Tag: california native plants
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OCCNPS Past, Present & Future: Insights from Board Members
Guest Article by Thea Gavin The Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) presents a Q and A that will highlight our Board Members’ experiences and knowledge. We begin this monthly series with an interview arranged by Thea Gavin that features Dan Songster, member-at-large and past president of OCCNPS. Dan Songster has…
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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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Free Sage February
February is the final month to get a free four-inch White Sage plant from The California Native Plant Society Orange County Chapter’s (OCCNPS) A Sage in Every Garden (SIEG) giveaway. Volunteers from OCCNPS have been bringing White Sage (Salvia apiana) to events across Orange County since last November and have almost completed their goal of…
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White Sage is Weird
White sage is an aromatic plant in the mint family that grows in Southern California and Northern Baja California and nowhere else in the world. In addition to its rarity, not just any bee or insect can pollinate this plant. The white sage flower needs a heavy bee like a California bumblebee or a Carpenter…
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Sage Celebration Begins November 9
The California Native Plant Society Orange County chapter (OCCNPS) has a multi-event evening planned on Wednesday, November 9 at the Norman Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo. Everyone is invited to join us. 6:30 p.m. Doors Open 6:45 p.m. A Sage in Every Garden Giveaway Begins At 6:45, OCCNPS will begin giving away 96 four-inch…
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White Saging
I’ve met several people recently who believe that burning white sage smudge sticks will remove evil spirits from their house. Yesterday, someone told me that she burned white sage for cleansing her house, but it didn’t work. I suggested that she might consider planting a white sage and caring for it as a more healing…
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Why White Sage?
White sage, also known as Sacred Sage, is a sacred plant to Indigenous Peoples, used ceremonially for prayer. White sage is special because it grows only in Southern California and in Northern Baja California. It grows nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, current television shows and movies have popularized sage smudging as a quick and…
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A Sage in Every Garden Coming Soon
The Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) is partnering with Roger’s Gardens this fall to distribute 2,000 four-inch White Sage (Salvia apiana) plants to Orange County homeowners. The campaign begins November 2022 and extends through February 2023. A Sage in Every Garden is modeled after the 2019 buckwheat giveaway campaign. OCCNPS…
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Working with HOA’s to Install Native Plants
If you are a native plant enthusiast, you can influence the installation of native plants on Homeowner Association (HOA) common area property. Homeowner Association boards are made up of neighbors who likely have little to no native gardening experience. Consequently, board members rely on their HOA landscape contractor for planting suggestions. When boards rely on…
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Elegant Shrubs for the Garden
Today’s post features California native shrubs that are “front-yard natives” because they look good year-round, are easy to care for, HOA’s love them, and they are evergreen. Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos species) are great in front-garden landscapes because they are leafy evergreen plants with bell-shaped blossoms that support native bumblebees and other wildlife. ‘Sunset’ manzanitas are medium-sized…
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Water for Wildlife
Rainfall has been scarce in Southern California in 2022. After a rainy December, we’ve had warm weather and windy conditions for most of January and February.
A Buckwheat in Every Garden 