Theodore Payne Foundation — Attraction in Los Angeles

The best California native plant nursery that I know of. This nursery has been around since 1960 and I only found out about the place in 2016. My life was considerably made better after the fact. They have an extensive library of plants and their mission of preserving native flora should be applauded. With the nursery's help I've expanded my collection of plants and learned quite a bit of botany along the way. I've volunteered with them many times and each time was unique. The seasonal sales are very good and they occasionally have books out for free! They may not always have the plants I need, but the staff is quite good at guiding me in the right direction on how to locate the plants. All of the staff are very good at their jobs and have led me through the process of planting starts and sowing seeds. During late winter and throughout spring the nursery also carries bulbs for anyone that is interested. Their website has a catalog of their inventory and a California Native Plant Database. The seed collections that they carry are really nice and they also have some apparels and accessories. I have a shirt of one of my favorite native plants and one that I found at a Swap Meet in 2018 (the shirt was from 1994!) The Annual Garden Tour is a prestigious event that I hope to be a part of in the future, but I suggest that anyone does volunteer for the event if they are interested in plants! The nursery also has a custom seed mix service for any specialty lawns and whatnot. I highly suggest that any Angelino and even any Californian to check this...

The premier source of California native plants in LA, Theodore Payne has a wide variety of native plants and seeds in their nursery. They also have an established garden so you can browse the plants when they’re fully grown for inspiration. If you’re new to native plants then it’s good to view the garden, as the plants for sale are usually very young and it’s difficult to know what they’re going to look like if you’re unfamiliar with them. Each plant in the nursery has a very helpful sign with all the info you need to know, but ask the staff if you’re still not sure. They also offer classes here if you want to learn a lot more about native...

Do your wallet a favor, plant CA natives. Most CA home owner's water bills consist of 50%+ charges for just watering their lawns! Secondly, CA natives and/or water wise plants are colorful, wonderful to behold and exciting to learn about. Theodore Payne is a fantastic resource for obtaining top quality natives for your garden.

Still don't believe it? Well, go visit Santa Ana Botanical garden or Sana Barbara botanical garden and you see a palette of colors, textures and scents that will blow you away.

Lastly, CA natives attract native animals, birds and butterflies. Now how can the Jones' keep...