The spring/summer issue of Ironwood is now available online. Ironwood, the Garden’s biannual magazine, beautifully celebrates the power of native plants and their impact on people and the planet. As a friend of the Garden, you’re invited to explore our digital issue featuring a closer look at island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora). You can also go…
The western population of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is at an increasing risk of local extinction, having declined 99% in population size over the last 20 years. Whether their decline is the result of increased pesticide exposure, climate change, or the loss of important habitat is still not clear. Unique to our part of…
Why Study Native Plant Gardening? California native plant horticulture is an open frontier. There are still lots of basic questions that we haven’t been able to test scientifically yet. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is tackling one of these questions with support from the Stanley Smith Horticulture Trust. Through horticultural research are still learning a lot…
The 2023 rainy season has been marked by a series of atmospheric rivers that have brought abundant moisture to California. With this, the Garden experienced its strongest rainfall event of the season on January 9, receiving 9.48” according to the Garden’s Remote Automatic Weather Station. This precipitation event brought down several mature coast live oak…
The fall/winter issue of Ironwood is now available online. In this latest issue you’ll get an inside look at lichens in a captivating story about how our Tucker Lichenologist Rikke Reese Næsborg, Ph.D. approaches her research. You’ll also hear from our horticulture team regarding some of the best planting and pruning tips for this fall…
A lawn!? In a water-wise garden!? — That’s right, not all lawns need to be ripped up for a drought-tolerant landscape. Check out our blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) lawn in the back of the cottage. It’s handsome, tough, and water-wise! Sages for all occasions – They’re fragrant, deer and gopher-resistant, pollinator magnets, and virtually indestructible;…
Properly watering your freshly installed plants is key to their long-term survival. The first watering is critical and one of the only times you can’t overwater a native plant. After planting your plant in the ground, build an irrigation berm about 1 foot around the plant’s drip line and generously soak it. I leave a…
As we collectively witness a barrage of climate disasters sweep across the planet, many of us are asking, “What should I be doing to protect my planet, my community, and the place that I call home?” Fundamentally, we know we must reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using public transportation, composting green waste, reducing…
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