Category: Gardening with Native Plants
-
Plant of the Month: the California Poppy
Guest author Dan Songster of the California Native Plant Society Orange County Chapter (OCCNPS), shares his horticultural expertise with a monthly article featuring an excellent native plant for your garden. This month’s featured plant is the California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). The California Poppy is a perennial wildflower that is often treated as an annual. It…
-
Dreamy Native Plants
Our rain totals in Southern California have already exceeded the average 14 inches per rainy season. As I write, two more inches of rain has fallen with more to come. It is an understatement to say that our native plants are thriving. This is great news for the wildlife, birds, and pollinators that depend on…
-
Ron Vanderhoff Shares Wonders of the Natural World
Thea Gavin presents her monthly feature of a member of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) Board of Directors. This article features Ron Vanderhoff, OCCNPS Plant Science Chair, and current President of CalFlora. With a career in horticulture that has spanned decades, Ron is also General Manager and Vice President…
-
Native Plant Roots Grow Deep for This Scientist
This column was compiled by guest author Thea Gavin who interviewed OCCNPS Vice President Rebecca Crowe for this month’s feature article. Rebecca Crowe has been a CNPS member since 2007, and an OCCNPS board member since 2019. With a master’s degree (San Francisco State University) in ecology/evolution/conservation biology, she especially enjoys plant identification and propagation,…
-
Native Plant Goals for the New Year
Native Gardener’s Corner-Member’s Tips, Tricks, and Techniques This article, compiled by guest author Dan Songster, offers OCCNPS chapter members and local experts a chance to share information related to gardening with native plants. This month’s query asked: Do you have any New Year’s resolutions for your native garden or plans for changing your landscape in…
-
Manzanita Favorites for the Garden
Native Gardener’s Corner-Member’s Tips, Tricks, and Techniques is a regular feature compiled by OCCNPS board member Dan Songster to share information from chapter members and experts statewide about gardening with native plants. “With winter here, manzanita blooms can’t be far away. Which is your favorite Arctostaphylos for your garden, and why?” Terry LePage-“Arctostaphylos ‘Howard McMinn’…
-
Lesley Bindloss: Champion of California Native Plants
Board Member Lesley Bindloss is featured this month in an article compiled by Thea Gavin. Lesley Bindloss is a fairly new CNPS-OC board member with an “unsung hero” role on the board: Recording Secretary. This is the person who must take accurate notes during board meetings to make sure all discussions and decisions have proper…
-
Find Native Plants that Best Support Butterflies and Moths
Guest author, Chris Cosma, Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at the University of California, Riverside, shared this October 23, 2023 article about his web application called The Butterfly Net that helps gardeners know which native plants are most supportive of butterflies and moths. Which native plants are the best for insects?…
-
Board Member Helps Native Plant Chapter Stay on Target
“Accounting is the most important aspect of any business.” Ray Kroc (former CEO of McDonald’s) This month, the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS), is pleased to feature Lewis Marchand, board member and treasurer of OCCNPS. Lewis was introduced to our local chapter—and CNPS as a whole—by Brad Jenkins, former president…
-
Native Gardener’s Corner–Weed Management
October/November 2023This column is a regular newsletter feature offering chapter members and local experts a chance to share information on many things related to gardening with native plants. The month’s request was: After the tremendous crop of weeds from last season’s rains, what tricks and techniques do you recommend for efficient weed removal in your…
-
Board Spotlight: Laura Camp
This month, the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS), features Laura Camp, current board member and past president of OCCNPS. Laura grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Penn State University. Shortly after graduation, she and her new husband Bob packed up their Plymouth Horizon and crossed the country to California.…
-
Native Gardener’s Corner–Tips, Tricks, and Techniques
August/September, 2023 Guest Article compiled by Dan Songster. This column is a newsletter feature offering OCCNPS chapter members and local experts a chance to briefly share information on many things related to gardening with natives. The Request for this Edition of the OCCNPS Newsletter was: “Which native tree would be your favorite to plant in…