping maintenance costs and contribute to the loss of recreational opportunities in our natural areas. Once invasive plants spread and take over natural areas, public resources are required to restore these lands.”

Zirk added non-native plants negatively impact the entire ecosystem that they invade. “They crowd out the native plants that provide the right type of habitat and food sources for native birds, bugs, and reptiles.” She added, “By re-establishing the natives (plants) you will increase the bird population, and the native butterflies and native honey bees do much better with the native plants.”

On Nov. 11, Rose Creek garden party volunteers should meet behind the Rose Creek Cottage at 2525 Garnet Ave. For an hour or more, they will engage in weeding, watering, removal of invasive non-native plants, and trash collection. They will all also plant and tend native species. Wear sunscreen, closed-toe shoes, and a hat. Volunteers should bring water and heavy-duty work or gardening gloves.

This garden project is perfect for community service credit hours. All volunteers under the age of 13 must have a parent or guardian with them. For more information, email me@karinzirk.com.