Ironwood Fall 2018

VOLUME 26, NUMBER 3

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the deal with

DUDLEYA page 4

FIRESCAPING

GARDEN CALENDAR

GARDEN PEOPLE

IRONWOOD Volume 26, Number 3 | Fall 2018 ISSN 1068-4026

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

EDITOR Flannery Hill DESIGNER Paula Schaefer

Looking Forward to Fall

Ironwood is published quarterly by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, a private nonprofit institution founded in 1926. The Garden fosters the conservation of California native plants through our gardens, education, and research, and serves as a role model of sustainable practices. The Garden is a member of the American Public Gardens Association, the American Alliance of Museums, the California Association of Museums, and the American Horticultural Society. ©2018 Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. All rights reserved.

Welcome to the fall Ironwood! As we gear up for our Fall Native Plant Sale, it seems like a good time to reflect on the successful summer we had here at the Garden. We wrapped up our Summer Sips series with a sold-out event, had local musicians perform for Free Senior Day, and at Trails ‘n’ Tails we had more than 300 dog visitors!

This fall brings more exciting events and news.

Mark your calendars for our Fall Native Plant Sale, starting on Saturday, September 29. The sale offers the largest selection of native plants on the Central Coast with 400 different varieties and more than 6,000 plants.

Part of our mission is to share the benefits of planting native plants in your home gardens, and we hope the fall sale will provide you with the opportunity to discover these plants and bring them home.

Garden members will have the opportunity to shop early by attending our Fall Native Plant Sale Preview Party on Friday, September 28. October will be filled with plant sale related events, including a Hands-on Drip Irrigation Workshop, Gardening with the Experts classes, and our Dara Emery Memorial Lecture with Randy Baldwin, manager and co-owner of San Marcos Growers.

Thank you for In November, we will celebrate Beatrix Farrand, a renowned landscape archibeing a member tect who designed many of the elements of our Garden. Farrand was a founding of the Garden. member – and the only woman – of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

We will screen the new documentary film The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand by Karyl Evans. Join us for a tours through the Garden, highlighting historic features, several film screenings with the filmmaker, and panel discussion with area landscape architects and historians on Sunday, November 11.

Lastly, I’m pleased to introduce Scot Pipkin as the Garden’s new Director of Education & Engagement. Scot most recently served as Director of Community Education at Audubon New Mexico in Santa Fe, and previously as Public Access Manager at the Tejon Ranch Conservancy.

Thank you for being a member of the Garden. To show our appreciation, we’re offering new wellness classes this fall - including Yoga in the Garden - that are free to you, our members! Keep a lookout for these wellness classes in the Garden calendar.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Road Santa Barbara, CA 93105 Tel (805) 682-4726 sbbg.org GARDEN HOURS Mar – Oct: Daily 9am – 6pm Nov – Feb: Daily 9am – 5pm REGISTRATION Ext. 102 Registrar is available: M – F / 9am – 4pm GARDEN SHOP Ext. 112 Hours: Mar – Oct, Daily 9am – 6pm Nov – Feb, Daily 9am – 5pm GARDEN NURSERY Ext. 127 Selling California native plants to the public with no admission fee.

Hours: Mar – Oct, Daily 9am – 6pm Nov – Feb, Daily 9am – 5pm DEVELOPMENT Ext. 133 EDUCATION Ext. 160 FACILITY RENTAL Ext. 103 MEMBERSHIP Ext. 110 VOLUNTEER OFFICE Ext. 119 BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIR Peter Schuyler VICE-CHAIR Tom Craveiro SECRETARY John Parke TREASURER Edward Roach Samantha Davis Lou Greer Frost Gil Garcia Elaine Gibson Sarah Berkus Gower Valerie Hoffman William Murdoch Gerry Rubin Kathy Scroggs Jesse Smith Susan Spector Susan Van Atta

See you in the Garden,

FOLLOW THE GARDEN! FACEBOOK.COM/SBGARDEN YOUTUBE.COM/SBBGORG @SANTABARBARABOTANICGARDEN

Steve Windhager, Ph.D. Executive Director

On the Cover: Dudleya cymosa ssp. pumila

by Ken Vanderhoff

TH E GAR D E N I S P LEAS E D to WE LC O M E N EW STAF F Scot Pipkin

Director of Education & Engagement The Garden is pleased to welcome Scot Pipkin as its new Director of Education and Engagement. Pipkin brings a background in landscape architecture and ethnobotany to the Garden. Pipkin holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Arizona. His passion for conservation and education began while taking a course in California plant ecology and biogeography as an undergraduate at UCLA. He is particularly interested in understanding ways to support biodiverse communities through the use of California native plants.

“The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden helps people forge intellectual and emotional connections to native plants,” said Pipkin. “My hope is to build a connection between people of all ages to the native plants of California and enable everyone to participate in their conservation.

I hope to encourage a lifelong interest in plant science and ecology by fostering an appreciation and understanding of the natural world.”

Prior to joining the Garden, Pipkin served as the Director of Community Education at Audubon New Mexico in Santa Fe, and as a Public Access Manager at the Tejon Ranch Conservancy in Lebec, California.

As Director of Education & Engagement, Pipkin will oversee the Garden’s education program. From volunteer-guided tours for school children, gardeners sharing expertise on native plants, opportunities for university students to work side-by-side with Garden researchers, field trips to the Channel Islands, and citizen science projects, the Garden’s education program provides many opportunities for lifelong learning.

Calvin Davison

Kristen Nordstjerne Klitgaard

A recent graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara and Sonoma County native, Calvin Davison is assisting Herbarium scientists cataloging plant specimens collected in Los Padres National Forest areas recovering from fire.

His interests in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden revolve around working within an atmosphere of professional botanists, “I am really excited to learn more about botany and prepare myself for graduate school while working at an amazing botanic garden!”

When not in the lab, Calvin spends his time hiking and camping, especially around Figueroa Mountain, and is fascinated by the Sugar Pine, Pinus Lambertiana, as it “has such a weirdly shaped canopy and its cones are so long. It is super cool!”

His favorite area of the Garden is the “streambed full of redwood trees!”

A rising third year student at University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in Biology in the College of Creative Studies, and recipient of the 2018 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Kristen joined the Garden Herbarium to support a grant exploring the botanically understudied areas of the Los Padres National Forest.

Drawn to the Garden after taking a class taught by Matt Guilliams, Ph.D. and Kristen Lehman, Ph.D. at UCSB called California Flora and Vegetation, Kristen’s favorite section of the Garden is the Redwoods. In her words, “when I walk in there my mind and heartbeat both just slow.”

Outside of the Garden, Kristen works under Ph.D. candidate Kristen Peach at the UCSB Mazer Lab “to understand how ontogenetic pigment variation in Clarkia unguiculata affects things like pollinator visitation and pollen viability.” She also loves to hike and generally spend time in nature.

Herbarium Curatorial Assistant

Herbarium Curatorial Assistant

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The Deal with

Dudleya

By Sonia Fernandez, Contributing Writer

If you have a California native- or drought-tolerant garden, chances research will unlock a small part of are you have a Dudleya or two (or the large puzzle that is biodiversity, more) in the mix. Known also which is critical to life on the planet. as “stonecrop,” or “live-forever,” these succulents form rosettes of leaves, from which emerge stalks of flowers in a variety of shapes and colors that range from chalky gray and white to bright green with hints of blue, to jewel-toned yellows and pinks. Gardeners love them for their hardiness to California’s arid climate and assortment of soils, and they can do as well in a pot as they can on the side of the road — or in some cases, a rocky outcropping. Dudleyas have even The knowledge gained in Dudleya

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become so popular that they have been the targets of hunters and poachers seeking to bring a bit of native California into their homes and gardens.

“It’s just a beautiful, conspicuous plant,” said Matt Guilliams, the Garden’s Ken and Shirley Tucker Plant Systematist and herbarium curator. “Some of them can be bigger around than a dinner platter, and the flowers that they send off are really beautiful and interesting, so people are naturally drawn to them.” Formerly believed to be closely-related to similar-looking succulents in the genus Echeveria, dudleyas have since won their own distinction in the plant world. As a California-specific plant, they are abundant and particularly diverse from Central California to northwestern

Baja California, and even out to the Channel Islands, which have their own distinct varieties of the fleshy perennials.

It’s no surprise, then, given the diverse nature of these plants, that the Garden jumped on the chance to assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Parks Service when the agencies put out separate calls for help in identifying and classifying two particular species of Dudleya using modern genetic tools? One project aims to protect and preserve a unique and special part of California’s native plant biodiversity; the other seeks to uncover a longstanding mystery in the Dudleya world.

Dudleya verityi: RACE TO RESTORATION Unless you live, work or play near Point Mugu in Ventura County, it’s possible you have never seen Dudleya verityi in its natural habitat. Evolving over millennia to grow on volcanic cliffs in the area, the plant, with its waxy, pointed gray green leaves, is found only on the Ventura County edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, sharing its space with coastal sage scrub plants. This rare plant is listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. “A cool thing about Dudleya verityi is that it is a plant that grows on lichens,” Guilliams said. “It relies on another organism to create a suitable place on the cliff for its little dust-like seeds to land and then grow a new plant.” Tiny plants such as lichen and moss, he continued, serve like little “nests,” providing shelter and moisture for the minuscule seeds as they establish and grow in the volcanic soil and rocky outcroppings, where they tend to thrive.

Photo opposite: Dudleya verityi (by J. Merek) Photos top left to right: blooms of Dudleya verityi (by S. McCabe), D. verityi in situ (by T. Sagar) and D. verityi in lichen (by T. Sagar)

This highly specialized plant — also known as “Verity’s liveforever”— suffered near annihilation in 2013 during the Springs Fire, a blaze that burned about 24,000 acres of brushland in Ventura County, thanks to low humidity and high winds.

“The fire burned the entire range of the species,” said Mark Elvin, a plant biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who works extensively with D. verityi. “We lost an estimated 99 percent of the individuals.” In response, Elvin and colleagues assembled a team of experts —members from academia and research partners including the Garden — to formulate a plan to bring D. verityi back from the brink. As the conservationists and plant biologists consider possible solutions, they also have to consider learning to grow the slow-growing lichen before they can restore the succulent.

“I believe that’s going to be critical for the survival and recovery of the species,” Elvin said.

“That’s something that’s going to be very difficult.”

Another, less obvious but no less significant problem is that biologists have begun to suspect that some of the remaining D. verityi has been interacting and hybridizing with another, more common species of Dudleya, known commonly as “lanceleaf liveforever.”

“It appears there’s a gradient between D. verityi and another species, D. lanceolata, and we weren’t sure exactly where the boundaries of Dudleya verityi were,” Elvin said.

The combination of D. verityi’s threatened status and its potential hybridization with D. lanceolata raises the question: Is D. verityi genetically distinct enough to merit special measures with regard to

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management, protection, and propagation, and if so, what would these measures be?

Dudleya cymosa: THE ZELIG OF THE PLANT WORLD

Photos this page left to right: (by K. Vanderhoff) Matt Guilliams, Ph.D. with Kristen Lehman, Ph.D. on a research trip at Modjeska Peak in the Santa Ana mountains and Dudleya cymosa ssp. pumila

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Study the genus’ evolutionary tree and it won’t take long before you notice something odd: Dudleya cymosa makes several appearances in different places. Like that Woody Allen character who manages to inexplicably show up in a variety of situations, members of the D. cymosa complex, with its distinctive yellow-pink and sometimes orange flowers, pops up as part of one group or another, suggesting that recognizing D. cymosa and its many subspecies as distinct taxa might be the way to go.

“They might not be each other’s closest relatives,” Guilliams said, adding that previous work in classifying the Dudleya family tree in general “was fairly unresolved in terms of who is related to whom.”

“People have historically used all kinds of different evidence for making decisions about how to name and classify living things,” Guilliams said, of the work that goes into deciding how plants — and organisms in general — are related. Classifications may include as evidence shared morphology, shared geographical distributions, shared ecologies, the more aspects that can be lined up, the stronger the argument that they are related. But D. cymosa’s appearance in various distinct branches of the family tree has left plant scientists scratching their heads.

D. cymosa’s ubiquitousness in the Dudleya evolutionary tree also has led to questions in terms of management of the plant, which is widely distributed in California.

“There are two subspecies that are well-characterized and everyone agrees are plants that are worthy of protection, and those are already federally listed as threatened,” Guilliams said. “And then there are two populations in the Santa Monica Mountains and one in the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County that are potentially new to science.” The newly discovered taxon may also be rare and in need of protection, but as scattered as D. cymosa’s general classification is, some sorting is needed to create a clearer picture.

ENTER GENETICS For the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, which has had a relationship with the dudleyas for all of the 92 years of the Garden’s existence, the process is probably akin to sorting through old family photos and creating a family tree…a family with about 40 species and a history that spans millennia.

In a process taking many months, Guilliams and colleagues have been collecting D. verityi and neighboring D. lanceolata, as well as several of the cymosa subspecies in question. The plant tissue is pressed and dried, and a fresh tissue from the same plant is immediately placed in desiccant to preserve the DNA. The dried tissue is used for DNA extraction, a process that takes place in a laboratory at the Garden’s Pritzlaff Conservation Center, under

the care of the Garden’s conservation geneticist Kristen Lehman, Ph.D. “Dudleya’s attractive and arid-adapted succulent leaves makes it more difficult to work with in the lab,” said Lehman. “You have to use really salty washes and special enzymes to get enough high-quality DNA for our genetic work.”

Extraction is only the start of the process. We then take small fragments of the DNA, and make millions of copies of each of these small pieces of DNA using PCR. “We’re using a technique called restriction site-associated DNA sequencing,” Guilliams explained. “We take an enzyme that recognizes certain parts of the genetic code and makes cuts in the DNA.” “It’s like using a photocopier to make many copies of random pages of a book so that we can begin to get an understanding of the story from the entire genome from all of the individuals in a population that we have sampled,” said Lehman.

“This is especially important for the D. verityi, where we want to understand how much of the genome is being shared between this rare species, and the common lanceolate, which is appears to be hybridizing with.”

The DNA is chopped into multitudes of little sections and then prepared for a process that sequences about a hundred base pairs — those repetitive sequences of A-C-G-T in various combinations — next to every cut site.

“Basically it’s a way of getting a little bit of sequence data from the entire genome,” Guilliams said. “It’s an amazing technique.”

Once complete, the samples will be sent off to University of California, Riverside, for

sequencing, which will result in a close scan of the plants’ genomes. Lab work for D. verityi is already underway. What is sent out in the form of DNA samples will return in the form of hundreds of thousands of megabytes of data per sample, which the scientists will then use to determine the genetic uniqueness of D. verityi and the various subspecies of D. cymosa. Those assessments in turn, will allow the National Parks Service and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to tailor management and protection plans for the dudleyas.

According to Fish and Wildlife’s Mark Elvin, some of the measures under consideration for D. verityi include securing individuals from the remaining survivors and initiating captive propagation, and conducting active management for the individuals in the wild, as well as habitat restoration and seed banking. Management for the D. cymosa plants are also under consideration, depending on the results from genetic sequencing.

For the Garden, the knowledge gained will unlock a small part of the large puzzle that is biodiversity, which is critical to life on the planet.

“You’ve probably interacted with 30 or 40 different species of plants just today,” Guilliams said, “everything from the clothes that you wear to the food that you ate — all of those things were derived from plant products; they’re really the basis of the food chain. This complex web of life that supports us and provides us with services has at their very base plants and microbial life.

And we have to protect all of it.”

Photos this page left to right: (by K. Vanderhoff) blooms of Dudleya cymosa ssp. ovatifolia, Dudleya cymosa ssp. pumila

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C. BORNSTEIN

Firescaping with California Native Plants Q&A with Betsy Collins, Director of Horticulture What are the most important things residents can do to protect their gardens from fires and help minimize damage?

The principles of firescaping are the same with native as with any plants. The first is to create a relatively fire resistant landscape as a 30 foot buffer around structures. Residents should minimize the planting of large shrubs and trees – especially pines, palms and junipers – in this zone. Low groundcovers, drought-tolerant lawns, patios and widely spaced small shrubs are good choices. Any vegetation near a structure should be well irrigated. Even natives and other drought tolerant plants will be more fire resistant if watered.

A second principle is to maintain space – both horizontally and vertically – between plants. The idea is to eliminate fuel ladders: even if one plant catches fire, it will be less likely to catch its neighbor on fire. In high fire zones, the use of non-flammable inorganic mulches, such as gravel, will help reduce the spread of fires. In general placing hardscape such as walkways, patios near the house is beneficial.

What are your favorite drought-tolerant plants and why?

My favorite drought-tolerant plants are all native of course. The beautiful blue-flowered Ceanothus are classic natives: Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman, C. ‘Concha’ and C. ‘Yankee Point’ are all wonderful garden plants. The sculptural beauty of the mahogany-barked manzanitas are also favorites: Arctostaphylos ‘Howard McMinn, and A. Dr. Hurd being good selections. Many of the shrubby sages (Salvia) can’t be overlooked: S. ‘Allen Chickering’, S. Winnifred Gilman, and S. ‘Bee’s Bliss’ are strong performers. Large bunchgrasses such as Canyon Prince giant rye (Elymus ‘Canyon Prince’), perennials such as hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), red-flowered buckwheat (Eriogonum grande ssp. rubescens), and the bright and cheerful California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) would also be on my list. And I could go on….

What are your favorite fire-retardant plants?

There are natives that can function as fire-retardants. These tend to plants that can be kept well-watered, are low and of course beautiful. Seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), island pink common yarrow (Achillea ‘Island Pink’) and silver carpet beach aster (Corethrogyne ‘Silver Carpet’) all form lovely evergreen carpets. Many think of succulents as the best fire resistant plants and there are several good natives to choose from. The live-forevers (Dudleya brittonii, Dudleya hassei) are good choices as is the more difficult to find Shaw’s agave (Agave shawii).

Do you have any tips for drought tolerant and fire-safe landscaping?

Keep established drought-tolerant landscapes well-hydrated with periodic deep soakings. A drought-stressed plant is both more flammable and more likely to be killed by the heat of a fire. Deep watering conserves our precious water resources by encouraging trees and shrubs to send roots deep into the soil where the moisture lasts longer.

Fall NATIVE PLANT SALE Largest selection on the central coast!

Sale features over 400 species and varieties of plants with experts available to help you choose. Free admission to shop.

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9am – 6pm DAILY MEMBER DISCOUNT

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Preview Party!

FRIDAY, SEP 28 4­– 6:30pm Don't miss this special shopping opportunity including music, food, & expert advice.

Reserve your ticket at

sbbg.org

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CALENDAR

ADDITIONAL CLASSES MAY BE ADDED Find up-to-date information and register at sbbg.org/classes-events or call (805) 682-4726, ext. 102

THE SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN

Free docent tours: every Saturday/Sunday 11am & 2pm, Mondays 2pm / Discovery stations: Saturdays 10:30am–1:30pm, Sundays 1–3pm Pricing: member / non-member / volunteer

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Herbal Medicine of Riparian Plants

Learn the medicinal and edible uses of herbs in the riparian plant community while on a Garden walk with herbalist Emily Sanders. 10am-12pm. $25/$35/$15 SEPT

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Gardening Under the Oaks

The Garden’s head horticulturist and certified arborist Bruce Reed leads a discussion on the dos and don’ts of gardening alongside the Central Coast’s premier shade tree. 1-5pm. $30/$45/$20 M. GEE

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Botanic Expressions: Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment (SCAPE) Exhibition

With a mission to help protect open space and to increase public awareness of environmental and conservation issues, SCAPE brings a show and sale to benefit the Garden. In the Courtyard and Library. 9am-6pm. Free Morning Bird Walk

Expert naturalist Rebecca Coulter leads a morning group in watching and listening for the diverse and beautiful birds that make the meadow, woodlands, and creek side their home. 8:30am-10am. $10/$15/$5 Yoga in the Garden

Join Michelle Rousseau for an empowering all-levels yoga class with an unforgettable view from the patio of the Pritzlaff Conservation Center. 5:15-6:15pm Free for members/$10 nonmembers (registration required) California’s Iconic Flora Book Signing and Lecture

Join Matt Ritter, botany professor and author of the new book California Plants, for a book signing and visual tour and celebration of California’s iconic native flora. A richly illustrated field guide to CA’s spectacular native plants, the book also seeks to raise awareness of the unique beauty that’s at risk. 7-8pm Free

California Naturalist Certification Course

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F. LAVOIPIERRE

5, 12 The Garden offers this UC extension certificate 19, 26 program, intended to foster a committed corps of volunteer naturalists and citizen scientists trained and ready to OCT 3, 10 take an active role in local natural resource conservation, 17, 24 education, and restoration. Each class and field trip NOV features local expert instructors. 5 Saturday field trips.

7, 14 $360 Pruning Natives De-Mystified Special

Take some of the mystery out of pruning and maintaining your natives with this informative workshop led by Garden horticulturist, Bruce Reed. 10am-12pm. $5/$35/$15 Teahouse Open

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Visitors and members are invited to experience our ShinKanAn Teahouse and Garden and witness the rich traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony. 11am-1pm. Free with Garden admission Meditation with Sound

Experience soothing meditation with sound in the beautiful Pritzlaff Conservation Center Art Gallery through the vibrations of various instruments such as Tibetan and Crystal singing bowls, voices, bells and rattles. 5-6:15pm. $10/$15

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Designing with Water Wise Natives

California’s native plants offer nearly limitless uses in your garden to creating wildlife-attracting, beautiful landscapes in all garden styles. Award-winning landscape architect Billy Goodnick shares the steps professional designers use for beautiful, useful, and sustainable gardens. 9am-12pm. $30/$45/$20 Specialty Garden Tour: Shaping Santa Barbara

Learn about the forces that created our local Santa Barbara landscape on this geologic walk through the Garden. 4-5pm. Free with Garden admission (registration required)

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CALENDAR

THE SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN

Free docent tours: every Saturday/Sunday 11am & 2pm, Mondays 2pm / Discovery stations: Saturdays 10:30am–1:30pm, Sundays 1–3pm

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Fry’s Harbor: Santa Cruz Island Day Trip

Join us for a very special trip to Fry’s Harbor on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island. Explore the rocky beach that was the site of the rock quarry used to build the breakwater in the Santa Barbara Harbor. 9am-6pm. $110/$140 Fall Native Plant Sale Preview Party

Kickoff the fall planting season at this exclusive event.

Get the first pick of an extensive array of native plants in a relaxed shopping environment complete with expert advice, appetizers, wine/beverages, and music. 4-6:30pm. $40/$50

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Teahouse Open

See September 8. 11am-1pm. Free with Garden admission Specialty Garden Tour: ShinKanAn Teahouse

The Garden’s tea house is a unique Japanese tea garden interpreted with native California plants. Learn about this special building, its remarkable garden, and the Japanese “Way of Tea”, or chado, that is practiced here. 2-2:45pm.

Free with Garden admission (registration required) Dara Emery Memorial Lecture: Randy Baldwin

Join us for a talk with one of the premiere nurserymen on the South Coast, Randy Baldwin, manager and co-owner of San Marcos Growers. Randy will speak on his extensive experience growing California native plants. For nearly three decades San Marcos Growers has kept a reliable and diverse selection of natives, a great service to our cause.

3-5pm. $30

Fall Native Plant Sale

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Natural History of the Channel Islands

Director of Conservation & Research, Denise Knapp, Ph.D. presents an overview of the natural history of the Channel Islands – the ‘Galapagos of California.’

10am-12pm. $20/$30/$15

Browse the best selection of native plants on the Central Coast. Sale features over 400 species and varieties of plants with experts available to help you choose. Free admission to shop daily 9am-6pm.

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Santa Rosa Island Day Trip

Fly out to Santa Rosa on a day trip to discover some of the unique Channel Islands plants, including a number that are restricted to the island. 9am-4pm. $450/$500

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Volunteer Orientation

Become a Garden volunteer and support our conservation efforts. Come to the Volunteer Cottage to learn about the diverse opportunities and the simple steps to get started; includes a behind-the-scenes tour of our facilities.

5pm-6:30pm. Free

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Garden Planning with the Experts

Join one of the Garden’s native plant experts on a tour of the Water Wise Home Garden for inspiration, and then head to the Garden Grower’s Nursery for guidance on making the best plant choices for your garden. 10am-12pm. $5/$15/$10

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Hands-On Drip Irrigation Workshop

Water wisely by tuning into your garden’s needs and tuning up your irrigation system! Learn how to start from scratch, make repairs or retrofit your drip irrigation system in this hands-on workshop. 1-3pm. Free (registration required) Meditation with Sound

See September 9. 5-6:15pm. $10/$15 San Miguel Island Day Trip

For an adventure that you will not forget, join island expert Steve Junak for a day trip to San Miguel Island.

Explore the expanses of our westernmost Channel Island and learn about the special plants that grow there.

10:30am-4:30pm. $495/$525

ADDITIONAL CLASSES MAY BE ADDED Find up-to-date information and register at sbbg.org/classes-events or call (805) 682-4726, ext. 102 Pricing: member / non-member / volunteer

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Yoga in the Garden

See description for September 19. 5:15-6:15pm. Free for members/$10 nonmembers (registration required)

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Morning Bird Walk

See September 19. 8:30am-10am. $10/$15/$5 Free Senior Day

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Welch-Ryce Haider invites visitors 60 and better to visit the Garden as their guests. Seniors pay no admission today and can enjoy photographic portraits. For groups of 10 and larger, please make a reservation by calling (805) 682-4726, ext. 161.

OCT

Identify Plants Using the Jepson Manual

Pollinator Friendly Gardening

Held at Unity Santa Barbara, the Beekeepers Guild of Santa Barbara offers this free public event. Learn how to support our pollinators from the ground up to create useful landscapes as well as beautiful sanctuaries for all of our pollinators. Visit beeguildsb.org for information.

7-8pm. Free J. FOSTER

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19, 26 Join botanist Mary Carroll for this hands-on introduction to the basic terminology used in plant identification and NOV 2, 9, how to use these terms to demystify the Jepson Manual, 16 a technical guide that includes all the native plants in California. 1-3pm. $85/$100/$70

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Good Fungi, Happy Roots, Healthy Natives

Join author, Robert Kourik, as he discusses the beneficial fungi that promote the healthiest roots of native and ornamental plants. Discover the relationships between beneficial fungi and plants, how to promote it, how it increases yields and whether or not purchased inoculates are needed. 2-3:30pm. $30/$45 Willows Anchorage Day Trip

The Garden invites you to join us on a special day trip to Willows Anchorage on the south side of Santa Cruz Island. Participants will explore one of the largest canyons on the island along with a secluded beach and pristine coastal slopes with island expert Steve Junak. 8am-5:30pm. $135/$160. This trip has a waitlist.

Garden Planning with the Experts

See October 6. 10am-12pm. $5/$15/$10

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Herbal Medicine of Native Trees

Join local herbalist Emily Sanders and learn about medicinal uses of native trees. 10am-12pm. $25/$35 Fall Family Day

A special day for kids and their families to encourage everyone to spend more time outdoors. Lots of fun activities for the whole family. Sponsored by Montecito Bank & Trust. 10am-3pm. Free admission for kids age 12 and under.

Volunteer Orientation

See October 1. 5pm-6:30pm. Free Morning Bird Walk

See September 19. 8:30am-10am. $10/$15/$5 Teahouse Open

See September 8. 11am-1pm. Free with Garden admission Dinner: The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand

Enjoy dinner with the film's director, Karyl Evans. Visit sbbg.org for more information.

Film Screening: The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand

Landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (1872—1959) designed over 200 landscape commissions over 50 years. This 40 minute documentary film features her most celebrated works. Two film screenings: 10am followed by a Garden walk and 1pm followed by a panel discussion with local landscape architects. Free (registration required)

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CALENDAR

ADDITIONAL CLASSES MAY BE ADDED Find up-to-date information and register at sbbg.org/classes-events or call (805) 682-4726, ext. 102

THE SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN

Free docent tours: every Saturday/Sunday 11am & 2pm, Mondays 2pm / Discovery stations: Saturdays 10:30am–1:30pm, Sundays 1–3pm Pricing: member / non-member / volunteer

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experiences with the passing seasons as her daughter, Persephone descends to Hades in the fall and returns in the spring. 9am-5pm. Free with Garden admission

Graywater 101

Join us for an overview of the concepts, design, and best practices for laundry to landscape and shower to flower graywater systems. Taught by Sweetwater Collaborative and sponsored in part by WaterWise City of Santa Barbara. 6-7:30pm. $10 per person/$15 per couple

DEC

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Bringing the Wild Inside

Learn the basics of flower arrangement and try out different native foliage to create your own floral arrangements to take home just in time for Thanksgiving. 1-4pm. $5/$40/$25

DEC

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Yoga in the Garden

See September 19 for description. 3:30-4:30pm Free for members/$10 nonmembers (registration required)

DEC

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Secret Life of Flowers Exhibition

Don’t miss the last day of Cynthia James’ exhibition in the Pritzlaff Conservation Center Gallery. 9am-5pm. Free with Garden admission

DEC

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Volunteer Orientation

See October 1. 5pm-6:30pm. Free

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See September 8. 11am-1pm. Free with Garden admission Free Senior Day

Welch-Ryce Haider invites visitors 60 and better to visit the Garden as their guests. Seniors pay no admission today and can enjoy a holiday wreath making class. For groups of 10 and larger, please make a reservation by calling (805) 682-4726, ext. 161.

Garden Closed

Happy Holidays!

SAVE TH E DATE

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Teahouse Open

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Get your hands dirty in the Nursery with Plant Propagation Manager, Heather Wehnau, as she provides a hands-on workshop on growing native plants from seed.

1-4pm. $5/$45/$30

Parma Park: Geology after the Fire

D. DEWIRE

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Grow Your Own: Seeds to Soil

Explore several miles of the Park’s trail system, while enjoying the contrasting ocean vistas and the stark mountains, recently burned bare by the devastating Thomas Fire. See how the land has responded to the fire, from the rocks and soils, to the fire-following plants that have appeared.

9am-12pm. $40/$60

D EC E M B E R DEC

Reason for the Season: Opening Reception

Meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments. 2-4pm. Free (registration required)

R. WRIGHT

NOV

Morning Bird Walk

Grow Your Own: Native Plants from Cuttings

Learn how to grow California native plants from cuttings in this hands-on workshop with guidelines for California natives. 1-4pm. $5/$45/$30

See September 19. 8:30am-10am. $10/$15/$5 Gallery Exhibition: The Reason for the Seasons

To register for classes and for up-to-date information visit sbbg.org/classes-events or call (805) 682-4726, ext. 102.

The striking watercolor paintings and collages by local artist Lenore Tolegian Hughes express the cycles of jubilation and mourning that, according to ancient Greek mythology, Demeter, goddess of agriculture and harvest,

Sign up for Garden Gazette, the Garden’s biweekly e-newsletter, at sbbg.org and be the first to know about additional classes, trips, and events.

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BEATRIX FARRAND Garden plans a weekend celebration featuring the renowned landscape architect and other landscape architects of the Garden

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11 • 10am film screening followed by a Garden walk • 1pm film screening followed by a panel discussion with local landscape architects Film screening events are free — registration required at sbbg.org.

Beatrix Farrand began practicing landscape architecture in 1895 in New York City. Within three years she was so prominent in her field that she was chosen the only woman among the founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

She was deeply involved in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden's design from 1938 – 1950. The Garden greatly benefited from her talents.

COURTESY SBBGPHOTOS.ORG

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Ticketed dinner with film director Karyl Evans. Her 40 minute documentary film, The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand, features Farrand's most celebrated works.

Dinner time & price to be determined

CALL FOR ENTRIES GARDEN CASITAS EXHIBITION On display at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden July 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019 In 2019, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden will host Garden Casitas, its first juried exhibition of tiny playhouses. Over 30,000 visitors including families from throughout the tri-counties area are expected to enjoy the exhibition.

Promote your company, have some fun, compete for honors and support Santa Barbara’s “92-years young” iconic botanic garden. Architects, contractors, design-build teams, hobbyists, artists, and students are all encouraged to submit playhouse designs.

LEARN MORE AND ENTER AT

sbbg.org/gardencasitas

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GARDEN People

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PHOTOS OPPOSITE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Students in Kristen Lehman, Ph.D. and Matt Guilliams, Ph.D.’s California Flora and Vegetation class at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) at the Garden.

Photo by K. Klitgaard

Heather Schneider riding Willy the mule on a recent research trip in the Los Padres National Forest.

Photo by H. Schneider

Steve Windhager, Ph.D. shares herbarium specimens with Garden members during Member Appreciation Month.

Photo by F. Hill

Garden Members take a relaxing yoga class on the patio at the Pritzlaff Conservation Center during Member Appreciation Month.

Photo by F. Hill

UCSB California Flora and Vegetation class students learning in Mission Creek.

Photo by K. Klitgaard

Biologist Adam Searcy presses plants in the Los Padres National Forest.

Photo: H. Schneider

PHOTOS THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Kathy Castaneda, Manager of Volunteer Programs, Flannery Hill, Marketing & Membership Manager, and Sammy Davis, Garden Trustee on the Pritzlaff Conservation Center patio for Tequila Sunset.

Photo: S. Bloodworth

Trails ‘n’ Tails Doggie Look-alike Contest winners, Garden member Susan Clark and Simone.

Photo: R. Wright

Hayden Gower, Garden Trustee Sarah Berkus Gower, Marisa Parker, and Chris Parker at Tequila Sunset.

Photo by S. Bloodworth

Heather Schneider, Ph.D., Josuá Campos, and Jorge Simancas in Baja, California.

Photo by S. Termondt

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARTISTS PAINTING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Botanic Impressions Benefitting the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Saturday, September 15, 2018 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Botanic Garden Meadow - Mirella Z. Olsen

Blue Bells - Carol Talley

Spring - Carrie Givens

Featuring fine art of the beautiful California native plants of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden from more than 150 SCAPE artists.

Juried by John Iwerks, Oak Group Artist.

40% of the proceeds benefit the Garden.

For more information visit www.s-c-a-p-e.org

Saving the Environment One Painting at a Time

Peter in his Garden - Cezanne Totton

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The Reason for the Seasons Lenore Tolegian Hughes Exhibition Pritzlaff Conservation Center Gallery, 9am – 5pm

The watercolor paintings and collages by local artist Lenore Tolegian Hughes express the cycles of jubilation and mourning that, according to ancient Greek mythology, Demeter, goddess of agriculture and harvest, experiences with the passing seasons as her daughter, Persephone descends to Hades in the fall and returns in the spring. Free with Garden admission.

Opening Reception Thursday, December 6, 2 – 4pm Pritzlaff Conservation Center Free, registration required at sbbg.org

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www.sbbg.org

M. MOUSE

Trying on the Sorcerer’s Hat

By Bruce Reed, Horticulturist

Garden Staff Attends American Public Gardens Association Conference

R. WRIGHT

Irresistibly close, the annual conference of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) was held in Los Angeles for the first time in many years. The Garden did not resist and, thanks to a generous gift from the Santa Barbara Foundation, sent a large delegation in early June. While many large gardens in Southern California hosted day events for the conference, the main host was Disneyland and the gathering of over 900 people was held at their impressive convention center. Disney’s guest-service ethic and jaw-dropping displays (both built and green) were therefore a focus. Early morning tours (5am!) were offered of both of Disney’s parks giving a rare glimpse of them empty of visitors. Staff, such as their arborists or those in charge of décor (garlands, umbrellas, store fronts, oh my!), went along, answering questions no one even thought to ask. Their attention to detail was awesome and harkened back to the Hollywood studio practices of the 1940s.

Several of the Garden staff presented talks or workshops, including Barbara Backlund’s panel on gardens preparing for disasters and Betsy Collins’s panel on water saving strategies for large gardens. Other sessions of note included the benefits of having a retail center, led by staff of the Filoli Gardens and Antoniadis Consulting, (who helped us with our Garden Shop renovation a decade ago); inspiring the next generation to careers

This Easter, my mother and I decided to visit the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden after Dennis Allen suggested we look at the photovoltaic solar roof installed at the Pritzlaff Conservation Center. As we walked through the front gates wildflowers, fully in bloom, captivated my attention.

Speckling the meadow, flourishing much the way they do up the pass to Santa Ynez.

I felt an excitement knowing something was different. The flowers felt as though

Daisy Duck, Barbara Backlund, Kathy Castaneda, Betsy Collins, Bruce Reed, and Donald Duck take a break during the conference

in horticulture; and small group discussions on inclusion and diversity in both public garden staffing and program offerings.

Luncheon speakers were by turns thought provoking and fiery.

Ursula Heise (literature professor at UCLA) referenced several traditional and modern works which advance plants as characters in their own right and shift the usual human-centric point of view. Ron Finley, a community leader advocating urban gardens in public spaces, gave a salty but seasoned exhortation to greater representation of race and class in public gardens generally.

Other eye-opening day trips included the Getty Museum, the Mildred Matthias Botanical Garden, and retail oriented trips to Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar and Sherman Library and Gardens.

Volunteer Corner Megan Mansefield Emley Keefe

they’d received more attention, more care. If not just during first growth and bloom, perhaps within a vision that was years in the making.

I’m originally from Watauga County, North Carolina. In my younger years, I learned how to navigate the wild and appreciate its beauty without disturbing the land or losing my footing. Every time I’m at the Garden, I feel more deeply connected to conservation and preservation. I see a collective vision that uplifts everyone who contributes to it, a dedication to a sustainable way of life that extends beyond the Garden itself. I know wilderness and maintaining the delicate selection and visual appeal of wildness in a concentrated area isn’t easy

to achieve. I saw it expressed at the Garden this Easter and it drew out an inner smile so big I had to become part of it.

One of my favorite plants is found in the Arroyo section of the Garden. The Equisetum talmateia, Giant Horsetail, makes me smile every time I see it. At first it was a childlike attraction to its abundant slender branches. Once I started photographing it more closely I noticed the architectural details of the joints and was immediately entranced. I wanted to walk underneath these structural patterns. Such a beautiful display of delicate overlayed support, extension, and balance. The Eriogonum grande rubescens, or Red Buckwheat, a native of the Channel Islands also always stops me in my tracks. I’ve never seen nature express such a potent delicate color palette before.

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BLAKSLEY BLISS SOCIETY You can ensure a vibrant future for the Garden by including us in your estate plans. Individuals who provide for the Garden in their estate plans, either through a bequest, life income gift, life insurance policy, or other plan, are invited to join our Blaksley Bliss Society.

For more information about how to include the Garden in your estate plans, please call Heidi Whitman, Director of Development & Communications at (805) 682-4726, ext. 133.

SUPPORT THE GARDEN! DONATE YOUR UNWANTED CAR The process is easy! Our partner, CARS, handles the pick-up and sale of your vehicle, plus all the associated paperwork. You receive a tax deduction for your donation, and the Garden receives a check for 80% of the net sale proceeds.

Get more information and schedule a pick-up that's convenient for you at (855) 500-RIDE (7433) or sbbg.org/car.

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Garden Wish List Small investments directly support our efforts in conservation, horticulture, education and research. If you would like to fund a wish list item, please contact Heidi Whitman, Director of Development & Communications at hwhitman@sbbg.org or (805) 682-4726, ext. 133.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Gardening tools and equipment

$50 and up

12 Boat trips to the Channel Islands for plant conservation work

$90-150 each

Spotting scope for K-12 classes

$150

4 pairs of Snake Gators

$180

Bench vise for creating plant labels

$200

Binoculars (8) for the Education program

$240

Precision paper cutter

$300

Bottle filling water station

$800

4 Flights to San Miguel Island

$1200 each

3 Microsoft Surface Pro laptop computers

$1200 each

Electric work carts for horticulture staff

$4500 each

K HEHNKE

K HEHNKE

free SENIOR DAYS

Picture your next event at the Garden Holiday Parties • Weddings Corporate meetings • Conferences Lectures • Special events

for seniors 60 years old and better!

CONTACT Natalie Wiezel, Events Coordinator nwiezel@sbbg.org (805) 682-4726, ext. 103

OCTOBER 17 Portrait Photography DECEMBER 19 Make Holiday Wreaths and Swags sbbg.org/seniors

fall I LY DAY FAM m 10a –3 3 V O N AY, SATU R D

pm

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL November 23

KIDS GO FREE Arts & crafts

Family Adventures Story Time

40% OFF one full-priced item

Fall Native Plant Sale

in the Garden Shop

sponsored by

the

Visit sbbg.org/familyday

GARDEN SHOP

GAR DEN S HOP HOU RS: MAR – OCT: 10 a m – 5 : 3 0 p m N OV – F E B: 10 a m – 4 : 3 0 p m ( 8 0 5 ) 6 8 2 - 4 7 2 6 , e x t . 112 I N FO@S B BG.ORG

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

1212 Mission Canyon Road Santa Barbara, CA 93105-2126 sbbg.org • (805) 682-4726

THANK YOU to our 2018 trails ‘n’ tails Sponsors

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID SANTA BARBARA, CA PERMIT NO. 451