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7th Annual Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour — April 10 & 11">The 7th Annual Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour — April 10 & 11
Indian Mallow, a California native in my garden
Want to get rid of your water-gobbling lawn? Interested in exotic looking plantings? Want to support our native plants? You will get great ideas on how to do this at the 7th Annual Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour. Taking place this weekend, Saturday April 10 and Sunday April 11, 50 of the best native plant gardens from all over Los Angeles and environs will be open to the public. The website (www.Theodore payne.org>Special Events>Garden tour) has photos of every garden on the tour. Many people plan their tour route based on garden situations most similar to their own. The plants are labeled, and each garden has a plant list available at both the garden and online. The cost of this wonderful tour is $20.00 — you really get your money’s worth, just like you do with native plants!
Tree of Life Nursery
Tree of Life Nursery
If you are like me, you have fantasized about working at a special nursery — or having your own. Tree of Life Nursery is just such a special place for me. Located on 40 acres off Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano, TOLN was started over thirty years ago by owners Mike Evans and Jeff Bohn. Their mission was to propagate California native plants with the view to returning California habitat to its natural form. Since then TOLN has become the largest native plant supplier in the state. Both the setting and the buildings on the property are wonderful. The staff “has extensive experience in ecological restoration, habitat enhancement and authentic landscaping.” Tree of Life natives are made available to the general public through the charming Casa “La Paz” Plant and Book Store. They also offer terrific workshops, including: Native Designs: Color Year Round in the California Native Garden (April 3), Native Design: Create a Hummingbird Container (April 10), Native Design: Incorporating Desert Plants (April 17), Native Design: Design Principles for Success (April 24), and Native Design: Plant Tour of Nursery Gardens (May 1). They also have a 4 part workshop in May on how to get rid of your lawn. For more information go to their website: www.Californianativeplants.com.
Natives thrive at Yerba Buena Nursery
The Road to Yerba Buena Nursery
I was recently on the prowl for unique nurseries in Northern California. When I visit family, in this case my brother Scott, I coerce them to search out destination nurseries for me. This time we drove about 30 miles to Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside, which is a wooded hillside community outside of Palo Alto. Beautiful views up there, twisty roads, lovely homes, wineries. As we were driving up the hill (after our excellent hamburgers with fried onions at Bucks in town) I found myself wondering why this nursery is situated in such a remote spot. Turns out it was started by Gerda Isenberg on her family’s 3000 acre cattle ranch in 1960. Located on 40 acres, this is the oldest nursery in California dedicated to native plants and ferns. In addition to carrying 600 different species of natives, the property includes a 2.5 acre demonstration garden encompassing microclimates, a pond and demonstration gardens. I loved the fact that for every english garden plant we shouldn’t plant in our drought stricken state, there is native plant could be substituted. Their website is well designed, with lists of plants available and a lot of information for the gardener. This is our Northern California version of the Theodore Payne Foundation, a great Socal Native nursery.
www.Yerbabuenanursery.com.
The “office” at Yerba Buena
