Desert (and Baja) Day Extravaganza!
Join us Saturday May 9, for an all day extravaganza celebrating a special region of California: The Desert (and Baja!). Here at Tree of Life Nursery, we love the desert and desert plants and we can’t resist spreading our enthusiasm to others.
9:30 am – Guest Speakers: Authors and researchers Jim Riley and Sula Vanderplank
These Baja plant experts will speak about their forthcoming book: The Plant Guide: Maritime Succulent Scrub Region, Northwest Baja California, Mexico.
About the Speakers and the Book…
Jim Riley is the founder of the San Mateo Creek Conservancy and is acting manager of Reserva Natural Valle Tranquilo where he has spent the last two years coordinating biodiversity assessments and developing a vouchered plant checklist for the Valle Tranquilo region.
Sula Vanderplank is a field botanist and biodiversity explorer at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) who loves natural history, floristics and conservation science. Her graduate research has focused on the botany and ecology of the mediterranean-climate region of Baja California, Mexico, which is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
The Plant Guide: Maritime Succulent Scrub Region, Northwest Baja California, Mexico is a bilingual wildflower guide designed to reach a broad audience of botanists, conservationists, and lay people. The Guide is more than a wildflower identification book; it also is an educational resource for beginners. The book is beautifully illustrated with numerous drawings and color photos.
See more about it here: http://shop.brit.org/products/copy-of-plant-guide-baja-california-pre-order
1:30 pm – Planting Demonstration with Tree of Life President: Mike Evans
Desert Landscape in Miniature
Observe and learn how to make a “desert bonsai” using a planter bowl or shallow pot in the bonsai tradition. We will match the pot to desert plant species, rocks, pebbles and sand top dress, dry branches or burls and other natural features. The finished pot will exemplify a miniature desert scene that will grow and thrive in the pot for many years to come.
Mike Evans likes the desert. He lives on the coast, and cannot often drop everything and head out there on a whim. However, by creating cool little potted landscapes, he can go in his mind. His inspiration for these little natural scenes comes from the traditional Japanese artform called of “bonsai.”
All day – Art Show
On display and for sale, wonderful desert plein aire paintings by Mark Kerkhoff. See more about one of California’s own premier artists here.