Baccharis pilularis in the setting sun. Photo by: Emily Sluiman Fall is in the air and the breeze, in the soil and on the calendar. And just in time, as always, comes the perfect precursor for winter, when our natural gardens grow ever quiet. Nights are much cooler, days are shorter and some plants are starting their annual dormancy while others are pushing out new growth… even flowers. Many, of course, have gone to seed. Winter rains are just around the corner. Current events, history, review, and notes Anticipation. We’re still asking the southern California question we pose every year – How ..read more

Plant natives, experience nature. It’s that simple. Saturday, November 11, 2023 9:00am – 3:00pm Come for all or just a part. Help us celebrate the best planting time for natives! Bring your own food, lunch, snacks, water etc. 10:00am Re-Wild Defined in Natural Gardens w/ Mike Evans 10:45am A Green Fire Aldo Leopold documentary screening in the barn 12:00 – 1:30pm Lunchtime Reading Circle Bring a book or a few titles to share with the group. Do you have a complete shelf of nature literature? John Muir, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopes, Craig Childs, Ed Abbey, Wallace Stegner, Wendell Berry ..read more

Lonicera subspicata var. denudata photo by Emily Sluiman Fall. Autumn. Second Summer. The much anticipated season following summer, preceding winter. A greatly appreciated relief from the hot dry months behind us, a wonderfully savored time of holidays, memories, family gatherings, and changes; in weather, leaf color, day length and the night sky, as we anticipate winter and its promise of spring. A season of hope. A look to the skies for the start of our rains. New birds arriving from distant lands, long migrations while others have left, flown south. The beginning of the horti ..read more

with Mike Evans Saturday, October 7, 2023 Starts at 9:30am Virtually every natural garden should have a swale in order to soak in rainwater, and what would be runoff, into the ground. Your swale should be an attractive and functional element in your garden and serve as an accent for the theme or narrative you are creating. This workshop will focus on the technique and the art behind building a functional swale in a natural garden. Tree of Life Nursery now carries the materials necessary for you to build your own functional swale in your natural garden! Come to this workshop to learn the why an ..read more

Summer sunset in the chaparral. August 2023. Photo Emily Sluiman We’re entering one of our two “tweener” months… we call May “pre-summer” and September  “post-summer.” Now we see fall ambling up the way towards us, with not a care in the world. And our “post summer” this year is really not so hard, because we got a strange rain in late August, better than any irrigation we could even imagine. Current events, history, review, and notes If moisture in the soil is like money in the bank, then we’re not broke this year like we are most times in September. Tropical Storm (TS) Hilary turned out ..read more

with Mike Evans Saturday, September 16, 2023 Starts at 9:30am Whether you have a whole yard as a blank slate, a small area, or simply a patio or pot, preparing your site right is essential to successful planting ..read more

Castilleja sp. amongst the pines. Mt. Piños July 2023. Photo Emily Sluiman Many of our natural gardens in southern California are still enjoying the benefits from our abundant rains last season, especially if they have already received a couple Deep Soaks and several Refreshing Sprinkles to date. And we, the gardeners ourselves? How are we faring? Well, we are enjoying a little break from so much physical involvement in our gardens, because during the hot season we take time to genuinely appreciate their strength and resilience, long day after long day.  Current events, history, review, a ..read more

Los Rios Park, San Juan Capistrano August 5, 2023 10:00am-4:00pm 5th Annual Festival of Butterflies! Featuring some familiar faces… Patty Roess – Your Patio or Small Space is Big Enough Hands-on demonstration on creating butterfly habitats in pots She will plant a combination of natives in pots and discuss how patio habitats work for butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial pollinators. Mike Evans – Plan, Prepare, Plant, and Enjoy Simplified methods and plant lists for creating year-round beauty for you and your butterflies Mike will talk about site preparation, including mounds, boulde ..read more

with Mike Evans June 29, 2023 Starts at 9:30am Join Mike Evans, Co-founder of Tree of Life Nursery, as he shares with you his tried and true methods for watering your native garden during the sweltering summer months. He will also provide tips and tricks he’s learned throughout his lifetime of work as a horticulturist ..read more

with Kevin Alison July 15, 2023 Starts at 10:30am Join Kevin Alison as he takes us on an exploration of the plants found on Catalina Island. Kevin is the Rare Plant Ecologist for the Catalina Island Conservancy. He blends his education in Horticulture, Natural Resource Management, Conservation, and Restoration to ensure the rare and endemic plants of Santa Catalina Island are in good shape and do not go extinct. As the acting botanist, Kevin tends to the unique flora of the island through monitoring and active management. If you’ve been coming to the nursery for some time, you may recognize hi ..read more