Welcome to 2025! Now prepare to say goodbye to 4 of SoCal’s beloved garden nurseries
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? The reasons? A combination of advanced age, expensive real estate and no one in the wings to carry on.
? The impact? Fewer plant choices for SoCal gardeners and nurseries.
Happy New Year! Here’s your first bittersweet riddle for 2025:
What does a 45-year-old wholesale nursery specializing in unique Mediterranean-climate plants have in common with three beloved establishments specializing in lilacs, camellias and California native plants?
They’re all expecting to close by the end of 2025, leaving Southern California gardeners with far fewer choices for their landscapes, balconies and patios.
My calendar of January plant events is listed below, but first, I’d like to talk about four of Southern California’s longest-lived and most treasured nurseries. Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano, San Marcos Growers in Santa Barbara, Nuccio’s Nurseries in Altadena and Idyllwild Lilac Garden in, yes, Idyllwild, have for decades been providing gardeners, nurseries and landscape designers with rare and unique plants, a diverse collection of shrubs, flowers and trees you’re not likely to find at big-box nurseries.
Note that these businesses aren’t closing immediately, so please don’t overwhelm them on Jan. 2. Three of the four expect to stay open through the end of 2025 and the fourth won’t open until late April and will then close at the end of May.
I’ll be writing more in depth about these businesses in the coming months, but I wanted to alert you all now, so you can make a plan to visit them sometime this year, if only to capture a moment in local plant history. Specialty nurseries devoted to breeding, growing and selling rare and unusual plants are slowly disappearing in Southern California, due to high real estate costs and waning interest (or ignorance) from gardeners and landscape designers.
Longtime native plant expert and author Carol Bornstein summed it up last October, when San Marcos Growers had its final plant symposium for landscapers, horticulturists, botanists and retail nursery operators. As she stood at the lectern, Bornstein looked out at the capacity crowd and wryly noted that most of the attendees had gray hair like hers. “Who,” she asked, “is coming to take our place?”
The smallest operation, Idyllwild Lilac Garden, has the most limited window for visiting. Retired art teacher Gary Parton has tended some 165 varieties of lilacs on his acre of land for nearly 20 years, plants that were given to him by his friend, Reva Ballreich, the late concert pianist turned internationally acclaimed lilac aficionado and hybridizer.
Since 2009, Parton has opened his garden to visitors for free during peak bloom, and he’s also sold starts from his lilac collection. But now that he’s 86, Parton said Idyllwild’s winters are getting too cold, and the cost to insure his home has gotten too high, so he’s planning to move to a warmer and less expensive location outside Las Vegas.
He’ll open his garden to visitors on weekends for one final season starting at the end of April through May this year, and then put his home and property up for sale. He won’t have any lilacs to sell this year, alas; he said he didn’t have the bandwidth to pot them up. But the good news is that Parton has been donating plants to botanic gardens, such as 40 rare varieties to Descanso Gardens in La Ca?ada Flintridge, so they’re at least available for viewing, and perhaps someday propagating, in Southern California.
The three larger nurseries, prominent plant suppliers to nurseries and individuals for more than 40 years, have been donating some of their rare and unique plants to botanic gardens and other growers as well.
San Marcos Growers wholesale nursery in Santa Barbara opened in 1979 with the goal of growing unusual tree varieties for the city. Present owner Randy Baldwin was a young horticulture student from UC Santa Barbara with a passion for California native plants when he joined the nursery in 1981. Over the years, he helped expand the wholesale operation to include native plants as well as rare and unusual Mediterranean-climate plants, especially from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, making them readily available to smaller retail nurseries — and gardeners — around the state.
The nursery has always been on leased land, and in early 2023, Santa Barbara County, under pressure to build more affordable housing units, asked the Hodges family, who own the land, if they would be willing to sell the property for housing. In June 2023 the agreement was made to close the nursery by the end of 2025, to give the business time to wind down and its nearly 50 employees time to find new jobs. “It is our employees I feel the worst for, as there are not a lot of nursery jobs available in the Santa Barbara area,” Baldwin told The Times in an email.
Although his nursery only sells wholesale, Baldwin created a website with extensive photos and information about all the unusual plants his nursery cultivated in Santa Barbara and promoted to retail nurseries and landscapers, such as ornamental grasses and many California native cultivars that weren’t easily available to nurseries back in the 1980s and ’90s. Baldwin intends to keep the website running as a resource for gardeners who want to research unusual plants for their SoCal landscapes, and he hopes to do consulting with other nurseries to perpetuate the many varieties of plants his nursery introduced to California.
Tree of Life Nursery has specialized in growing and selling California native plants since 1978 in the hills above San Juan Capistrano. Owners Mike Evans and Jeff Bohn built one of the region’s premier wholesale and retail native plant nurseries on 40 acres leased from Rancho Mission Viejo, “a remnant of one of California’s greatest Spanish land-grant ranches that’s been around since the 1870s,” said Evans.
The 50-employee business did well for many years, supplying plants for commercial projects as well as homes. But sales started slacking during the recessions in the early 2000s and never really recovered, Evans said. He sees the problem as a kind of Catch-22: Most land owners have relinquished care of their landscapes to contractors whose employees know little or nothing about plant care, especially native plants, “which are almost completely hands-off maintenance once they’re established,” he said, and landscape architects say they can’t use native plants for commercial projects because maintenance personnel don’t know how to take care of them.
“For the last 15 years, the trend has not been for large-scale use of native plants in the commercial landscape industry,” Evans said. So when he and Bohn, both in their 70s, were offered another 10-year lease for the nursery, they opted to close, because they weren’t sure they could be profitable for the next 10 years.
There are a few bright spots — they’re still selling lots of plants and offering many classes and events through Dec. 31. And once the nursery closes, the Rancho intends to preserve the demonstration gardens and straw and adobe buildings as the headquarters for its nature preserve.
Nuccio’s Nurseries, the internationally famous camellia and azalea breeder, got a reprieve of sorts in November, when the Polytechnic School, a.k.a. Poly, in Pasadena withdrew its offer to purchase the 78-acre nursery that butts up against the wild foothills of Altadena. The school wanted to use about 13 acres of the land for athletic facilities and pledged to preserve the undeveloped 65 acres for open space and trails, but it pulled out of the purchase because of prolonged community opposition.
The Nuccio family still plans to sell the nursery, however, because the owners are in their 70s, their children aren’t interested in taking over the business, and selling the land is far more lucrative than growing tropical shrubs. In December, the family began talking to new potential buyers interested in turning the property into a nature preserve. Those talks were just beginning, however, and the outcome is uncertain. Co-owner Jim Nuccio said no matter what, he expects the nursery to stay open through the end of 2025, and possibly longer.
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Jan. 3
Native Seed Farm Planting Event from 9 a.m. to noon at the Santa Monica Mountains Fund’s Rancho Sierra Vista Farm native seed farm in Newbury Park. Help plant thousands of plants grown from locally sourced seed that will produce large quantities of native seed for large-scale restoration projects. Register online; participation is free. samofund.org
Jan. 5
We Are the Harvest / Cultivate: Land Technologies, Stories and Dance Traditions, an L.A. Commons event with choreographer Bernard Brown, who will lead a walk through Historic Leimert Park at 9:30 a.m. — starting at Crop Swap L.A.’s Degnan Microfarm at 3753 Degnan Blvd. — focused on local flora, mindfulness and movement activities to honor agricultural scientist George Washington Carver and others who have worked the soil. A dance performance is scheduled at Plant Chica, 4311 Degnan Blvd., at 11:45 a.m. Register online for this free event. eventbrite.com
Jan. 9
Bexbloomz “Perk Up” Floral Workshop, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar. Create an arrangement of seasonal flowers in a repurposed coffee tin, with all materials provided. Tickets are $135 ($125 members). experience.thesherman.org
Jan. 10
Native Plant Winter Maintenance Basics, a walk and talk workshop with Theodore Payne Foundation horticulture educator Erik Blank, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the foundation’s demonstration gardens in Sun Valley. Register online, $28.52 ($23.18 members). eventbrite.com
Jan. 11
Finding Our Way Home With Fungi, a Theodore Payne Foundation walk and talk workshop along the Altadena Trailhead in Altadena with mycologist Aaron Tupac, to learn about mushrooms and their connection with other ecosystems. Register online, $39.19 ($28.52 members). eventbrite.com
Propagating California Native Plants From Cuttings, a workshop taught by Tim Becker, horticulture director of the Theodore Payne Foundation, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the foundation nursery in Sun Valley. Each participant will leave with a flat of 50 starts from a variety of native plant specimens. All materials provided. Register online, $92.55 ($81.88 members). eventbrite.com
Jan. 12
New Horizon School Garden Workshop: Learn to Prune Fruit Trees and Mulch Our Orchard, 9 a.m. to noon at the school in Pasadena. The free workshop also includes information about building healthy soil. All ages are welcome; New Horizon students get science class credit. facebook.com
Jan. 16
Bare Root Rose Talk and Sale by Tom Carruth, longtime rose breeder and curator of the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens’ rose garden, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall. Carruth will discuss the roses available at this year’s bare root sale, including colors, scents, growth habits and best planting practices. After his talk, participants can purchase bare root roses at the Huntington’s plant sale nursery. Admission is free but reservations are required. huntington.org
Propagating California Native Plants From Seed, a hands-on workshop taught by Ella Andersson, horticulturalist and chief botanical technician for the Theodore Payne Foundation, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the foundation nursery in Sun Valley. Each participant will take home 10 species of warm-season seeds they’ve sown. All materials provided. Register online, $92.55 ($81.88 members). eventbrite.com
Jan. 18
Repotting and Plant Prep of Carnivorous Plants, a presentation during the regular meeting of the Southern California Carnivorous Plants Enthusiasts, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Balearic Community Center in Costa Mesa. Plants will be provided for hands-on lessons; personal plants are not permitted to reduce the spread of disease. Admission is free. facebook.com
California Native Plant Container Gardening, a class taught by Theodore Payne Foundation nursery technician Terrence Williams from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the foundation’s pergola. The class includes tips for finding low-cost containers, potting techniques and native plants that grow well in containers. Tickets are $39.19 ($28.52 for members). eventbrite.com
Reframing Food Waste, a workshop about ways to reduce food waste at home and while producing food for large populations, taught by Jessica Ullyott, author of “A Holistic Approach to Building and Maintaining a Sustainable Lifestyle,” from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Class includes making a no-bake protein ball to take home. All ingredients provided. Tickets are $44.52 ($33.85 members). eventbrite.com
Jan. 18-19
61st Winter Silhouettes Bonsai Exhibit presented by Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Ayres Hall at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. The exhibit includes miniature trees “in their leafless glory” and bonsai demonstrations plus plants, pots and tools for sale. Tickets include admission to the garden, $15 ($11 seniors 62+ and students with ID, $5 children ages 5 to 12, free to members and children 4 and under). arboretum.org
Jan. 25
Tree of Life Nursery Rain Water Catchment Presentation, a free rainwater harvesting workshop at the nursery in San Juan Capistrano taught by permaculture practitioner Benito Olamendi of Elemental Designs, a design firm focused on sustainable landscapes. californianativeplants.com
Jan. 25-26
Southern California Camellia Show & Sale, sponsored by the Southern California Camellia Society at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 25 and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 26. Tickets include admission to the garden, $15 ($11 seniors 62+ and students with ID, $5 children ages 5 to 12, free to members and children 4 and under). arboretum.org
Jan. 31
Pacific Rose Society Annual Auction of more than 100 hard-to-find, unusual, new and direct-from-growers rose plants, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. Tickets include admission to the garden, $15 ($11 seniors 62+ and students with ID, $5 children ages 5 to 12, free to members and children 4 and under). arboretum.org
What we’re reading
Uruguayan freelance journalist Lola Méndez was raised by serious meat eaters, so former carnivores can appreciate her family’s disbelief when she became a vegan, and how she eventually found a way to honor her family’s culture without betraying her own convictions.
What do you do when you want a new commercial center and 83 large ficus trees are in the way? The Whittier Conservancy says the city of Whittier hasn’t done enough and is suing the city to stop the removal of the trees along a three-block stretch of Greenleaf Avenue.
Some call it Tortoise Gitmo — the Tortoise Research and Captive Rearing Site at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base — but whatever its name, the program to protect baby tortoises from ravens, tanks and other dangers may help keep these endangered animals alive.
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