California Native Plant Society

Orange County Chapter

May/June 2010

 

 

CONTENTS

Chapter Meetings
President’s Message
Native Gardener’s Corner
Conservation Report
Field Trips
Nature Writings

CALENDAR
May 6 - Board Meeting
May 8 - Garden Tour
May 15 - Field Trip--Caspers Wilderness Park
May 20 - Chapter Meeting--Crystal Cove State Park
June 3 - Board Meeting
June 17 - Chapter Meeting--June Event

WEED AND SEED:

Location, Time, Contact

Golden West College; Tuesday & Thursday, 10 – 1; Dan Songster, 949-768-0431

Fullerton Arboretum; any day, 8:30-12; Chris Barnhill

Irvine Open Space; irvineranchwildlands.org

Bolsa Chica; 3rd Saturday; 714-846-1114

Upper Newport Back Bay; 4th Saturday; contact Matt Yurko murko@coastal .ca.gov

Orange County River Park; Tuesdays 10 – 1; call 714-393-3976

Chapter meetings are held at the Duck Club in Irvine on the third Thursday of the month, September through June.

Directions to the Duck Club:

Driving south on the 405, exit on Jamboree, turn right. Left on Michelson to 3rd signal. Right on Riparian View. Pass the IRWD water treatment plant. Follow signs to Audubon House and the Duck Club.

Driving north on the 405, exit on Culver and turn left. At the second signal, Michelson, turn right. Continue on Michelson to third signal, Riparian View, turn left toward the IRWD treatment plant and follow signs to The Duck Club. [Thomas Guide to Orange County, page 859 J-7]

 

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CHAPTER MEETINGS

Thursday, May 20, 2010: My Favorite Park—Crystal Cove State Park

6:45 PM doors open

7:15 PM Planting Natives feature and Plant ID

7:30 PM Main Program: Dave Pryor

Please join us this month as part of our “Orange County is Special” series, we visit another unique space set aside and protected, for our enjoyment. Crystal Cove State Park is 2,400 acres of mostly undeveloped open space including various woodlands, bluffs, and riparian areas, with over three miles of coastline (and offshore waters are designated as an underwater park.)

With dense oak woodlands, dramatic coastal bluffs, a great trail system, diverse habitats, exceptional coastal views, and rare species, it’s no wonder this park is so special to so many. Many of the Park’s interesting facets will be highlighted including its flora and fauna, a review of restoration efforts (and missteps) and a discussion on land use history.

The Historic District of beach cottages will receive its own discussion regarding their preservation and rehabilitation—from a botanist’s perspective.

David Pryor is Senior Environmental Scientist with the Orange Coast District of California State Parks. Mr. Pryor has a love of the Orange County coast and has been head of Natural Resources in parks for the last 18 years. He has responsibility for the Least Tern Natural Preserve at Huntington State Beach, wildfires and prescriptive burns, erosion events and control, California gnatcatcher and cactus wren monitoring, nine threatened and endangered species at San Onofre State Beach, and much more. He also oversees the many restoration efforts in progress, and is responsible for habitat enhancements on over 4000 acres and 17 miles of coastline.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010: Chapter Celebration

Speaker: Bob Perry - Native Landscapes—Reflecting Experience and Vision

5:30 pm      Bird Walk in San Joaquin Marsh with Rich Schilk

6:30 pm      Appetizers!    Silent Auction! Slide show of Chapter Activities!   Chapter Awards!

7:30 pm      Main Program, featuring Bob Perry

As the highlight of our June Event, Bob Perry will be summarizing a range of observations and views he has made regarding California native plants and their influence on his teaching and design work. He will present several of his design projects to illustrate the use of natives that achieve water conservation and sustainability. These examples will illustrate guidelines and principles that can be applied to residential as well as commercial scale landscapes. Preparing planting palettes, storing carbon, wildlife value and saving water are among the ideas to be discussed.

Landscape architect and Professor Emeritus from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, California, Bob Perry is a recognized expert in areas of native plant and water-conserving garden design. Among his accomplishments, Bob has written three color-illustrated books on landscape plants. His most recent work, Landscape Plants for California Gardens, is a comprehensive reference that includes more than 350 California native plants. Bob is also a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects based upon his academic career and long-standing commitment to resource conservation and sustainable landscaping. Bob has been a friend of CNPS for a long time and it is great to have him back here in Orange County!

Note! Bob will be selling his new book at the meeting and has agreed to sign them as well. The cost will be $65.00 + $6.50 tax. This represents a 25% discount from the retail $87.50, and also saves the $12.00 shipping and handling if ordered from Amazon. He will be accepting payment in check or cash only—no debit/credit cards.

 

JUNE 17—CHAPTER CELEBRATION

SILENT AUCTION, RAFFLE ITEMS NEEDED! Look at your book collection. Consider your favorite gift or grocery store or getaway retreat or restaurant or artist. Do you have an idea for a great item for Silent Auction or Raffle? If so, contact our Silent Auction chair, Kathy Glendinning, at ktglnd@netscape.net. She is organizing our prizes for the upcoming 4th Annual Celebration on Thursday, June 17, 2010. Your help and creativity will make the difference towards a fun and profitable event for the chapter! In addition to donations, Kathy can also use help organizing items, both before and during the evening.

Celia Kutcher needs your great photos/images of 2009-10 chapter activities— ooh-ahh plant shots from field trips, garden tour, people doing things at plant sales, field trips, outreach events, school gardens, etc.—to show at our end-of-year bash! The deadline for submission is May 21. Please ID event, date, people, plants, send as plain jpgs, 72 dpi, 1MB or less, to celia552@cox.net.


 

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President’s Message

It all starts with a bug.

The smallest creature in our garden is a gateway to appreciation of the world around us. Plants provide the essential backdrop of shelter, of food, and of life.

Recently our chapter has engaged in the usual spring flurry of public outreach. We have hosted field trips, we have manned booths at the Green Scene in Fullerton, the South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show and the Panhe Earth Day celebration at San Mateo Campgrounds, and soon, on May 8, we will stage a marvelous garden tour featuring native plant gardens, many of which have never been seen publicly.

Why do we keep plugging away? What is the purpose of bringing native plant gardening knowledge to the masses?

We do it for the wild creatures and we do it for the plants. We are a part of California, but they were here first, and they are beautiful and special and sometimes totally unique, and they deserve to live. When we cause native plant gardens to replace lawns and tropical plants, and when more people understand the heritage quality of native gardens, then there will be more children growing up surrounded by California beauty and more voices to help save our irreplaceable wild habitats.

Each of you can spread the word about our native plant garden tour to your friends and neighbors. The registration website is easy, and the flyer can be reprinted and passed out. If you have the time, you can help at a garden for a few hours, to make everyone’s experience at the garden tour smoother and more enjoyable, from gardeners and homeowners to designers and visitors.

Every little bit of information helps make native plant gardening more understandable and accessible to the general public. We look forward to your participation, and keep in mind that it all starts with the smallest miracles that happen in our native plant gardens.

—Laura Camp, President

THANK YOU TO VOLUNTEERS

A very sincere Thank You to the following volunteers, who assisted at April public outreach events:

At the Green Scene, Fullerton Arboretum on April 17-18: Jennifer Beatty, Laura Camp, Nancy Heuler, Dori Ito, Sarah Jayne, Brad Jenkins, Beth Karner, Celia Kutcher, Jennifer Mabley, Mary Olander, Dan Songster

At the Panhe Earth Day Celebration at San Mateo Campgrounds, April 19: Celia Kutcher

At the South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show on April 22-25: Jeanne Carter, Laura Camp, Debbie Evans, John Gossett, Nancy Heuler, Sarah Jayne, Brad Jenkins, Celia Kutcher, Jennifer Mabley, Torrey Neel, Dan Songster

 

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Native Gardeners’ Corner—Members’ Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

This column offers chapter members a chance to briefly share information on many things related to gardening with natives. The question for this issue was:

“What native plant is your favorite for habitat, and which birds, bugs, and/or butterflies does it attract?”

Greg Rubin-To me, Toyon is an "aviary on a stick" — I've seen Cedar Waxwings, Western Bluebirds, Scrub Jays, Thrashers, Chats, Mockingbirds, Grosbeaks, etc. feasting on mine.

For butterflies, I love Cleveland sage and Monardella. They are butterfly and hummingbird magnets. I've seen Monarchs, Painted Ladies, Sulfur, Admirals, Morning Cloaks, Fritillaries, and even Dogface on these.

Christiane Shannon-Right away I am thinking of at least four plants in my garden, but since you ask for one, I choose the California Sycamore, (Platanus racemosa). For many years, there has been lots of larvae of a kind of boring beetle in their bark. Regularly two species of woodpeckers come to feed two or three days in a row, then disappear. It is as if they sense that the moment is right for the feast... So many other birds species collect food or rest in them (we have four mature trees) that I could give you a long list of bird names. Once in a while I see a Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly fluttering around these trees. This species uses Platanus as a larval food-plant. Female Carpenter Bees regularly drill tunnels in a dead branch and deposit their eggs. One spring recently, a pair of Nuttall's Woodpecker raised two  broods of chicks.

Gene Ratcliffe-All of the Cleveland sage selections are great—they attract pollinators when in flower and seed eating birds later in the season. I also like Solidago (Golden Rod) and Aster chilensis (California Aster) because they bloom after the spring rush is over and provide landscape color and wildlife benefits in late summer and early fall.

Celia Kutcher-My "habitat" favorite is Toyon: it feeds a wide variety of nectar-eaters while flowering in early summer, & a wide variety of berry-eaters while in fruit in late fall & winter.

Barbara Eisenstein-My favorite butterfly attractor is Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia californica) because it attracts the elegant pipevine swallowtail butterfly. Though the plant is not native this far south, it attracted the butterflies at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. A reader of my blog reported that the pipevine swallowtail found her Dutchman's pipe in San Diego as well. (http://wildsuburbia.blogspot.com/2010/03/pipevine-swallowtail-at-rancho.html)

Dan Songster- I could opt for the Coast Live Oak with its huge attraction to so many insects and birds but will instead go with the often overlooked Isocoma menziesii-Coastal Goldenbush. A wonderful variety of native bees, flies, small butterflies, as well as beetles and spittlebugs use this plant to great advantage. This summer flowering native is a circus of life, and is great for children to view the fascinating insects at their eyelevel.

 

Email your responses to Dan Songster. Songster@cox.net and please remember to keep replies brief so we can include most of the responses!


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CONSERVATION REPORT

CNPS’ NEW POLICY: The Native Plants and Fire Safety Policy was adopted by the CNPS Chapter Council on March 13, 2010, after two-plus years of work in committee and much discussion and input from Council delegates and CNPS members statewide.

The Policy Statement: The California Native Plant Society opposes the unnecessary destruction of California’s native plant heritage for the purpose of wildfire fuel management. The California Native Plant Society supports protecting human lives, property and California’s native plants from poor fuel management practices. California’s superbly diverse native plants are its most valuable resource for erosion control and water conservation, and are vital to the long-term health of California.

The Policy Intent: To provide an authoritative policy that the California Native Plant Society and others can use to persuade legislators and regulators to approve fire-safe practices that maximize conservation of native plants and native plant ecosystems, while protecting citizens, firefighters and property.

Still to come: CNPS will develop specific guidelines for implementation that fits each of the many different fire environments and property development settings throughout the state. These will be supplemental to the policy and supported by current applicable fire science and botanical knowledge. The full policy, which includes definitions and references, can be downloaded at cnps.org/cnps/conservation/policies.php.


SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS: The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Trabuco Community Defense Project (TCDP) is available for public comment until May 14. [The TCDP is within the Trabuco Ranger District--a unit of the Cleveland National Forest (CNF)—that encompasses OC’s backyard Santa Ana Mts.] To obtain a copy of the EA and its maps, and to comment, contact Cindy Whelan (559) 297-0706 ext. 4931 or cwhelan@fs.fed.us.
The TCDP is part of a multi-phase hazardous fuel treatment project that the District is proposing in cooperation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE); four of the other phases link with the TCDP.

The TDCP’s 13 units, totaling 465 acres, are strung out around the boundaries of private inholdings—the Rancho Carrillo, Rancho Capistrano, Decker Canyon, and El Cariso communities—located near where Orange and Riverside counties meet along Ortega Highway. CNF’s Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) has, among its goals, community protection from wildfire and restoration of forest health. The TCDP is intended to fulfill these and other goals.

The TCDP communities are part of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) around and within the District—and the wildland is currently at high risk of catastrophic wildfire due to ongoing drought (despite this winter’s rains). The inholdings pre-exist CNF’s establishment; once working ranches, they became sites of homes built under codes that are now inadequate.


The TCDP is an example of what prompted CNPS’ new policy and what it will take to implement it:
—Built-in problems stemming from past land-use assumptions and the decisions that came from them, now requiring extensive, expensive, private retrofitting and continuing, expensive, public management.
—Changing the laws, policies and regulations that led to and enforced the decisions.
—Changing the assumptions that underlay the laws, policies and regulations.                —Celia Kutcher, Conservation Chair

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Nature Walks and Field Trips 2010

Richard Schilk, Field Trip Chair

Prepare for field trips: Fill your gas tank, wear appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes, bring water, snack or lunch (depending on the length of the trip), hat, and sunscreen. Other suggested equipment: hand lens, note pad, camera, and perhaps a walking stick.There are no fees for nature walks or field trips. Pre-registrate at http://www.occnps.org/. If you have questions, email Rich Schilk, birdguy@naturalista.net.

Rain within 24 hours cancels the event.

 

Saturday, May 15: Seasons of Caspers—Revisiting one of Orange County's Special Places
Caspers Park’s wide variety of habitats should be visited regularly to absorb all its special qualities. Plants come to maturity in succession so there's always something new to appreciate. This will be a casual, low-key field trip, suitable for families.

Meet at 10 AM in the small parking area just past the gate. Bring plenty of water and snacks. We’ll be out for about 3 hours.

Caspers Wilderness Park is located about 7 miles out Ortega Highway (Rt.74), on the left, just past Tree of Life Nursery. Parking is $3.


The Santa Ana Mountains Natural History Association (SAMNHA) in association with the Trabuco Ranger District offers a guided trip in the Santa Ana Mountains each month. On May 22, they are sponsoring a driving trip in the Santa Ana Mountains. Reservations are required and space is limited. For more information, contact Debra Clarke, (951) 736-1811 x3227, drclarke@fs.fed.us. SAMNHA also staffs the Maple Springs Visitor Center in Silverado Canyon on weekends,when volunteers are available. Stop by some time.





The following field trips are offered by the Natural Science Section, Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club:

Saturday, May 8: Fire Recovery Hike in the San Gabriel Mountains: location to be determined

Leaders: Cliff and Gabi McLean

Visit an area of the San Gabriel Mountains that was burned in the Station or Morris fires of September, 2009. We will look at resprouting of shrubs and trees, see what fire-following wildflowers show up, and look for the return of wildlife. This is a slow-paced nature hike with naturalists. Bring hand lens, field guides, binoculars and/or camera. Wear lug-soled shoes. Bring water and lunch.


Sunday, June 6, 9:00 AM: Plant ID Walk, Little Dalton Canyon, Pasadena

Leaders: Bob Muns, Liana Argento, Michael Hecht

Slow paced 3-4 hour walk to identify plants and talk about fire ecology in a fire recovered canyon. From Interstate 210 E, exit Lone Hill Ave. Go north on S. Lone Hill Ave, east on E. Foothill Blvd, north on N Valley Center Ave. Take the first left onto E Sierra Madre Ave, then the first right onto Glendora Mountain Road and the third left to the parking area. (See Thomas Guide, Los Angeles, p. 569). Bring water, lunch, and hand lens (optional $1 plant list and $1 hand lens.) Rain cancels.

 

The Jepson Herbarium at UC Berkeley offers an exciting series of workshops on botanical and ecological subjects. While many of these are held on the university campus, others take place in the field in a wide variety of locations. The list is too extensive to include here, but tempt yourself by going to the website at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/workshops and clicking on Registration information for 2010 workshops is available.

 

As other field trip opportunities arise, we will keep you informed at http://www.occnps.org//, chapter meetings, and through the newsletter. Many CNPS chapters post their newsletters at cnps.org. Be sure to consult these for listings of field trips when traveling in other parts of the state.

 

 

Upcoming events and workshops at Tree of Life Nursery—Visit www.californianativeplants.com for the latest information

 

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NATURE WRITINGS

 

Please send your nature writings to theagavin@sbcglobal.net. Visit Thea’s website at www.theagavin.com .

02-26-10

 

03-22-10

 

during the 1950’s

   as a young boy

     i could pull weeds for an hour

         and earn a quarter

i then could run & skip to the 

               corner market

   and for a dime

      buy a balsa wood glider

         trimmed in red

             with a weighted nose

                (some assembly required)

then with ease & grace

      that glider would

          swoop up

             dive down

                 do a tight 360

                    and crash to the ground

today i watch swallows

      under the little sycamore bridge

           ever graceful

                lots of swoops

                    tight banks

                        no crashes

and it doesn’t even cost me a dime

 

from the Nix Center on the way to Barbara’s Lake, under the 133/Laguna Canyon Road

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Orange County, CA  


Chuck Wright


Sycamores of Fremont Canyon

By Dawn Bonker

The metaphor of the sycamore is too good to be true.

Deep rains. New growth. Gutsy green fingerlings aim high. Living large.

Then disease hits. Not really a surprise. That’s the way it  happens here. Still, the shock.

A pause.

Then, a turn. New directions.

Branches grab fresh paths; grow right out of the troubled spots.

Again and again they shift, snag and dance until they are tangled, wild-haired ladies.
Strength in every knob, scar, u-turn, elbow and angle.

So true.

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