Stories Rooted in Conservation, Community, and Connection The newest digital edition of Ironwood, the Garden’s biannual magazine, has arrived, offering a journey into the world of California’s native plants and the people working every day to protect them. Issue 38 is an invitation to explore how native plants shape our landscapes, our communities, and our…
Lawns are an integral part of the landscape at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. They are a place where we host public and staff gatherings, educational classes, and personal milestone events throughout the year. Here at the Garden, we display California’s native grasses that succeed in both meadow and lawn settings. They require less water than…
What’s almost as good as the extraordinary biological diversity that oak woodlands support? These oaks (Quercus sp.) may also help to protect our built spaces from wildfire. Both scientists and firefighters alike have been suggesting this for decades. In 1962, scientist Phillip Wells noted that coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) create a mesic environment that…
Although Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Impact and Advocacy Program is still in its infancy, the past nine months have seen our program make tremendous headway in our drive to grow the native plant movement, regenerate ecosystem health, and leave a legacy for future generations. As the Director of our Impact and Advocacy program, it’s been…
Here’s a scary fact: by the year 2080, the climate in Santa Barbara is projected to approach that of present-day Ensenada, Mexico. Already, temperatures are rising and drought is increasingly frequent. What’s a sustainable gardener to do? In my hot, dry, south-facing Santa Barbara yard, which my husband and I rarely watered (and where I…
For a while there, we didn’t think we would find them. We were trying to attract two students in the tiny town of Cuyama to intern with us on our new landscape transformation project, and the good folks at Quail Springs were attending their second recruitment event at the local high school. Their Land Stewardship…
The latest issue of Ironwood, the Garden’s biannual magazine, has arrived — and it’s rooted in hope. Issue 37 invites you to dig deeper into what it means to care for our planet, starting in your backyard. Whether you’re a longtime native plant enthusiast or just starting to explore their value, this issue offers stories…
If you’ve seen people sweeping bushes with nets or tapping tree branches around the garden lately, you’ve caught a glimpse of a fascinating project in action. Greg Simmons from USDA APHIS and Mari West from UC Riverside have been busy collecting tiny insects called planthoppers, and it’s all part of an important effort to stop…
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