FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 1, 2010

Rare stem gall discovered on native plant.
Nursery owners are shocked and delighted.

April 1, 2010, San Juan Capistrano.  The extremely rare Ceanothus Giant Stem Gall appeared on Ceaonthus 'Concha' overnight at Tree of Life Nursery.  "We have never seen this rare pest," remarked co-owner Jeff Bohn, who is in charge of integrated pest management at the nursery.

In researching the phenomenon, it was discovered that the grubs inside the gall are edible and known to be highly nutritious and tasty.  Co-owner Mike Evans who camped at the nursery last night, got up early to make coffee and breakfast.  "You can fry them in oil like sausages," he said.  "They are soft and sweet.  Good hot or cold."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 12, 2009

Selecting Native Plants for your Garden:
New Workshop Series at Tree of Life Nursery Beginning September 2009

August 12, 2009, San Juan Capistrano – It’s no secret that Southern California is in a water crisis.  With water rates rising, water-rationing being implemented – and, with increasing pressure to save money – many companies, HOA’s and individual homeowners are paying close attention to the cost of maintaining water-thirsty landscapes.  An elegant and rewarding solution for saving water and money in this economy is to replace water thirsty landscape plants, (including unused lawn space), with California native plants. Tree of Life Native Plant Nursery seeks to further educate and assist our clientele with a new workshop series coming this fall entitled Selecting Native Plants for your Garden.

Selecting Native Plants for your Garden will be kicking off on the first Saturday that Casa ‘La Paz’ will be open: September 19th. Just in time for the fall planting season, these workshops will help people choose native plants to place in their water conserving gardens. Choosing natives that are appropriate for varying garden situations can be difficult.  Tree of Life is here to help. This series includes six different workshops addressing various site situations and design goals, beginning with the first workshop entitled: Plant Selection: Year-Round Color.  Our knowledge and experience working with California natives certainly makes the selection process easier, and we hope to effectively pass on this expertise to customers – new and old.  Click here for the full schedule of the Selecting Natives workshops.

In 2008, Tree of Life Nursery ran a popular series of workshops about Replacing your Lawn (RYL) With Native Plants.  These workshops were such a hit that we ran the series a total of five times throughout the planting season.  Tree of Life is offering the RYL series yet again; twice this August, and, again during the first three weeks in November.  See event calendar for more details.

"Bring California Home" through the use of native plants, which provide authenticity, diversity and habitat for wildlife like hummingbirds, butterflies and beneficial insects in your garden.

Tree of Life Native Plant Nursery is the largest grower of California native plants in the state and has been making beautiful and naturally drought tolerant plants available to the landscaping trade for 30 years.  For the last 15 years, Tree of Life has sold plants to the general public through our retail plant store, Casa ‘La Paz’.  Casa ‘La Paz’ is open on weekdays year-round and also on Saturdays from fall through spring, (Mid-October through May), which is the prime planting season for California native plants.  Tree of Life Nursrey believes in creating spaces that look and feel authentically 'Californian'.

Tree of Life Native Plant Nursery
33201 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
p. 949-728-0685
f: 949-728-0509
www.CaliforniaNativePlants.com

Contact: Debbie Evans, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Journalist Emily Green wrote an excellent article about summer water in the native garden.  In her article "Watering Native Plants in Summer, Or Not", Green discusses the varying opinions about summer water in the native garden from various authorities on the topic - Tree of Life Nursery included.

Emily Green is a long-time garden writer for the LA Times and various other publications.  She has recently branched out with a blog at www.chanceofrain.com. At this incredibly informative site, Green contributes stories about Water in the West, namely due to our current shortages.

She notes that an opportunity has arisen for all of us to learn a new gardening ethic and has a section of the blog dedicated to "The Dry Garden".  Features from the Dry Garden can be found weekly in the LA Times Home Section.

Enjoy!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009

Attracting Wildlife to Drought-Resistant Gardens by Using Native Plants

Friday, March 27, 2009 - In the current water crisis, one of the more exciting possibilities open to home-owners choosing to eliminate lawn in favor of landscaping with drought-tolerant native plants is attracting local wildlife.  This would include many pollinators, like hummingbirds, native bees and even butterflies.

Do you remember the look on the face of a six year old who watches a butterfly flit from flower to flower?   Or have you seen hummingbirds squawking and fighting over the right to perch on a particular branch?  To bring these delightful creatures closer to home and ad value to our existing landscapes, we must create hospitable and attractive habitats for local wildlife.

To educate the public about how to garden for the express purpose of attracting local wildlife, Tree of Life Nursery presents the Habitat Gardening With Native Plants Workshop Series.

Attracting Wildlife to your Garden...

Habitat Gardening: Butterflies!
April 11, 2009 - 9:30-11:00 am

Use flowering native plants in your garden to attract butterflies. Come learn about plants that serve as host plants for certain species of butterflies and how to provide important habitat for these creatures according to their life-cycles. Our guest speaker is Helen Wood who has extensive experience from working with her own butterfly garden in Mission Viejo.  She belongs to the Master Gardeners of Orange County, California Native Plant Society and the North American Butterfly Association.  For more information about native plants that are useful to butterflies, download our Sage Advice article: Natives for Butterflies.

Habitat Gardening: Bugs!
April 18, 2009 - 9:30-11:00 am

Attract fascinating pollinating insects to your garden. Join Bob Allen as he showcases delightful and unique bugs native to our region as well as their beneficial qualities.  Both an Entomologist and a Botanist, Bob Allen is an instructor, photographer, consulting biologist, and avid hiker.  His photographs and illustrations appear in various scientific publications and natural history field guides.  He currently teaches at Irvine Valley College, Santa Ana College, and Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. His course subjects include plants, insects, and nature photography. His second book, Field Guide to Wildflowers of Orange County, is nearly completed.  http://www.boballenphotography.com/

Habitat Gardening: Hummingbirds!
April 25, 2009 - 9:30-11:00 am

Attract beautiful local hummingbirds to your garden by using native plants. Our very own Laura Camp will show you how to identify different hummingbirds and how to provide plentiful nectar and proper shelter to attract them to your garden.  Laura has worked at Tree of Life Nursery for fourteen years and has  kept track of the many birds she has sighted here.  The nursery's current bird count is up to 114 distinct species, and 50 of those species have been spotted on our office deck right outside Laura's window, (if you design it well, they will come right to you!).  She has been involved in Audubon Societies' Christmas Bird Counts for nearly 20 years, and she currently serves at the President of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.  For more information about native plants that are attractive to Hummingbirds, download our Sage Advice article: Natives for Hummingbirds.

Tree of Life Nursery is the largest grower of California native plants in the state.  Specializing in a line of plants from the Southern California region, Tree of Life is dedicated to providing the finest quality of commercially available plants to the landscaping trade and to the public.  Tree of Life Nursery believes in creating spaces that look and feel authentically ‘Californian’.

Tree of Life Nursery
33201 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
www.CaliforniaNativePlants.com

Contact: Debbie Evans, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .