The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants — or TPF, is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1960 to promote the understanding and preservation of

California native plants California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...

. It continues the work of

Theodore Payne Theodore Payne (June 19, 1872 - May 6, 1963), was an English horticulturist, gardener, landscape designer, and botanist. His best known work was done over his adult life in Southern California. Biography Payne was born at Manor Farm, Church Brampt ...

, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

, and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

.Theodore Payne Foundation
. accessed 5.25.2014. The Foundation is located in Sun Valley, in the northeastern

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

and western

Verdugo Mountains The Verdugo Mountains, also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos, are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California. Located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Ver ...

foothills.

Programs

TPF operates a native

plant nursery A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

and education center focused on California natives. Programs include the propagation of a wide range of species and cultivars of the California flora for use in the home landscape; collection and process of seeds from the wild for use in propagation, and courses in the horticulture, botany, and ecology of California

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

s for the general public, as well as a volunteer program. Educational programs for children include plant-animal relations, butterflies, and human uses of native plant materials
TPF K-12 education programs

Events

Major events include an Annual Native Plant Garden Tour in the greater Los Angeles area, featuring gardens with at least 50% California native plants, the

Wild Flower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

Hotline providing locations to view Spring wild flowers in California; and changing art gallery exhibits.

Theodore Payne Art Gallery

The Theodore Payne Art Gallery exhibits feature historical and contemporary artworks depicting the California flora as

botanical illustration Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

s and botanical portrait interpretations, as well as cultural, historical, and other exhibits featuring the California flora. Historical artists featured in the gallery include Alice Chittenden, Ethel Wickes, Ida Moody, and Jane Pinheiro. Contemporary artists featured include Gene Bauer, Fred Kuretski, Richard Dickey, and Ken Gilliland, and artists Melanie Symonds, Pamela Burgess, Ed Lum, and Elinor Nissley.Theodore Payne Art Gallery: past exhibits
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References

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External links

Official Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants websiteTheodore Payne Nursery eStore
Flora of California Environmental organizations based in California Horticultural organizations based in the United States Organizations based in Los Angeles Plant nurseries San Fernando Valley Verdugo Mountains Sun Valley, Los Angeles Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles Natural history of Los Angeles County, California Environmental organizations based in Los Angeles

Programs

Events

Theodore Payne Art Gallery

See also

References

External links