President’s Message, October 2021

California brickellbush. S. Libonati-Barnes.
California brickellbush, Brickellia californica, blooming in Susan's garden. Photo by Susan Libonati-Barnes, taken August 8, 2021.

A huge thank you to Margaret Widdowson and the entire Propagation Team for gathering seeds and cuttings, propagating and potting, caretaking plants at home, checking the nursery, and now, the culmination of all our work: the Fall 2021 Native Plant Sale!

We are participating in Shasta College’s Fall Plant Sale, where our native plants and the college’s ornamentals will be available, on October 22 and 23, from 9 am to 3:30 pm. (See article, Fall 2021 Native Plant Sale, for details, as well as for info on our members-only sale and the upcoming online store opening!)

At the sale on Friday and Saturday, there will be a wonderful array of native plants for sale (some 90 species), many from local seeds and cuttings, as well as our tried and true garden forms.  

As part of this Fall Flower Fest, photographer Ken DeCamp will be speaking Thursday, October 21, at 7 pm, in room 1425 on the Shasta College campus.  The new edition of his Wildflowers of the Trinity Alps (with co-authors Julie Kierstead and Julie Knorr) will be for sale.  (College requirements for masking and distancing will be observed.)

Here in Cottonwood, I have received about three drops of rain so far this fall.  But in response to cooler temperatures, my western columbine is reblooming. My young Brickellia, on the other hand, has never quit blooming! ~Susan Libonati-Barnes, President

Margaret Widdowson and California brickellbush. S. Libonati-Barnes.
Propagation Committee Chair Margaret Widdowson and the “mother shrub” for our California brickellbush, Brickellia californica. This year’s California brickellbush plants for sale originated from this shrub. Photo by Susan Libonati-Barnes, taken September 21, 2020.