November 17, 2011 – Native Gardening for Wildlife talk

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General Meeting, Thursday, November 17 – Wildscaping!

Speaker: Bob Allen

…at the Duck Club, Riparian View Way, Irvine  (Directions here).  Doors open at 6:45, Main Program at 7:30 pm.

Subject: Native Plant Associations & Wildscaping

Where will you be this Thursday night?  We hope you’ll join us for a great talk to enhance your understanding of the connection between our wildlife and native gardens.

California is home to about 7,000 species of plants, southern California over 4,000 species (more than most entire states in the U.S.), and Orange County over 1,500 species (also more than many states). By comparison, our state hosts 47 amphibians, 77 reptiles, 600 birds, 209 mammals, and well over 30,000 species of insects! All of these life forms rely on plants for their survival.

Interactions among and between plants and other forms of wildlife are complex, variable, and fascinating.  We’ll review some of the associations and the local wildlife involved, and discuss techniques for wildscaping – landscaping with native plants to attract and promote wildlife.

Hummingbird with Arctostaphylos glauca, Photo by Bob Allen

Bob Allen is a photographer, instructor, and entomologist/ botanist/ pollination biologist in Orange County. Raised in San Juan Capistrano, he studied insects from a very early age. In high school, he was introduced to plants, became hooked, and bought his first copy of Philip Munz’s Flora of Southern California at age 15. He is currently preparing his eagerly awaited, A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains, co-authored with Fred Roberts.

UNSUBSCRIBE INFO: You are receiving this email because you signed up at an event, or through membership. To unsubscribe, please reply to this email, and type “Unsubscribe” in the subject line or body of your message.  For further information contact: California Native Plant Society – Orange County Chapter, P.O. Box 54891, Irvine, CA 92619-4891