Hummingbird Salvia

Checking out the natives!

Just got back from the Grow Native Nursery Fall Planting Festival at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA. This event helps raise money for the garden and gives us plant nerds an opportunity to wander and enjoy plants without all the extra work! I wouldn't mind having many of the plants they feature! ("Native" is a term used to describe plants endemic (indigenous) or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.)

Wild grape fall color

Admission was free to both the festival and the garden today. I was impressed by the quality of the plants, the amount of information on all the labels as well as the variety of plants. Everything from little four inch pots to 15 gallon trees!  They also have succulent wreaths that are very cool to look at (one of my next endeavors is to create one myself!) and everything is reasonably priced.  I purchased two California Wild grape vines for a fence I'm trying to hide, 2 white sage plants and a hummingbird salvia that is gorgeous when in bloom! By using native plants, once they are established they will thrive in our climate better than a plant that has been acclimatized to our weather patterns here. Once established, many will use less water than their non-native counterparts. The Grow Native Nursery is openWednesday to Saturday, from November to May. 

They had a few guest speakers one of which was a professor of mine; Dave Lannom. Awesome teacher and very funny. Explains things so that you have those "Aha!" moments that make things clearer when you are learning. Rancho Santa Ana hosts events like this throughout the year. Some you need to be a member to attend, many are open to the public, usually for a small fee.

White Sage

So, if you're in the area, check them out. They have a wonderful garden with paths wide enough to use wheel chairs, strollers or wagons if you're taking the kids with you. You can also check them out on the web at www.rsabg.org.