Tag: california native plant society
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Native Gardener’s Corner
Member’s Tips, Tricks, and Techniques Guest Author Dan Songster offers chapter members and local experts a chance to share information related to gardening with natives. The question for the June/July 2023 edition of the OCCNPS Newsletter was: Our native gardens are often inspired by nature. What is your favorite place/destination to experience and be inspired…
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Botany Blitz Finds Uncommon Plants in Whiting Ranch
Written by Guest Author Ron Vanderhoff On Sunday morning, April 16, a large group of one-hundred enthusiastic OC CNPS [Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society] members and friends joined our second Botany Blitz, this year at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. We were nearly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and number of participants, which…
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2,000 New Sages in SoCal
We did it! The Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society distributed 2,000 four-inch white sage (Salvia apiana) plants free to Southern California residents during our A Sage in Every Garden (SIEG) campaign. Our SIEG team began planning for the giveaway campaign last July. We decided to focus entirely on white sage. We…
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1,904 Sages and Counting
Your last chance to get a free four-inch White Sage (Salvia apiana) happens tomorrow morning (Saturday), at Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach. OCCNPS will give away the final group of 96 sages to Orange County residents starting at 10 a.m. After the last 96 sages are gone, the A Sage in Every Garden (SIEG)…
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Final Sage Giveaway Re-Scheduled
With rain forecast this weekend, OCCNPS has re-scheduled the final February 25th white sage giveaway at Shipley Nature Center to Saturday, March 4 at 10 a.m. The March 4th A Sage in Every Garden event is your last chance to get a free, four-inch white sage. If you live near Huntington Beach, stop by Shipley…
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Winsome White Sage
White Sage (Salvia apiana) blooms in the spring with showy flower stalks that are covered with lavender/white flowers. This gorgeous accent plant can grow four-feet wide with six-foot tall flower stalks. White sage has an aromatic fragrance that clings to your clothing when you lightly brush past the plant. If you live in Southern California,…
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What is Milkweed?
Milkweed is a flowering plant named after a milky latex substance that is exuded when the plant tissues are damaged. Milkweed’s scientific name (genus) is Asclepias, named after Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Milkweed is the host plant for monarchs because the caterpillars rely solely on milkweed for food. The latex in milkweed plants…
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More Buckwheat, More Butterflies
When you plant California buckwheat in your home landscape, you bring immediate relief to butterflies and other pollinators searching for nectar and shelter. California buckwheats flower for months, enrich the soil with their tiny leaves, are easy to grow, and are evergreen. Buckwheat is a foundation plant for any garden. The California Native Plant Society…
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Buckwheats Buzz
Most people recognize the common honey bee as a social creature that lives in hives and makes honey. However many people don’t know that honey bees are non-native insects, introduced from Europe. There are 1,600 species of native bees in California, ranging in size from one-inch long to less than one-quarter inch long. California native…
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Buckwheat Brings a Party
One hundred and fifty ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheats found new homes in Orange County. The first outreach event at Acorn Day at O’Neill Regional Park and the second outreach at Smartscape were very popular, attracting many gardeners eager to install a native California buckwheat in their home landscapes. The Orange County chapter of the California…
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Buckwheat Brings Buckeyes
Autumn has arrived and the creamy white buckwheat flowers are beginning to take on their rich, russet brown color. Can you see the common Buckeye butterfly visiting the buckwheat in the image above? Several native plant gardeners have shared photos of the common Buckeye butterfly visiting buckwheat plants in their home landscapes recently. Doug Tallamy,…
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Buckwheat Builds Habitat
The Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) has begun to distribute free, four-inch California buckwheat plants to homeowners living in Orange County. OCCNPS hopes to improve habitat for wildlife and butterflies throughout Orange County with this first-ever campaign to distribute 1,500 buckwheats to homeowners who pledge to plant them in their…
A Buckwheat in Every Garden 