Meeting:

July 12, 2007

Guest Presenter:

Chris & Trish Meyer

Topic:

Wildscaping Your Garden to Attract Birds and Butterflies

Husband and wife design professionals (and long time members of the SCHS) Trish and Chris Meyer have dedicated the outdoor environment of their Sherman Oaks home – and a large chunk of their lives – to Wildscaping, a movement gaining momentum all around the world.

At our July meeting, Chris and Trish will show digital photographs and video to share the secrets to their success, including growing “natural birdseed,” welcoming insects, and designing a water feature built especially for birds. They’ll offer details on how you can use California’s native plants and compatible Southwestern and Mediterranean species to achieve a beautiful garden that’s a magnet for birds while also conserving water and low maintenance.

In addition to their superb website, Wildscaping.com, they have converted their ivy-covered hillside garden in Sherman Oaks into a wildlife habitat garden for birds and butterflies. As a result, they spotted roughly 50 different species of birds in their own back yard; they also raise and release approximately a hundred butterflies a year.

The website includes an overview of the basic needs of wildlife and shows how Chris and Trish got started converting their garden to native trees, shrubs and flowers that are thriving with little care and water. These former editors of our newsletter didn’t start out with much gardening experience; they learned as they went along, attending workshops and reading many books on California native plants. They weren’t afraid to make mistakes, saying they just changed their plan as the wildlife taught them which plants they really liked best.

Plant Raffle

Plants provided by the Theodore Payne Foundation, Sun Valley, CA.

 

Book of the Month

“An Introduction to Southern California Butterflies” by Fred Heath, with photographs by Herbert Clarke (Mountain Press, 2004).