Planting Season

It’s officially planting season. I hope you’re enjoying the cooler weather, and getting excited about the chance of rain later this week. And finding time to appreciate late blooms and rusty seed heads swaying in the uniquely angled November light. I know I am! As...

Oaktober

It’s Oaktober! And yes, Seedtember just finished – we’re very fond of calendar puns here at Theodore Payne Foundation. For me, of all the CA native plants out there, oaks are probably most deserving of their own pun of the month. They are the workhorses of...

Seedtember

Happy September, or should I say Seedtember! This month, we are celebrating all things seed at TPF. To say that 2023 has been a special weather year is an understatement. With rainfall way above average across Southern California, wildflowers proliferated throughout...

Conversations

As we head into the long, hot stretch of Southern California summer, things typically start to slow down in the native plant world. Leaves fall, flowers turn to seed, and the soil dries, changing the landscape dramatically. One of my favorite things to do during this...

Farewell to Spring!

The first Clarkias are coming into bloom around LA and—as their common name ”Farewell to Spring” implies—this represents the beginning of the end of an incredible spring for California native plants. I say that with one major caveat: Spring hasn’t even started in the...