Gardening with Native Desert Plants: A How-to Booklet

Don Rideout, past president and founding member of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Botany Society, has written a valuable guide to using desert plants in the garden. Don has provided his Gardening with Native Desert Plants: A How-to Booklet at no cost to readers. Aimed at purchasers of plants at the Botany Festival, the how-to guide will serve anyone living in the  larger Sonoran Desert of which Borrego Springs is a small part. 

You can get your free copy of Don's Guide in the Resources section of this Web site.

A Message from the Co-Presidents Available for Members

The November edition of "A Message from Your Co-Presidents" has been posted to the Members Area of the Web site.

This issue features dates of future Botany Study Group meetings, announcement of the Botany Certification Course (required for membership in the Botany Society), and a reminder of the Thanksgiving weekend Botany Festival.

If you have forgotten the password for the Members Area, send a request to thebotanysociety@gmail.com. 

Online Ordering of Plants for the Botany Festival is Now Closed

Online ordering of plants for the Botany Festival is now closed. 

If you missed the early, online ordering, plants will be available for purchase during the festival. Most, but not all, plants that were advertised will be available. Some advertised plants are out of stock. The more popular plants will sell out first but no telling how soon, so buyers will need to show up early for the best selection.

Volutaria Planning Meeting Set

This season’s first Volutaria planning meeting will be held on Nov. 18th at the UCI Steele/Burnand Desert Research Center (401 Tilting T Drive, Borrego Springs) starting at 11:30. Please, bring your lunch.

We will be discussing the current state of Volutaria (its [sic] spreading!), what actions we need to take to control it, what actions are already being planned for this season, what additional items we need, how to get additional resources, building new partnerships and helping established partnerships continue.

The meeting will be informal and if there are any items you want to discuss, feel free to contact me and we can add it to the agenda.

Chris McDonald, PhD
Natural Resources Advisor
Co-County Director, San Bernardino
UC Cooperative Extension
(909) 387-2242
cjmcdonald@ucanr.edu

Teresa Everett Will Discuss Gardening With Desert Plants at the Botany Festival

TERESa everett, moosa Creek nursery

A native plant specialist will unveil tips about the design, installation and care of desert plants in the home landscape at a meeting November 28 at the Seventh Annual Botany Society Festival and Plant Sale in Borrego Springs.
    Teresa Everett, a garden specialist at the Moosa Creek Nursery in Valley Center, will talk about “Some Like it Hot — Gardening with California’s Desert Plants” at 10 a.m. at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center, 200 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs 92004. Admission is free, and the public is invited. Everett is a former National Park ranger and has worked as a zookeeper at the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park, and in the Horticultural Department at the park. 
    Her talk focuses on creating year-round beauty in the garden using plant selection, design, installation and maintenance. The annual Botany Society plant sale starts Friday, November 27, at 9 a.m., and will continue Saturday if any plants are left.

Who: Teresa Everett, Garden Specialist, Moosa Creek Nursery
What: Botany Festival Featured Speaker
When: Saturday, November 28, 2015; 10 AM
Where: Discovery Lab, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Visitor Center
Cost: Free to the public