Theodore Payne Foundation

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[edit] The Foundation

The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants is located in Sun Valley, and is dedicated to helping Californians and visitors discover the beauty of California native plants. The organization operates the largest nursery in Los Angeles County devoted exclusively to California natives, offering more than 500 species. The organization also collects seeds for propagation and sale. The organization also operates an annual wildflower hotline from March to May which lists wildflower sites throughout California. The wildflower hotline number is (818) 768-3533. The organization also offers classes and conduct an annual native plant garden tour in the greater Los Angeles area.

[edit] About Theodore Payne

Theodore Payne was born in Northamptonshire, England and served an apprenticeship in horticulture. He came to Southern California in 1893 and was soon put in charge of the garden on Madame Modjeska’s ranch in Santiago Canyon, Orange County, California. It was there that his love affair with California flora began, eventually dedicated his life to its preservation. Even in the early years of this century, native vegetation was being lost to agriculture and housing at an alarming rate. He urged the use of California native plants and lectured across the state on preserving the wild flowers and landscapes native to California.

In his own nursery and seed business, which he started in 1903, native wildflowers and landscapes were his specialty. In 1915 he laid out and planted 262 species in a five-acre wild garden in Los Angeles' Exposition Park. He later helped to establish the Blaksley Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara (now the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden), planted 178 native species in the California Institute of Technology Botanic Garden in Pasadena, helped create the native plant garden at Los Angeles' Descanso Gardens, and advised the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Orange County.

By the time he retired in 1958, Payne had made over 400 species of native plants available to the public.