Session G

Take a visual tour of the many magnificent California natives with the author of Landscape Plants for California Gardens, Bob Perry. Perry will discuss plant characteristics and adaptations that enable many California natives thrive in our Mediterranean climate.

Farm + Food Lab Demonstration garden is a 2010 Search for Excellence award winning outdoor classroom in Orange County’s Great Park. This garden is replete with 12 hands-on themed gardens, an outdoor classroom, compost and vermicomposting bins, an espaliered fruit tree orchard, a container blueberry orchard, potting benches, and seasonal exhibits. We will share our successes, a template to create this in other counties and a few of our setbacks and frustrations as well.

Our ancestors grew large meaty tomatoes, beets the size of volleyballs, and melons so fragrant they could perfume a room. They also planted flowers with grace and charm that were not bred like numerous modern varieties to eliminate pollen or to look good in a gas station. Many of those old varieties are now lost, but there is still an exciting array of old-fashion edibles and flowers we can still grow and enjoy today. Join photographer and author, Rosalind Creasy for an illustrated lecture on how to both select, grow, and cook with heirloom vegetables; as well as find out how to keep this amazing gene-pool of over 30,000 heirloom vegetables and flowers alive and thriving for the next generation.

Based on the results of a recent train-the-trainer program, this session provides an overview of materials available to UC Master Gardeners to educate their community when asked “what do I plant now that all the conifers are dead?” The materials provide guidance to small parcel owners, local jurisdictions, nn-profits, home owners associations, and others interested in revegetation/reforestation after tree mortality due to fire, drought, or beetle infestation. 

Join published author and professor Gordon W. Frankie as he shares the recipes for creating a bee friendly habitat garden. Looking through the world like a bee Frankie will talk about using the right mix of plants to accomplish a bee haven and create the ultimate bee getaway by providing appropriate nesting habits in the landscape.

Join Horticulturalist and Curator of the Sunset Western Garden Collection, Janet Sluis, to learn about the latest plant collection featuring more perennial color vs. more traditional annual color.   Using perennials to add color to the landscape is rewarding all year round and can be achieved through a variety of colors, textures and forms. 

The growing of bonsai, which translates literally as 'plant in a tray', it combines both horticulture and art, creating trees that are often referred to as 'living sculptures'. This session will review what the definition of a bonsai is, what materials can be used along with what is most popular. Past-President Orange County Bonsai Society, Ken Scholthan, will also review the many types of soil mixtures that can be used, how to choose a pot, prune, feed and maintain a tree as well as what a Bonsai presentation looks like.