March 2012 Chapter News

Prickly-pear cactus flower

→ Our general meeting this Thursday, March 15, 2012, at the Duck Club in Irvine, features speaker Laura Camp, “The Native Plant Gardens of Caspers”.

→ Second field trip of the new year is coming up:  Sunday, March 18, 2012 to Elsinore Peak.

→ Member appreciation day and plant sale at Tree of Life Nursery on March 17, 2012. Multiple speakers, free plant for members with purchase, bonus gifts for new members signing up at the plant sale.

→ CNPS is seeking a new Executive Director.  Spread the word; we want the best person possible to lead our organization. (Job announcement and Job description)

→ You can add your voice to the calls for desert protection.

→ Wanted:  Your best native plant photos.

→ Our chapter newsletter for March/April 2012 with more news and notes.

Fall color and white cliffs at Caspers Wilderness Park

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

Native Plant Society – Fall season begins!

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In this email:

1. General Meeting, Thursday, September 15, 2011 – Lili Singer speaks!
2. Plant Sale at Tree of Life Nursery – October 8, 2011
3. CNPS Conservation Conference

1. General Meeting, Thursday, September 15 –

Speaker: Lili Singer …  Natives that will work in your garden!

Chinese houses

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

We all know about the good things that come with planting natives: Great colors and fragrances, wonderful habitat value, lower water bills, and a sense of place with seasons related to our southern California region. There is not any better time to plant natives than in the months coming up. Buy the plants that will work in your landscape at our chapter plant sale at Tree of Life Nursery on October 8.

Of course, when deciding which plants to get for our gardens there are always practical questions that come to mind. What plants are the best for the specific situations I have in MY garden? More about the talk here on our website.

Lili Singer is a horticulturist, educator and garden writer, and Director of Special Projects and Adult Education for the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants in Sun Valley, CA.

We hope to see you there this Thursday night.

2. Native Plant Sale at Tree of Life Nursery – October 8, 2011

Fall Planting Season is here!  Please plan to join us at the plant sale, from 9am-4pm.  This year we’re featuring special member benefits – 10% off on all plant purchases, and a free plant to all members.  Join or renew onsite!

Whether you are a member or not, you can take advantage of the informational talks planned throughout the day. Here’s the schedule:

10 am – Plants for Slopes and How to Plant Them (Dan Songster)

11 am – Green and Lush Plantings for Low Water (Brad Jenkins)

12 pm – Plants for Hummingbird Gardens (Rama Nayeri)

1 pm – Plants for Butterfly Gardens (Bob Allen)

2 pm – Accent Plants that say “California” (Rob Moore)

Volunteers are needed.  Please contact Diane Wollenberg or Jennifer Mabley if you can spare the morning or afternoon to help out. Volunteers receive a free 1-gallon plant. Jobs will be available for those with native plant knowledge to share, and for those without!

We have a flyer to advertise the plant sale.  Print it out and post it at will!!  Invite your friends!  High-res version.  Low-res version.

3. CNPS Conservation Conference-January 2012

Time to start making your plans for attending this great conference, which is scheduled for January 10-14, 2012 right in our backyard, at the Town and Country Resort and Conference Center in San Diego.  Early registration is now open.

Sponsors are still being sought.  If you or your company would benefit or if you just want to help the cause of native plants, here is the explanation of all the details and benefits.  Thank you to our sponsors so far.

The Orange County chapter is sponsoring student attendance at the conference.  We would love to see students from Orange County in attendance!  Students, please check out the opportunities on this link.

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

CNPS Orange County News – April 2010

In this eNews:

1. General Meeting, WILDFLOWERS, Thursday, April 15, 2010
2. Outreach!  Green Scene April 17-18, SC Plaza April 22-25
3. Garden Tour, May 8, 2010
4. Chapter Celebration – Auction and Raffle, June 17, 2010

1.  General Meeting –

Celebrate tax day the right way and join us this Thursday night, April 15, 2010 at the Duck Club, Riparian View Way, Irvine  (see http://occnps.org/ for directions):

• 6:45 PM doors open, hospitality
• 7:00 PM Plant ID Table – Wildflowers!  Bring your spring flower samples or pictures for ID help or to share at the table.  (As you all know, please do not remove wildflowers from protected wild areas without permission.)
• 7:30 PM Main Program: Wildflower Hotspots of Orange County, Bob Allen

Mountain blue curls, Trichostema parishii, Photo: Bob Allen

Our county may be known for Disneyland, shopping malls and freeways, but thankfully we also have some of the loveliest wildflower spots in southern California! With these rains what a year this should be! Let’s get away from it all and take a tour of some of Orange County’s wildflower hotspots (some popular and some more “secret”) to see what is in bloom. And who better to lead us on this virtual field trip than Bob Allen who has spent countless hours documenting and photographing our local flora! Whatever you’re level of interest and knowledge, with Bob we always learn something new. Throw in that special dash of Bob Allen humor and it will be an enjoyable night for all.

Bob Allen is a nature photographer, author, instructor, and consulting biologist. 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 second book, A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains.

2.  Outreach Events –

We will be out in the community at the Green Scene, Fullerton Arboretum, April 17 and 18, and at the Southern California Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza on April 22-25. At both events we will be selling plants and books and working to make more of the public aware of the benefits of California native plant gardening and how to accomplish it.

We are looking for volunteers to help man our booths at both events. Please contact Laura Camp by replying to this email if you can devote a couple of hours. It’s fun and easy, and new volunteers are welcome. As an added bonus, the Green Scene admission fee will be covered for all volunteers.

The South Coast Plaza event has a sustainability theme this year, and several speakers will be focused on that theme, including Gene Ratcliffe representing our chapter and Tree of Life Nursery. Gene’s talk is on Friday morning, but make sure to check out the full schedule and to visit us at our booth.

3.  Garden Tour –

Out chapter-sponsored native plant Garden Tour is coming up fast, on Saturday, May 8th. We hope you are planning to attend with a friend or two. This tour will feature almost a dozen outstanding gardens, and is free to all participants. Similar tours throughout the state can cost $20 or more. Look for an email with complete details and registration information within the next few days.

Volunteers are always needed! This year we’d like to have a few docents to assist in each garden, for a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon. Please reply to this email and let us know if you can help.

4.  Chapter Celebration –

Sarah Jayne and Elizabeth Songster help prepare the June 2009 auction table

Silent Auction and Raffle items are needed for our June 17th Chapter Celebration. Do you have a nice native plant in a pot? Or just the pot itself? A gift certificate or vacation rental? A book or gift  or artwork related in any way to nature, native plants or gardening? Do you have ideas, or a few hours to assist with calling potential donors, or to help with planning or setting up the evening of the event? Please contact our Silent Auction Chair, Kathy Glendinning at ktglnd@netscape.net or just “reply” to this email.

This event is one of our two major fundraisers for the year, and all proceeds will be devoted to the Chapter’s grant programs, to fund school gardens or worthy research projects. With your support we can make this fun event a big winner for native plants and education. You can truly make a difference!

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

CNPS Orange County News – March 2009

In this Email:

1.      At Home With Natives Symposium, March 28, 2009

2.     But First….General Meeting, March 19, 2009

1.  At Home With Natives:  Creating and maintaining an authentic California landscape, Saturday, March 28, 2009

This all-day event at Golden West College in Huntington Beach is coming up fast, and space is limited, so sign up now.  We promise you’ll be glad you spent your Saturday learning from the expert speakers and touring the beautiful native garden.

Registration Fee:         $45.00 – Lunch included, or $35.00 for Friends of GWC Native Garden & CNPS members.

Registration materials and more information can be found on our website.  Go to http://occnps.org/, and click on the Symposium links on the left.  Register today!

Many thanks to the sponsors:  Orange County Chapter of CNPS (that’s us!), Golden West College and Tree of Life Nursery.

 

Golden West College Native Garden

Here’s the complete program to tempt you further.  Bring a friend!

Golden West College, Math/Science, Room 123

8:00-8:45 • Registration & Morning Refreshments

8:45-9:00 • Welcome – Dan Songster, Director of the Golden West College Native Garden; Bonnie Roohk,  Dean of Math/Sciences, Golden West College; Laura Camp,  President, Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

9:00-10:00 • Dan Songster. GWC Native Garden – Horticultural Lessons learned over thirty years.

10:00-10:15 • Morning break

10:15-11:15 • Debbie Evans, Marketing Coordinator, Tree of Life Nursery, San Juan Capistrano. Hillsides to Hedges – Natives for specific landscape situations.

11:15-12:15 • Bart O’Brien, Senior Staff Research Associate, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Our premier native plant expert, popular speaker & workshop presenter. Springtime Blues to Fiery falls – Seasons of color in the native garden.

12:15-1:30 • Box lunch & visiting in the Garden. Concurrent book & plant sales.

1:30-2:30 • Barbara Eisenstein, Horticultural Outreach Coordinator, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Equal parts nuts, bolts & inspiration: How to convert your yard into a native paradise.

2:30-4:00 • In the Golden West College Native Garden. Dan Songster & Celia Kutcher will lead tours focusing on practical design & maintenance issues related to almost any native garden-even yours!  The group will be split in half, and 45 minutes will be spent with Dan on Design Tips, and 45 minutes with Celia on Maintenance Tips.

4:00-5:00 • End of Symposium Social. Adjourn to Garden for cookies, tea, plant, & book sales.

2.  But First….our General Meeting, Thursday, March 19, 2009

LOCATION and TIME of meeting:

Duck Club, Riparian View Way, Irvine

(see http://occnps.org/ for directions)

Doors open at 7:00 pm

Main program at 7:30 pm

Plant Identification Workshop

Want to learn Dick Newell’s secret for identifying willows? Curious about what’s become of Monkey Flowers and other former Scroph family members? Anxious about Asteraceae ID?

We will provide an assortment of local plant material, along with plant guides, hand lenses, a dissecting microscope for close-ups.  Six tables will be set up with opportunities to rotate around the room, learn from and talk to the experts.

This will be an informal meeting, gathered around tables examining plants. Bring your own plants to identify or examine more closely if you’d like.  What could be more pleasant?

 

Dick Newell teaches at Starr Ranch field trip

Final Notes…..

• You may have noticed our new banner above, designed by Daniel Evans of Flipside Graphic Design in San Clemente.  Thank you, Danny!
• Don’t forget our field trips, there are many this spring, and the wildflowers are looking great out there.  Check our website for more details.  Go to http://occnps.org/, and click on the March/April newsletter link on the left.
• To unsubscribe, please reply to this email, leave the subject line as is, and type “Unsubscribe” in the body of your message.

December General Meeting – It’s Your Turn!

In this Email:

1. General Meeting, December 18, 2008
2. Conservation Conference, Sacramento,  January 17-19, 2009
3. Photo Workshop, January 24 or 31, 2009

1.  General Meeting, December 18, 2008

LOCATION and TIME of meeting:

Duck Club, Riparian View Way, Irvine, (see http://occnps.org/ for directions)

Doors open at 7:00 pm, Main program at 7:30 pm 

Wildflowers follow fire at Del Dios Hwy, San Diego County

We hope you’ll take some time from your holiday preparations to join us for our annual focus on you – the member.

Share some of your favorite photos of native plants—in the wild or in the garden, local or anywhere in the world. Bring ten to fifteen, or twenty if they’re spectacular. These could be a plant you’d like to have identified (no guarantees), one you’ve seen out of its known range, an interesting plant/bird/insect relationship, good field trip shots, just a lovely picture, or a slide that makes you laugh! We’ll have equipment for both the slide and digital formats. Digital photos can be brought on a flash drive, CD, or DVD. (Please let us know if you need special equipment.)

If you don’t have pictures you’d like to share, come and enjoy the variety and surprises. There will be new books and other items for last minute gifts.

New chapter t-shirts will be available!  Pick up your pre-orders, or just buy on site.

Your board and other members will be providing a festive spread on the hospitality table. If you would like to add a special cookie or two, feel free (and include the recipe)! Come join us for a light-hearted and relaxing evening.

2. CNPS Conservation Conference

Read all about this conference here:

http://cnps.org/cnps/conservation/conference/2009/

It will be held in Sacramento on January 17-19, 2009.  Featuring great speakers, exhibitors, and plenty of interest for the professional or the general public.  If you have been thinking about getting jump-started on your commitment to conservation, this is the perfect opportunity.  A large contingent will be representing Orange County CNPS, so please join us!

3. Photo Workshop

Limited spaces available!  January 24 OR 31, 2009 at Tree of Life Nursery.  Click on the images below for a larger flyer.  Sign up now or at the general meeting:

Benefit Plant Sale, October 4, 2008

Join us at Tree of Life Nursery on Saturday, October 4 from 9 am to 4 pm.  BUY plants and benefit CNPS Orange County Chapter at the same time!  Don’t forget, fall is the best time to plant your native garden.

Volunteers are needed and welcome.  Assist with parking, answer questions for the public, or monitor the bookstore, and receive a “thank-you” gift from Tree of Life!  Contact Diane Wollenberg, Volunteer Coordinator, at 949-929-5669, for further information.

At 9:30 am, during the plant sale, we will be offering a special educational event.  Brad Jenkins will lead a panel discussion entitled “Myths and Solutions of Gardening with Native Plants”.  Are natives all brown in the summer?  Are all natives drought tolerant?  Can native and non-native plants co-exist?  Join us for this one-hour talk to find out, and bring your questions, too!

Tree of Life Nursery is located at 33201 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano.  For directions and further information visit http://www.CaliforniaNativePlants.com.