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 .

Art Show: Mark Kerckhoff, Timothy Moore and Abe Sanchez

Plein-Aire Paintings, Wood Turning Art Pieces, and Native Baskets

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 – Tree of Life Nursery is pleased to invite three local artists to our retail store, Casa 'La Paz', to show their distinguished and unique pieces.  The art show will run for one week, from January 24-January 31, though the show and the store will maintain normal business hours, and will be closed on Sunday, January 25th.  Both Saturdays of the show the artists will be on site and light refreshments will be available.  The three artists have been chosen because of the quality of their work and the theme of their work is related to California history and California culture.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2008

Replace your Lawn with California Native Plants:
Workshop Series at Tree of Life Nursery

December 19, 2008, San Juan Capistrano – Despite recent rains, the water crisis in California continues to force individuals to make behavioral changes in water consumption.  Many are realizing that lawns cost far too much in water, time and labor to justify what is little more than "outdoor green carpet".  Increasingly people are turning to California native plants as the natural choice for Southern California landscaping.

There is a growing need for individuals to learn how to responsibly remove water-wasting lawns and replace them with water-efficient gardens that are attractive, functional and even provide habitat for local birds and pollinators.  Tree of Life Nursery is offering a three-part workshop entitled “Replacing Your Lawn with California Native Plants” in both February and March 2009.  The workshop series covers three of the basic steps for replacing a lawn: Lawn Removal, Design Elements, and Plant Selection.

Replace Your Lawn Workshop I: Kill the grass! – February 14 and March 14, 9:30 AM
Replace Your Lawn Workshop II:Design Elements–February 21 and March 21, 9:30 AM
Replace Your Lawn Workshop III: Plant Selection: Thirty Plants – February 28 and March 28, 9:30 AM

While staff will lead most of the workshops, Tree of Life Nursery has also invited guest speakers for the second workshop in the series.  Landscape designer Orchid Black will discuss Design Elements in the workshop on February 14, 2009.  Ms. Black is an accomplished landscape designer and owner of Pitcher Sage Design.  She has been involved on numerous native plant projects including Washington Park, in Pasadena, where she worked with the city and other organizations to install and maintain natives there.  The park won an ASLA award for best park restoration in 2007.  

Landscape designer Pat Overby will present the Design Elements workshop on March 14, 2009.  Ms. Overby is an accomplished designer and sought-after speaker on the topic of native plant gardens.  Her business specializes in landscape designs featuring California native plants.  She regularly speaks about natives for Sea and Sage Chapter of the Audubon Society in support of their efforts to promote naturalistic landscaping practices that will in turn provide feeding and nesting opportunities for our local birds.

More detailed descriptions of the topics covered in each workshop can be found on Tree of Life Nursery's website.  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