Chapter Meeting: September 2017

The Good, the Bad, and the Bugly: Beneficial Insects in the Garden

Speaker: Frederique Lavoipierre

Date: September 21, 2017 (doors open 7:00 pm, Speaker at 7:30 pm)

Location: Duck Club, Irvine (Directions)

Our gardens are full of insects! What are they and what are they all doing there? Some are welcome pollinators such as honey and native bees. Other garden allies are predators, eating the insects, mites, and other small critters that plague our plants. Meet some of the garden allies and their favorite plants, and learn how you can put these good guys to work in your garden to manage pests without pesticides. Like pollinators, many predators eat pollen and nectar, but unlike pollinators, for only part of their life cycle. There is more to it than simply growing the flowers that attract pollinating insects. Get the tips you need to plan and plant a great habitat that invites all the garden allies that can help keep your garden beautiful!

Frederique Lavoipierre is the Director of Education at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, where the focus is on California native plants, and the emphasis is on two of her passions – science and horticulture.  She is the author of Garden Allies, a series for Pacific Horticulture magazine, on how to create habitat that welcomes insects and other wildlife.  She holds a Master’s degree in Biology from Sonoma State University, where her focus was on sustainable landscape practices and designing habitat for beneficial insects.  Her research emphasis was conservation biological control. At SSU, Frederique was the founding director of the Sustainable Landscape Program, where she also developed and managed the Entomology Outreach and Garden Classroom programs. She loves giving presentations on plant/insect interactions and is not sure which she loves best: plants or insects.

Conservation Report: July/August 2017

Conservation

CONGRATULATIONS ON A CONSERVATION VICTORY!  

Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks recently celebrated the finalization of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Natural Communities Conservation Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan. A lot of time, energy and commitment by many individuals, elected officials, organizations (including OCCNPS), and agencies made this program so successful. Congratulations to everyone involved! Details of the Plans and how they came to be: 

CNPS POLICY ON HERBICIDE USE  

CNPS has two policies that cover herbicide use as a tool for controlling the spread of non-native plants into and within native wildlands. (CNPS, 2008. Herbicide Policy, Integrated Weed Management Policy, cnps.org) The main concern of both policies is that the control work be done in a manner that avoids injury to any native vegetation, hence to the biodiversity of our native ecosystems. Neither policy addresses the use of herbicides in non-wildlands, i.e. home or public landscaping or agricultural lands.

The policies call for the use of Integrated Weed Management (IWM), which requires:

Native Gardener's Corner: July/August 2017

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

This column is a regular newsletter feature offering chapter members and local experts a chance to briefly share information on many things related to gardening with natives. The request for this edition of the newsletter is: “With summer’s heat arriving, what native plants do you have in your landscape that look great despite the expected high temperatures?”

Laura Camp: “Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis, is my favorite high temp, full sun to part sun shrub. Also, Salvia californica, from Baja, seems to get bigger and prettier as the summer goes on.

Brad Jenkins: “Starting at the top of the list are toyon, California buckwheat, and saw-tooth goldenbush. Bonus... the last two flower during the summer as well.”

Ron Vanderhoff: “How about any of our native milkweeds? I especially like narrow-leaved milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis), which is simple to grow and a native plant right here in Orange County from the coast to the inland hills. Milkweeds are also summer growers, so the hot weather doesn’t faze them too much and of course the Monarch butterflies could not be happier.”

Mark Sugars: “In my yard, Rhus integrifolia (lemonadeberry), Eriogonum fasciculatum var. fasciculatum (California buckwheat) and Vitis girdiana (desert wild grape) do not seem to care how hot it gets.”

Bob Allen: “…manzanitas; lemonade berry; toyon; holly-leaved cherry; desert & California grapes; bladder pod; chaparral yucca;California, gray coast, and Santa Cruz Island buckwheats; California bay laurel; tecate cypress; .....”

Leon Baginski: “Manzanita and Catalina cherry. Both top performers in my yard.”

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