Native Plant Gardens

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2022 Fall Native Plant Sale

September 8 – 18, 2022

Alta Peak Chapter’s 
Online Fall Native Plant Sale

The online link to order plants will go live on September 8 at 12 noon. Go to SALE.
See Plant List HERE.
Pick up plants on October 1, 2022 between 10-2 pm at Dry Creek Preserve.
Directions to Dry Creek Preserve: Located at 35220 Dry Creek Road, Woodlake CA 93286, Located outside of Lemon Cove: From Visalia, travel east on Highway 198. Take Highway 216 toward Woodlake. Follow 216 west 1/2 mile then turn north on Dry Creek Road. Preserve is located two miles up up Dry Creek Road on the right.
[Redbud tree in bloom © Barbara Brydolf]
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Volunteer Native Plant Gardens in Porterville

The Tule River Native Plant Demonstration Garden Project planted seventy-eight native plants on November 9, 2019. The Project hosted a workday at which three gardens were planted.

The Burton School District Garden volunteers planted thirty-four plants in root baskets. All eight species were California Native Plants and were selected to flourish in our climate with minimal irrigation once established. The volunteers moved rocks into place, completed the cleaning of the garden site, built root baskets to protect each plant from gophers, and using the training provided by the project, carefully planted thirty-four native plants.

The Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society volunteers added fourteen plants to the garden they had started on November 2, 2019. Alta Peak volunteers also removed seven trees that had died from various causes over the years prior to the groups adoption of the site.

Jesse Bejarano with the help of other group volunteers planted thirty plants in root baskets. His garden design includes sixty-one native plants and was designed as a scent garden.

Volunteers from the three groups plus the Tule River Parkway Association contributed 106 combined hours of labor. This was the biggest single day of planting yet at the project.

The project has garden sites ready to adopt and encourages local groups or families to participate. The project supports the gardens with all needed plants and equipment through a grant partnership with US Fish and Wildlife and the City of Porterville.

The next planting day is Saturday, November 30, from 9 am to noon.
Meet at the Jaye Street parking lot on the south bank of the Tule River at the Jaye Street Bridge.

Cathy Capone — 559-361-9164
tulerivergarden@gmail.com

[photo via Cathy Capone]

 

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DIY Clinic: Landscaping with Native Plants on May 18, 2019

Offered by the Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS)

Saturday, May 18, 2019 from 9-2 pm

with California native plant specialists,
Melanie Keeley, CA Native Plant Horticulturist & Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP Botanist
Cathy Capone, Alta Peak Chapter Horticulture Chair and Garden Ambassador

Held at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, location details given with registration

Design your native plant landscape with the help of local experts at this spring workshop on landscaping with drought tolerant native plants. Participants will be treated to an informative, colorful presentation that will highlight the benefits of using native plants in the residential landscape, including principals of landscape design, and how to best combine native plants for compatibility and extended blooming in your landscape.

Following the presentation, participants will be provided drafting supplies and will additionally be given printed handouts and resources to refer to. Students will then be guided by Cathy and Melanie who will help in the selection and arrangement of the best native plants for your situation, giving you a low water, low care garden design of your own.

Native plants can be used to create any style in your garden – from cottage style to formal. You choose the design that suits your house, esthetic, and garden requirements. Design the garden to complement your home and your taste, using California climate-adapted native plants which require a lot less water and maintenance. Switching to native plants saves on water, fertilizer, pesticides, time and effort.

Spring is a perfect time to design a garden. You will have time, ahead of the fall prime planting time for native plants, to prepare your landscape for the change to a low-care, low-water use, pollinator friendly garden.

Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited.

CNPS Members — $55, $45 (early-bird special, enrollment by May 1)
Non-members — $75, ($65 early-bird special, enrollment by May 1)

Contact Melanie Keeley at 559-799-7438 to register.

Native garden photo from Cathy Capone

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Native Landscape Planting Guide

With help from Calscape, the Alta Peak Chapter has chosen some native plants that could work well in our local landscaping projects and home gardens.

Here are the pdf files:

Native Landscape Planting Guide to read online HERE.
(note: it may take extra time to load pdf file.)

Native Landscape Planting Guide to print as a hardcopy HERE.
(note: print both sides on one sheet of 11×17 inch paper and fold in half.)

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26th Annual Springfest Home and Patio Show — February 8-10, 2019

Alta Peak Chapter will be joining other horticulture-related booths in the Garden Center area of the 26th Annual Springfest Home and Patio Show at Visalia Convention Center. The Chapter will be there to spread the word about native plants and their uses in the personal garden landscape. Find books about native plant gardening and identification, California wildflower posters, and some native plants.

Hours: Fri 11-6 pm, Sat 10-7 pm, Sun 10-5 pm

Contact Barbara Brydolf at bbrydolf@gmail.com for more information.

We will need help from Chapter members at the booth during the open hours and for set up and take down. Contact Barbara to sign up.

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Annual Native Plant Sale on Oct 6

Chapter Native Plant Sale

October 6, 2018 from 10-3 pm

Three Rivers Arts Center

Go east on Hwy 198 to Three Rivers, turn left at Anne Lang’s Emporium.
Look for the first building on the left on North Fork Drive.

Alta Peak Chapter is back again with its tremendously popular, annual fall plant sale.
Make sure to come early for the best selection.

Choose from over 100 different types of hard-to-find native plants!

While California’s native plants have graced gardens worldwide for over a century, few of the landscapes designed for our state’s gardens reflect the natural splendor for which California is famous. By gardening with native plants, you can bring the beauty of California into your own landscape while also receiving numerous benefits. In a garden environment, native plants do best with some attention and care, but require less water, fertilizer, pruning, less or no pesticide, and less time to maintain than do many common garden plants. The plant sale features high-quality native plants from Intermountain Nursery, which are better suited to the local climate than plants from the coastal nurseries.

Chapter members will receive a 10% discount on all plants and can pre-order plants.

Download plant pre-order form for members. • LINK HERE • Deadlne is September 22.

The chapter needs many volunteers to help with set-up on Friday at 10:30 am
and/or during the plant sale on Saturday from 10 – 3 pm.
If you wish to volunteer, please contact Melanie Keeley at 559-799-7438 for more information.

DIY Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic

Saturday, October 27, 2018 from 9-2 pm
College of the Sequoias in Visalia

presented by Melanie Keeley,
Native Plant Specialist, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks
and Cathy Capone, former owner of Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville,
Alta Peak Chapter Horticulture Chair

More details and registration information • LINK HERE •

 

 

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DIY Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic on Oct 27

Saturday, August 27, 2018 from 9-2 pm
College of the Sequoias in Visalia

presented by Melanie Keeley,
Native Plant Specialist, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks
and Cathy Capone, former owner of Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville,
Alta Peak Chapter Horticulture Chair

With California’s unpredictable precipitation, it is time for new landscape style that will work in this hot, arid climate. California native plants use a fraction of the water that typical garden plants do, while being attractive and colorful as well. Designed for native plant novices, this class will help you learn practical applications related to 1) ditching your lawn, 2) tried and true native plants, 3) combining native plants for maximum color and effect, and 4) how to design your own drought tolerant native garden. Once a landscape plan is in place, the landscape can be installed in manageable steps. This class provides a great opportunity to transition from a high care, water indulgent garden into a natural, sustainable low water use, beautiful garden.

Registration Fee CNPS Members – $45, Non-members – $60

Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited.
Call Melanie Keeley at 559-799-7438 to register.

By joining the Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society during the clinic, 
you will be eligible to pre-order your chosen native plants prior to our October 6, Annual Fall Plant Sale at a 10% discount.


photo of CA native annuals in the garden by Melanie Keeley

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Native Tree Planting along the Tule River Parkway

Saturday May 12, 2018 from 8 am – 12 noon

Sponsored by the Tule River Parkway Association, Noon Rotary of Porterville, City of Porterville,
Porterville Unified School District and Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society

Help is needed to advise teams of high school students as they plant 23 or more native trees along the Parkway path, including valley oak, California sycamore, western redbud, and Fresno ash. Please wear sturdy shoes and wear sun protection. If possible, bring a shovel to share. Water will be provided.

Meet at at the Sears parking lot on Jaye Street just south of the river in Porterville.
For more information, and to sign up, please contact Cathy Capone at cathycaponemail@gmail.com or 559-361-9164.

[photo of redbud branch in bloom © Cathy Capone]

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Native Plant Landscape Plans for Tule River Parkway

Tule River Parkway Association Meeting
March 13, 2018 at 5:30 pm
Porterville Historic Museum (located at 257 North D Street in Porterville)

The Tule River Parkway Association (TRPA) invites anyone to attend this meeting, who is interested in preservation and restoration of the Tule River riparian corridor. TRPA will discuss partnering with the City of Porterville to submit a grant proposal to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The proposal will include plans for development for public use and for the installation and maintenance of eighteen native plant landscape gardens along the Tule River Parkway path. A landscape plan with specific native plants, to be planted in the cool months only, will be part of the grant proposal. Public input is welcome. The Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society enthusiastically supports this project.

For more information, email tulerivergarden@gmail.com or call Cathy Capone at 559-361-9164.

[“California Wild Rose” photo © Cathy Capone]

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DIY Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic

Plant photos by Melanie Keeley, from left to right:
yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica)
deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and Idaho bluegrass (Festuca idahoensis)
Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana)

Saturday, August 26, 2017, from 9-2 pm
Instructors: Melanie Keeley and Cathy Capone
College of the Sequoias in Visalia
(exact room will be given at time of registration)

Registration Fee: CNPS Members – $45, Non-members – $60.00
Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited.
Call 559-799-7438 for registration as well as questions.

The traditional garden of expansive lawns, and lolly-popped shrubs are a thing of the past. With California’s unpredictable precipitation, it is time for a new model that will work in this hot, arid climate. California native plants not only use a fraction of the water that typical gardens do, they are attractive and colorful as well. In this class, designed for native plant novices, we will help you learn

  • how to ditch your lawn
  • the best tried and true native plants
  • how to combine them for maximum effect
  • help you to design your own drought tolerant native garden.

With a plan in place, you can landscape your garden in manageable steps. It’s an opportunity to transition from a high care, water indulgent garden into a natural, sustainable low water use, beautiful garden.

By joining CNPS at this time, you’ll be eligible to pre-order native plants for the Annual Fall Plant Sale (October 7) at a 10% discount.


Native Plant Garden at the CAL Fire Station in Three Rivers, California
Created and supported by the Redbud Garden Club, maintained by firefighters

 

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Fun learning about native plant landscaping….

Report from Barbara Brydolf and Denise Griego —

The Alta Peak Chapter held a fun and successful landscaping workshop at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia on Saturday, August 27. Taught by Alta Peak Chapter native plant horticulture experts,  Melanie Keeley and Cathy Capone, the workshop focused on techniques for converting lawns and more thirsty landscaping into drought tolerant native plantings. While many Mediterranean plants around the world are grown successfully in our area, they don’t have the conservation and habitat values that our native plants provide. In at time when many animal species are in decline, providing habitat for insects, birds, and other animal species is more important than ever. Additionally, many native plants originating from outside our area or grown elsewhere and brought in, fail to thrive in our hot, arid climate.

A favorite part of the workshop was a slideshow presented by Melanie, where she showed us her favorite plants that have done well in the local area. For example, she mentioned a barberry, Berberis aquifolium ‘Compacta,‘ a low growing plant successful in dry shade. In addition to being a good plant for under our native oaks, the plant in different seasons is attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies (flowers) and other birds (fruits). Fall foliage color change is an added bonus. Another favorite mentioned was St. Catherine’s Lace, Eriogonum giganteum. Although a California native not from our local area, it has proven successful here and provides an extraordinarily long season of bloom.

Part of the workshop consisted of the nineteen participants using plans and photos of their own yards to design new landscaping. People did a lot of sharing of their own situations with the hopes they had for their new gardens. It was exciting to hear all their ideas and challenges. A side bonus was that the workshop attracted twelve new CNPS—Alta Peak Chapter members, including two who came all the way from Fresno! The timing is perfect for participants to order plants for their projects from the upcoming Alta Peak Chapter annual native plant sale coming on October 1, 2016.
Happy Planting!
swallowtailonsalviaclevelandii
Swallowtail butterfly enjoying native Clevland Sage (Salvia Clevelandii)
photo by Melanie Keeley
Sources for native plant horticulture tips…from the CNPS State organization
Gardening with Natives: cnps.org/cnps/grownative
Calscape Native Plant Data Base: calscape.org
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DIY Native Landscaping Workshop

Saturday, August 27, 2016 from 9 am-12:30 pm
College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA*
Presented by:
Melanie Keeley, Native Plant Specialist, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Cathy Capone, former owner of Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville

NativeLandscape © Melanie Keeley
photo by Melanie Keeley

The traditional garden of expansive lawns, lolly-popped shrubs, and sporadic trees is a thing of the past.  With California’s unprecedented drought, it is time for a beautiful new model.   California native plants not only use a fraction of the water that typical gardens do, they are attractive and colorful as well.  In this class, designed for native plant novices, we will help you learn 1) how to ditch your lawn, 2) how to select tried and true native plants, 3) how to combine them for maximum effect and 4) how to design your own drought tolerant native garden.   With a plan in place, you can landscape your garden in manageable steps. This is a great opportunity to transition from a high care, water indulgent garden into a natural, sustainable low water use, beautiful garden.

Registration fee:  CNPS members – $40, Non-members – $50
Note: By joining the Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society at this time, you will also be eligible to pre-order native plants, at a 10% discount, prior to our October 1 Annual Fall Plant Sale.

Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited.
Call 559-799-7438 for registration, as well as questions.
*Directions to location will be given at time of registration.

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Field Trip to Intermountain Nursery on October 10

Saturday, October 10, 2015
8 am to late afternoon

, meet at Nursery at 9:30 am

Harvest Festival at Intermountain Nursery
30443 Auberry Road
Prather, California

Meet to carpool at 8 am at Mary’s Vineyard Shopping Mall (near the McDonald’s)
at 1447 E. Noble Ave, Visalia at the Ben Maddox exit off Highway 198

In lieu of the annual Alta Peak Chapter’s native plant sale, which will return October, 2016, a special field trip is slated to visit Intermountain Nursery in Prather, one of the best Central Valley located places to find quality California native plants. A vast selection of well grown native plants, naturally adapted for drought-tolerant landscapes, will be available. The field trip coincides with the annual Harvest Arts and Peace Festival at the Nursery and will include music, art, fine crafts and artisan foods.

Alta Peak Chapter members will be with the group to answer questions about growing native plants. The nursery sales staff will also be on hand to answer questions and will help in selecting the right plant for the right place.

The group will carpool  from Visalia to Prather or participants may choose to meet at the  Nursery at about 9:30 am.  Although the Harvest Festival actually starts at 10 am, the Chapter has been invited by the owners, Ray Laclergue and Bonnie Bladen, to arrive any time after 8:30 am. Please allow room in your vehicle for any plants that may be purchased at the nursery.

This Field Trip is free and open to anyone. A map to the Nursery can be found here.  For information about the field trip, call 559-799-7438.

Intermountain Nursery[nursery grounds, photo via intermountainnursery.com]

Intermountain Nursery[herb garden, photo via intermountainnursery.com]

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Other Fall Events with Alta Peak Chapter

September 19: Chapter Fall Program
“Creating Drought-Tolerant, Wildlife-Friendly Native Landscapes”

October 3: Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic

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Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic on October 3

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presented by Cathy Capone, Horticulture Chair for Alta Peak Chapter
and Melanie Keeley, Restoration Horticulturalist for Sequoia National Park

Saturday, October 3, 2015 from 9-12 noon
Three Rivers Union School
41932 Sierra Drive (Hwy 198), Three Rivers

Growing plants in this arid, hot climate is definitely challenging, but California native plants are proven survivors!  To help plan a beautiful, drought-tolerant, low care native garden, the Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is offering a colorfully illustrated, DIY native plant landscape design workshop. Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn how to landscape any yard in a low care, sustainable, practical way. With a simple planting plan in place, the landscaping process can be done in manageable steps or phases.

Native plant experts, Melanie Keeley and Cathy Capone, together with a combined thirty year experience in growing California native plants, will share information about the most colorful, showy, and popular native plants, including planting, care and maintenance principles. Learn ways to combine plants in a new landscape for the longest possible flowering. The landscaping workshop will guide participates in designing individual native plant gardens.

Participants are encouraged to bring photographs of existing landscapes, a rough sketch of the area to be landscaped with specific dimensions, noting sun and shade exposure, special features and concerns. The instructors will provide native plant and landscaping expertise, graph paper, pencils, beverages and snacks.

Registration fee:
$40 for members of the California Native Plant Society
$50 for non-members
Workshop size is limited and reservations are required.
Call 559.799.7438 to register.

Native Plants © Melanie Keeley[Native plant landscape with deer grass and buckwheat © Melanie Keeley]

Urban Native Plant Garden Design

[sample of a garden design for an urban setting via cnps.org]

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Other Fall Events with Alta Peak Chapter

September 19: Chapter Fall Program
“Creating Drought-Tolerant, Wildlife-Friendly Native Landscapes”

October 10: Field Trip to Intermountain Nursery

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Fall Program Set for Saturday, September 19

“Creating Drought-Tolerant, Wildlife-Friendly Native Landscapes”
presented by Bobby Kamansky, Biologist and Ecological Consultant

Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7 pm

Meeting and Greeting at 6:30 pm
Three Rivers Arts Center
41673 North Fork Drive

This program is free and open to the public.

For this timely program, Three Rivers’ own Bobby Kamansky will be sharing his perspective and considerable experience on landscaping and restoring lands using California native plants. He will describe landscape methods and designs he has found that will minimize water use, while increasing drought resilience as well as beneficial insects, pollinators, birds and other desirable animals. Using various examples, he will compare, contrast and illustrate site concepts, plant color pallets and costs.  Applying these practical principles in many kinds of landscapes will conserve essential natural resources, while creating an appealing, sustainable and successful landscape in the increasingly challenging climate.

Kamansky, owner and principal biologist for Kamansky’s Ecological Consulting, has nearly twenty years of biological and ecological experience across a broad range of project complexities, habitats, communities and ecosystems on two continents.  Knowledgeable and passionate about all things natural in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and throughout the Central Valley, he has accumulated an impressive resume managing land planning projects, doing biological assessments and impact studies, research, restoration projects on a variety of habitats. His expertise includes planning for endangered species conservation and restoration, natural lands management and restoration, mapping, and natural resource interpretation.

NativeLandscape © Melanie Keeley“California Native Plant Garden Landscape” © Melanie Keeley

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Other Fall Events with Alta Peak Chapter

October 3: Native Plant Landscape Design Clinic

October 10: Field Trip to Intermountain Nursery

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Design and Plan a Native Plant Garden

Native Plant Garden Design Clinic

Held from 9-12 noon, choose from two dates, either
September 14, 2013 in Three Rivers
or September 28, 2013 in Porterville

The clinics will be taught jointly by Melanie Keeley and Cathy Capone.
Keeley is the Restoration Horticulturalist for Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks.
Capone is owner of Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville.

Pre-registration is required for clinics. Class size is limited.

To register for September 14, call 559-799-7438.
To register for September 28, call 559-361-9164.
CNPS members $10, non-members $25
California Poppy © Melanie Keeley[photo © Melanie Keeley]

Growing plants in our extreme climate is challenging and our amazing California native plants are proven survivors!  Having a simple planting plan with compatible plant selections will help make your landscape a beautiful success.  This workshop is a great opportunity to make progress in beautifying your surroundings, while creating bird and butterfly habitat in a natural and sustainable way. With a plan in place, you can break down the landscaping process into manageable steps or phases.

You will be introduced to a basic palette of native plants, and then you will be able combine them for compatibility and longest possible flowering.  Relevant and informative reference books and posters will also be available to purchase during each clinic. Plants will be available for sale at the Chapter’s Annual Native Plant Sale on October 5 at the Three Rivers Arts Center from 9:30 am to 3 pm.

Bring the following items (as best you can):

  • photos of the existing landscape
  • rough sketch of area to be landscaped, with a directional “North Arrow”, dimensions, noting sun and shade exposure and special features or concerns
  • soil sample (1/4 cup)

The Chapter will supply:

  • native plant and landscape design expertise
  • graph paper and pencils
  • beverages and snacks

Melanie Keeley has had a breadth of professional experience over the past twenty-five years, working on varied aspects of California native plants.  As restoration horticulturalist, she currently runs the Ash Mountain Native Plant Nursery at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, where she oversees the production of plants used to revegetate approximately two dozen parks-wide restoration projects.

As an independent consultant, Keeley has specialized in the cultivation and propagation of California native plants.  Some of the contracts she has undertaken include planning, supervising, and monitoring land restoration projects, floristic and surveys, education, interpretation, freelance author, and nursery development. With the Redbud Garden Club, she assisted with the design and installation of five public native plant gardens in Three Rivers. You can see these gardens at the Three Rivers Post Office, the Veterans Memorial Building, the CAL Fire Station, the Tulare County Fire Station and the Three Rivers Public Library. Keeley is currently President of the Alta Peak Chapter.

Cathy Capone is the owner of Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville, which she started in the late 1990’s. Her interest in gardening began early in life where gardening in the sand dune soils of the Sunset District of San Francisco was easy but much different than the Central Valley and Foothills. She completed coursework in arboriculture at Canada College. Extended time spent in the coastal redwood forests, both as a resident and later as a naturalist at an outdoor education camp, provided a native plant aesthetic to her landscape knowledge.

After moving to Porterville, Capone became actively involved with the Tule River Parkway Association and held the position of President of the association for a decade. During this time the need for locally specific native plants became apparent.  She has written and managed a number of grants for tree planting and small park development

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Re-imagining the California Lawn and Garden
 Using California Native Plants

Alta Peak Chapter Fall Program
September 15 , 2012 at 7 pm

Presenter: Bart O’Brien
,
Horticulturalist and Director of Special Projects
at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont

Three Rivers Arts Center
Directions: east on Highway 198 to Three Rivers. Turn left on North Fork Drive (just before Anne Lang’s Emporium).The Arts Center is the first building on the left after crossing the bridge over Kaweah River.

Bart O’Brien is one of the authors of Reimagining the California Lawn, along with Carol Bornstein and David Fross. They are visionary horticulturalists, who also wrote the award-winning book California Native Plants for the Garden. In this program, he will share his passion for water-wise plants and landscapes to help us discover the many possibilities and pleasures that come with reimagining our California lawn and garden.

This talk will cover the basics of gardening with California native plants (What is a California native plant? Why should I be interested in growing these plants? Why are these plants different from the usual plants found in nurseries?) as well as providing examples of some of the most beautiful and useful native plants from some of our best gardens and landscapes. These spectacular plants are then showcased through the prism of our five senses: touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound.

 

Bart O’Brien is Director of Special Projects at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG) in Claremont an educational institution dedicated to research, conservation, and horticulture of California. A fifth generation Californian, he is an authority on the native flora of the state and of northern Baja California, Mexico and is an accomplished collector, grower, photographer, lecturer, and author.

His most recent publication is a 514 page edit of a Percy Everett manuscript which was completed and published online earlier this year (2012) and is titled Second Summary of the Horticulture and Propagation of California Native Plants at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 1950-1970. Bart’s ongoing work with the rivers of Los Angeles County resulted in the collaborative publication of the Los Angeles River Master Plan Landscaping Guidelines and Plant Palettes for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works in 2004, and his Plant Lists for the San Gabriel River Watershed for the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy in 2007.

Bart was named Horticulturist of the Year in 2005 by the Southern California Horticultural Society. O’Brien was listed as one of “The 100 Most Powerful People in Southern California” by the editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times/West Magazine (Aug. 13, 2006). Bart was also editor of Fremontia, the journal of CNPS, from 2006 to 2009.

Also, Bart is currently working on a wide array of native plant projects, including the following:

• Leading the rare, endangered, and endemic vascular plants of northwestern Baja California, Mexico project (primarily funded by the Jiji Foundation; The project cooperators are: José Delgadillo Rodriquez, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico; Steve Junak, Herbarium Curator, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara; Thomas Oberbauer, Chief Land Use Planner, San Diego County Department of Planning and Land Use, San Diego; Jon Rebman, Curator of Botany, San Diego Museum of Natural History, San Diego; Hugo Riemann, Departamento de Estudios Urbanos y del Medio Ambiente, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Mexico; and Sula Vanderplank, Herbarium Collections Manager, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont).

• Co-curating (with John Wickham of the Theodore Payne Foundation, Carolyn Bennett, and Kitty Connolly of The Huntington) the exhibit When They Were Wild of California native plant folk art at The Huntington’s Boone Gallery in the spring of 2013.

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Alta Peak Chapter Program
: Native Plants in the Urban Garden

“Native Plants in the Urban Garden”
presented by Cathy Capone
April 16, 2011 at 11 am
Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville

Our Chapter program is combined with an all day open house at the Cal Natives Nursery in Porterville. As part of our recognition of California Native Plant Week, a new annual observance Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California for the third week of April, Cathy Capone will open her native plant nursery and demonstration garden in Porterville for a CNPS tour, from 10:30-3 pm. This could serve as an introduction to how our local natives look in garden settings.

The Chapter Program starts at 11 am, when Cathy will talk about how to mix native plants within an urban garden framework. Using natives, as minimal to low water use plants, can create a wildlife friendly, low maintenance garden. Cathy will conclude her program with a guided tour of the nursery. She will be on hand all during the day to answer questions about growing and propagating native plants.

Plants and CNPS books and posters will be available for sale.

Bring a sack lunch and spend time with friends on the patio. Coffee, tea, and lemonade will be provided. Children are welcome, however, there isn’t a child safe play yard, so supervision is needed. Please park on the street, as there is limited on site parking.


Directions:
806 W. Westfield Ave in Porterville
Traveling on Hwy 65 through Porterville, take Henderson Ave exit, turn left. Travel east on Henderson 1/4 mile, turn left on Indiana. Go 1/2 mile to the end of Indiana. Indiana stops at Westfield Avenue. House is directly across intersection, with white block fence and tall trees. Please park on the street.
Call 559-361-9164 for more information.