by Matthew Ramon
If you have lived in California at any point in the last 20 years, you have definitely heard about the persistent drought conditions that have afflicted the state and brought intermittent water restrictions. Not to mention last year, when Southern California faced some of the most severe water restrictions to deal with the driest year in the state’s history. Now, it’s not uncommon to hear calls for homeowners and gardeners to turn away from water-hungry grass lawns and instead embrace drought-resistant plants and landscaping. And with summer and the return to the outdoors on the horizon, teamMADE wants to highlight one partner that goes one step further in providing sustainable landscaping.
Tree of Life Nursery, located off Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano, is one of a relatively small number of nurseries that sell plants native to California. In fact, Tree of Life Nursery is the largest grower of native California plants. Whether the plants are from North Coast or Baja California, the nursery is committed to introducing as many of the 5,000+ species that inhabit the state.
Founded 40 years ago by Jeff Bohn and Mike Evans, the pair has made it their goal to return the state’s open spaces to their natural form. And in partnerships with several ranches before securing their current location on the historic Santa Margarita y Las Flores ranch, the pair has been working hard to make their vision a reality. In fact, over their 40 year history, the nursery has consistently resisted the temptation to chase horticultural trends, refusing to sell water-intensive tropical flowers in the 70s and even non-native succulents today. Apart from the benefits of growing true native plants, such as providing habitat for animals or their extremely low water-usage, for Tree of Life it represents their passion and love for California and the land they inhabit.
And if you ever get the chance to visit, you’ll see that a large part of this passion also comes from a love of learning. Over their history, Tree of Life has been continually experimenting with horticulture and their business. Starting with only the most common and well-known native species, Tree of Life has come to grow native plants for wetland restoration projects, new species cultivated in partnership with the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, and have even become recognized as experts on mycorrhizae (the mutually beneficial relationship between fungi and plants). In fact, in the mid-1980s the US Navy contracted with Tree of Life to gather, cultivate, and safeguard the native species found on San Clemente Island, an environment that had been devastated by military testing and feral goats and pigs. And even though most of the species on the island had never been cultivated before, the nursery was able to accomplish their task and play a part in the restoration of the island’s natural ecosystem.
However, learning is incomplete without teaching, and Tree of Life does that in abundance. Every other weekend, the nursery hosts workshops and events on a variety of topics ranging from bugs to the relationship between indigenous Americans and the botanical world. Not to mention the abundance of books and guides they have in their store and on their website. That’s why going forward, Tree of Life is hoping to introduce even more classes aimed at landscapers, designers, and homeowners on maintaining and thriving with native plants.
But why go through the effort? It all comes down to their mission of connecting people with nature. And in their experience, customers always come in single-mindedly seeking low water and maintenance costs. It’s only when they experience the floral scents, return of birds and butterflies, and the raw beauty of their new native garden do they learn to truly appreciate what nature has to offer. And speaking from our own experience, teamMADE can definitely confirm this to be true.
Sustainability is “a lifestyle about being present with nature and respecting it. [It’s] choosing what to bring into your life and how you manifest it.”
-Randi Gunder, tree of life nursery
This commitment to connecting with nature also extends to the way they understand sustainability. In the words of Randi Gunder, Tree of Life’s Garden Designer, sustainability is “a lifestyle about being present with nature and respecting it. [It’s] choosing what to bring into your life and how you manifest it.” In her eyes, sustainability isn’t just something that you can leave at the door. It extends to all aspects of life, from the food you eat, the products you buy, the job you choose, and even the way you interact with others. In short, sustainability is how you interact with the world around you.
That’s why teamMADE is excited to be partners with Tree of Life. Together, we can work to accomplish their goal of educating the greater public about the benefits of native landscaping and they help to ensure our ADU is a home that you’d want to live in and leaves a positive impact on the community.
Want to learn more about Tree of Life? Get helpful planting guides and more at https://californianativeplants.com/