Replace Your Lawn with Habitat!

NEW Habitat Gardening Series in February and March:

Replacing Your Lawn with Plants that Create Habitat for Enjoyable Wildlife such as Songbirds, Butterflies and More! (RYLPCHEWSBM!)

In this new series we have an incredible line-up of knowledgeable speakers who will inspire you to create beautiful native gardens that are more than just drought tolerant flowering plants to replace your lawn. (Wait, there are MORE benefits to planting natives than saving water? You betcha!)

Planting native plants provides new life to your garden by providing a food source and living space for pollinators like birds and butterflies. Make it easier for them. They struggle to find food and shelter in our urban areas filled with what to them is utterly useless – lawn, flower beds, hyper organized over-maintained “landscapes.”  With the right plants, it is possible to invite a host of hummingbirds, songbirds and beneficial insects to the garden. In addition to attracting these delightful visitors, you will find you draw something else – yourself! You may just find yourself out in your garden more – enjoying these delightful critters every day!

Mark your calendars. All workshops are at 9:30 am.

Overview of dates and topics:
Feb 21 – Orchid Black, Native Sanctuary Designs
Bringing Butterflies, Birds and Beneficials to your Native Garden

Feb 28 – Jim Semelroth, Southern California Bluebird Society
Attracting Bluebirds into your garden

*March 7 – Bob Allen, Author, entomologist, botanist, instructor and photographer
Attracting amphibians and reptiles to your native garden

March 14 – Monique Rea, Jewels of Nature Hummingbird Rescue
Attracting Hummingbirds into your native Garden

March 21 – TOLN Staff, Swallows Day Tour of the Nursery
Spotting the Swallows of Capistrano at Tree of Life Nursery

*March 7 is also the CNPS Member Appreciation Day – more information here.

Read More details about this series and our esteemed panel of speakers:

Saturday, February 21, 2015 – 9:30 am
Kick Off!
Orchid Black: Bringing butterflies, birds, and beneficials to your native garden
Learn how to create a peaceful haven for enjoyable wildlife such as hummingbirds, songbirds, butterflies and beneficial insects. Orchid Black from Native Sanctuary Landscape Design will speak about how to create a garden that is enjoyable to look at and enjoyable for delightful garden visitors. Ms. Black has extensive experience designing and creating award-winning native gardens that are inviting social spaces friendly for garden visitors and human visitors alike! Don’t miss out on her presentation that is sure to be practical and tailored to your questions.

Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 9:30 am
Jim Semelroth: Southern California Bluebird Society
The Southern California Bluebird Club has been actively promoting their bluebird boxes for about 16 years. As a result, bluebirds have made an amazing comeback in southern California! Be a part of this remarkable recovery by coming and learning how to attract these wonderful little birds into your life.  You will be duly impressed by the enthusiasm expressed by Jim Semelroth and Sully Reallon who will be presenting the workshop. At Tree of Life Nursery, we have been fortunate to have bluebirds nest in one of these boxes the past few years – learn how to do the same at this workshop. Bluebird nest boxes, tee shirts, pamphlets and information will be available.  Don’t miss this fun and exciting workshop.

Biologists often look to what are called “indicator species” when they assess the health of a particular habitat or an plant community. While we believe that the OC will not be fully functional as a self-sustaining ecosystem until the ol’ griz roams wild again, we also realize that those days may never come… though we do try to hone our survival skills by pretending to be ultra wary on the trail. So much for the best indicator species we ever had, Old Griz. so much for the healthy fear he (or especially she) would (could?) instill in birdwatchers and hikers. Deb says she’s still waiting for a mother and cub to move into her yard…

Where was I?… Oh yeah, “indicator species.” On a more understandable level, critters as mundane (no offense to them intended) as toads, tree frogs, salamanders, western fence lizard, gopher snake… and the less mundane, very elusive newt are only found in decent habitat. Your garden does not have to be a pristine wilderness, but you can expect these guys to come around and hang around if you have a naturalistic design, complimentary plant species, little or no disturbance (they don’t like mowers and blowers), a water source, a few rocks, shade, leaf litter, diversity, etc… all the stuff that makes for a good native plant garden anyway. You plant it and they will come. Even alligator lizards.

Come and learn how to identify these unique garden residents, and understand why they are “beneficial” as well as just plain cool to have around.

Photo: “Griz”, original acrylic on canvas 48″ x 24″ by Alaskan artist Debby Bloom. Available for viewing and purchase at Tree of Life Nursery through Mid-March, 2015.

The California Native Plant Society, San Diego and Orange County chapters, will celebrate spring at Tree of Life Nursery with a special Membership Appreciation day! From, 9AM to 4:00PM, the public is invited to free talks throughout the day about various aspects of gardening with California native plants. CNPS experts will be on hand to answer your questions on native plants for your garden. Members of CNPS always enjoy 10% off on plant purchases at Tree of Life Nursery’s Casa La Paz retail store, and on Membership day will receive a free plant with any plant purchase. The public is invited to come learn about the CNPS chapters, the benefits available to members and to join as a member at the event!

Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 9:30 am
Attracting Hummingbirds to your Garden: Jewels of Nature
Monique Rea of Jewels of Nature heads up a hummingbird rescue program in South Orange County. She will speak about how to provide ideal conditions in your garden to attract these precious jewels of nature. Come learn how to identify the different local and migratory species and learn some tips about how to help a lost hummingbird too. As you study for the pop quiz, you may want to research hummingbird heart rates, (at rest and in full activity), dive bomb speed and the g-force attained, daily caloric intake, body weight, distance/time in migration, and lifespan. You will be blown away! Here’s one recent example about how hummingbirds drink nectar – a mystery only recently observed through the use of a high-speed camera able to capture it! http://www.wired.com/2011/05/hummingbird-tongue-drinking/

Saturday, March 21, 2015 – 9:30 am
Tour of the Nursery – In Search of the Swallows of Capistrano
At Tree of Life Nursery, the large eaves of our structures provide an ideal home for the world famous Swallows of San Juan Capistrano. On their big day, (there is, after all a parade and pageantry in town), we will take a quiet tour of the nursery grounds and see if indeed our kind swallow residents have returned to their nests. Come learn about the nesting habits of these delightful birds, check out our ever beautiful and ever changing native gardens and enjoy a bit of quiet before you join the celebration in town! (Unlike many Swallows Day events, cowboy boots are not required!)

Our “Replace Your Lawn” (RYL) How-to series begins Saturday March 28, we hope you’ll join us for this popular series!