Fremontia Journal of the California Native Plant Society
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
$7.50 (Free to Members) VOL. 36, NO. 2–3 • SPRING/SUMMER 2008 FREMONTIA JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY VOLUME 36:2–3, SPRING/SUMMER 2008 FREMONTIA SPECIAL ISSUE: PUBLIC GARDENS OF CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY FREMONTIA CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1; Sacramento, CA 95816-5113 Phone: (916) 447-CNPS (2677) Fax: (916) 447-2727 VOL. 36, NO. 2–3, SPRING/SUMMER 2008 Web site: www.cnps.org Email: [email protected] Copyright © 2008 MEMBERSHIP California Native Plant Society Membership form located on inside back cover; dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the Bulletin Bart O’Brien, Editor Bob Hass, Copy Editor Mariposa Lily . $1,500 Family or Group . $75 Benefactor . $600 International or Library . $75 Beth Hansen-Winter, Designer Patron . $300 Individual . $45 Kathryn Blassey, Editorial Assistant Plant Lover . $100 Student/Retired/Limited Income . $25 Brad Jenkins and Jake Sigg, Proofreaders STAFF CHAPTER COUNCIL Sacramento Office: Brad Jenkins (Chair), Larry Levine (Vice CALIFORNIA NATIVE Executive Director . Amanda Jorgenson Chair), Sarah Jayne (Secretary) PLANT SOCIETY Finance & Administration Manager . Alta Peak (Tulare) . Joan Stewart Cari Porter Bristlecone (Inyo-Mono) . Dedicated to the Preservation of Steve McLaughlin the California Native Flora Membership & Sales Coordinator . Stacey Flowerdew Channel Islands . David Magney The California Native Plant Society Administrative Assistant . Anna Dorothy King Young (Mendocino/ (CNPS) is a statewide nonprofit organi- Ostrowercha Sonoma Coast) . Lori Hubbart zation dedicated to increasing the un- East Bay . Delia Taylor At Large: derstanding and appreciation of Califor- El Dorado . Amy Hoffman nia’s native plants, and to preserving Fremontia Editor . Bart O’Brien Kern County . Lucy Clark them and their natural habitats for fu- Rare Plant Botanist . Nick Jensen Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mtns . ture generations. Senior Vegetation Ecologist . Julie CNPS carries out its mission through Betsey Landis science, conservation advocacy, educa- Evens Marin County . Carolyn Longstreth tion, and horticulture at the local, state, Vegetation Ecologists . Jennifer Buck, Milo Baker (Sonoma County) . and federal levels. It monitors rare and Kendra Sikes Liz Parsons endangered plants and habitats; acts to Vegetation Data Coordinator and Mojave Desert . Tim Thomas save endangered areas through public- Monterey Bay . Rosemary Foster ity, persuasion, and on occasion, legal Ecologist . Eric B. Peterson, Ph.D. East Bay Conservation Analyst . Mount Lassen . Catie Bishop action; provides expert testimony to Napa Valley . John Pitt government bodies; supports the estab- Lech Naumovich North Coast . Larry Levine lishment of native plant preserves; spon- Legislative Advocate . Vern Goehring North San Joaquin . James Brugger sors workdays to remove invasive plants; Website Coordinator . Mark Naftzger and offers a range of educational activi- Orange County . Laura Camp CNPS Bulletin Editor . Bob Hass ties including speaker programs, field Redbud (Grass Valley /Auburn) . trips, native plant sales, horticultural Training Coordinator . Josie Crawford Frances Jorgensen workshops, and demonstration gardens. Riverside/San Bernardino counties . Since its founding in 1965, the tradi- BOARD OF DIRECTORS Katie Barrows tional strength of CNPS has been its Sue Britting (Acting President), Steve Sacramento Valley . Hazel Gordon dedicated volunteers. CNPS activities Hartman (Treasurer), Lynn Houser San Diego . Marty Foltyn are organized at the local chapter level San Gabriel Mtns . Gabi McLean where members’ varied interests influ- (Secretary). At Large: Brett Hall, Arvind ence what is done. Volunteers from the Kumar, Brian LeNeve, Vince Scheidt, San Luis Obispo . Lauren Brown 33 CNPS chapters annually contribute Alison Shilling, Carol W. Witham Sanhedrin (Ukiah) . Vishnu in excess of 97,000 hours (equivalent Santa Clara Valley . Kevin Bryant to 46.5 full-time employees). PROGRAM DIRECTORS Santa Cruz County . Brett Hall CNPS membership is open to all. Sequoia (Fresno) . position open CNPS Press . Holly Forbes Members receive the quarterly journal, Shasta . Susan Libonati-Barnes Fremontia, the quarterly statewide Bul- Horticulture . Susan Libonati-Barnes Sierra Foothills (Tuolumne, Cala- letin, and newsletters from their local Posters . Bertha McKinley veras, Mariposa) . Patrick Stone CNPS chapter. and Wilma Follette South Coast (Palos Verdes) . Vegetation . Todd Keeler-Wolf Barbara Sattler DISCLAIMER: Tahoe . Michael Hogan The views expressed by authors published MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATION Willis L. Jepson (Solano) . in this journal do not necessarily reflect CNPS members and others are wel- Mary Frances Kelly Poh established policy or procedure of CNPS, and their publication in this journal should come to contribute materials for publi- Yerba Buena (San Francisco) . not be interpreted as an organizational cation in Fremontia. position open endorsement—in part or in whole—of their ideas, statements, or opinions. Printed by Premier Graphics: www.premiergraphics.biz FREMONTIA VOLUME 36:2–3, SPRING/SUMMER 2008 CONTENTS SPECIAL ISSUE: PUBLIC GARDENS OF CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS This special double-issue of Fremontia is dedicated to a precious resource for everyone interested in California and its native flora: our public gardens. The following nine examples are conveniently presented from south to north. Collectively, these gardens represent nearly five hundred years of hard-won horticultural experience with our native plants. All offer knowledge, inspiration, and beauty to everyone who visits them. As articles become available, additional public gardens of California native plants will be featured in future issues of Fremontia. GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE NATIVE GARDEN: A LEARNING EXPERIENCE by Dan Songster ..................... 2 HORTICULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF RANCHO SANTA ANA BOTANIC GARDEN by Barbara Eisenstein .............. 8 THE THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION GARDENS by John Wickham ................................................................... 14 HORTICULTURE AT THE SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN by Carol Bornstein .............................................. 20 CALIFORNIA NATIVES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ ARBORETUM by Brett Hall...........................................................................26 GERDA ISENBERG NATIVE PLANT GARDEN AT YERBA BUENA NURSERY by Kathy Crane and Matt Teel .............32 SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN NATIVE PLANT GARDEN by Don Mahoney, Terry Seefeld, and Barbara Pitschel..................................................................... 38 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BOTANICAL GARDEN AT BERKELEY by Nathan Smith .........................44 CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS AT THE UC DAVIS ARBORETUM by Ellen Zagory ............................................ 50 THE COVER: An image from each of our nine featured public gardens of California native plants conveys the beauty and diversity of these gardens at all times of the year. VOLUME 36:2–3, SPRING/SUMMER 2008 FREMONTIA 1 A view over the sages growing in the coastal sage scrub community. Mature trees of western sycamore (Platanus racemosa) and Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) frame the northern end of the Garden. All photographs by D. Songster. GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE NATIVE GARDEN: A LEARNING EXPERIENCE by Dan Songster he oak leaves crunch beneath esting slopes for planting, while pro- in 1975 was to have a native garden your feet, bushtits dash and viding a sense of isolation from the serving as an outdoor classroom and thrash among the branches busy campus. Almost anytime of year lab for the science department’s bi- of the Nevin barberry, a stu- you can sit within its boundaries ology, botany, and environmental Tdent stoops to identify a monkey- and enjoy the antics of birds forag- studies classes. Back in the 1970s, flower, hummingbirds sip quickly ing, fighting, and frolicking among this idea was cutting edge. People from the fragrant sage and glowing the plants in a manner unlike the were not acquainted with California foothill penstemon flowers, and the rest of campus. Students, faculty, and natives and I was no exception. So scarlet blooms of island snapdragon staff visit daily during breaks. They began a long study effort with equal hang like jewels from the lower enjoy the Garden’s warmth, breathe parts of the old A California Flora by branches of the bishop pine it has in the sages, stroll the pathways, or Philip Munz, and visits to many na- entwined. chat among themselves much like tive gardens, nurseries, plant experts, The California Native Garden at the birds. I have witnessed a lot of and other native resources through- Golden West College is a small affair thoughtful expressions in the Gar- out the state. As the Garden pro- tucked between our math/science den but have seldom seen a visitor gressed in the mid 1980s, Rod building and a nearby parking lot on wear a frown, at least for long. Wallbank became involved with the the west side of the campus. Less Of course the Garden’s original Garden and we began sharing du- than an acre and a half, it is sur- purpose was not for such whole- ties as Co-Directors. Being assigned rounded on three sides with an eight- some and pleasurable interludes the task of designing and eventually foot tall berm creating some inter- from a day’s studies. The intention installing the Golden West College 2 FREMONTIA VOLUME 36:2–3, SPRING/SUMMER 2008 Native Garden has introduced us to many interesting and inspirational plants and people over