Arboreta and Botanic Gardens

Spring 1992

A Publication of the Department of Arboreta and Botanic Gardens

Volume 4, Number 2

Baldwin Bonanza events to span three days

Mary Brosius, garden columnist for the Pasadena Star News, is the honorary chair of the 22nd annual Baldwin Bonanza, a three- day benefit plant sale at the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum.

On May 7 Ms. Brosius will attend the Lucky Baldwin Garden Bonanza Barbecue and Garden Auction, held for California Arboretum Foundation members and friends, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Reservations for the barbecue and auction featuring “Old, New, Beautiful and Rare” items are $50 per person.

Baldwin Bonanza XXII Preview Plant Sale will take place May 8 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Reservations are $10 for Foundation members and $15 for their guests.

On May 9 the plant sale is open to the

public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featured this year are orchids from the Arbo- retum collec- tion, scented geraniums, indoor and outdoor palms, water conserv- ing plants, shade plants, ornamental grasses and unusual shrubs like Duranta repens. A collection of pink hydrangeas and dwarf calla lilies will also be included as special Mothers Day gifts.

Duranta repens

Flowering plants: focus of Fiesta de Flores benefit sale

Volunteers from South Coast Botanic Gar- den have been scouting the Coast all the way from Ventura to San Diego looking for un- usual plants for their annual sale. As a result, Fiesta de Flores on May 16 and 17 will show- case hundreds of plants seldom available in commercial nurseries.

The plant sale, open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, focuses on colorful blooming plants. Hybrid dwarf cannas in many color variations from subtle to vibrant, selected new strains of gaillardias and salvias, and fruit trees adapted to the coastal climate will be for sale.

Also offered are several bougainvilleas that remain a manageable size—perfect for baskets, containers and planters.

Most of the plants at the benefit sale have been propagated and raised by the volun- teers themselves who will be there to talk about the plants. Horticultural societies which meet at the Garden will also sell their specialty plants and offer cultural advice.

To celebrate their scavenging success, the South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation will hold a members-only party and preview sale the evening of May 15. Call (310) 544-1847 for membership information.

Arboretum's resident experts retire

The Department extends a fond goodbye to the Arboretum’s resident peacock, coyote and bird experts along with the Department's ac- countant.

Lee Wakeman, Executive Administrative Assistant for the gardens since 1961, started his career with the County in 1953 as a student professional worker with the Department of Flood Control. After leaving the Army, he applied for the position of Senior Administra- tive Assistant at the Arboretum and was offered the job if he promised to stay for five years. His pledge stretched to 31 years.

Lee’s knowledge of peacocks and coyotes came out of neccesity. Forced to take responsi- bility for fielding questions and complaints from Arboretum neighbors, he decided to learn the facts by reading, talking to experts and watching the subjects themselves. “My early morning walks every day really gave me first- hand knowledge of how peacocks and coyotes behave,” he said.

Lee now plans to live it up by taking cruises and jaunts to Las Vegas and Laughlin. “T’ll miss the people and my early morning walks. I love the Arboretum. It was kind of like work- ing in the Garden of Eden.”

Mel Vargas started at Descanso in 1954 as the County's first information aide. A gardener for the Department of Parks and Recreation, he was given the choice of working at the Arbore- tum or Descanso, newly purchased by the County. "Descanso was love at first sight, while the Arboretum looked to me like noth- ing but historical buildings and wide open fields,” he said. His duties included leading garden walks and the school tours which he inaugurated, and training the first docents to give the tours. He also created the annual Christmas show at Descanso.

In 1981 Mel transferred to the Arboretum as a tour guide and ran the print shop and dark- room. Besides giving tours, he took photos for the Department archives and made plant identification labels. He also taught classes in flower making, wreath making and Christmas decorating.

Mel’s love for plants started when he was child helping his mother maintain their one- third acre flower garden.’“People would slow down or stop in front of our house to look at my mother’s beautiful flowers. I knew then that I wanted to work in a botanical garden.”

His study of birds began as a hobby and

Helen Cescatti

turned into a passion. He belongs to the National Audubon Society and many envi- ronmental groups and has become a bird reference for some County departments and the Los Angeles Zoo.

In retirement Mel plans to hike in the local mountains and deserts, fix up his vacation home in Crestline, build show cages for his hundreds of birds and work in his garden. In his "spare" time, he expects to give eclec- tic dinner parties and make stained glass windows and Tiffany lamps.

Helen Cescatti is last but not least among the Department's recent retirees. She started at the Arboretum in 1972 as an intermediate typist clerk working for the accounting technician. When that position became open, Helen filed for the job and got it. Her duties included approving requisitions for goods and materials and other accounting duties for the Department.

"It's been 20 good years," she noted. "We have laughed and cried together, we have worked and celebrated together. I will always remember and miss my Arboretum family," Helen wrote in a recent letter

WT MUTI OMA ITN DIN ATIRLIT Liha 3 1753 00389 953

thanking her Arboretum friends for her farewell party in late March.

Helen’s plans for retirement include trips to Las Vegas and visits to her husband, Aldo’s, home town in Northern Italy where she may decide to settle permanently.

Wishes for the best of luck are extended to all three who have made valuable contributions to the Department during their long careers.

Westside gardens open for Friends' benefit tour

Friends of Robinson Gardens will wel- come members and guests “...into the gar- den” for their fourth annual benefit tour on May 8. Virginia Robinson Gardens will be the centerpiece of the all-day tour that in- cludes six distinctive gardens designed by prominent landscape architects. Featured this year will be the work of Robert M. Fletcher, Isabelle Greene, Richard Irving, Florence Yoch, Rick Mosbaugh, Chris Rosmini, Maria Mothersbaugh and Nancy Goslee Power. Designers will be present at the site of their creations to answer ques- tions concerning the gardens.

The $100 ticket price of this event also includes a lavish, day-long tea served in the

poolhouse at Robinson Gardens by Rococo.

The 1992 tour will honor Dr. Mildred E. Mathias, professor emerita at UCLA, with the Friends’ inaugural Life Achievement Award. The award, to be presented at a black tie dinner on May 1, recog- nizes Dr. Mathias’ extraordinary achievements in the field of botany, her lifelong dedication to conservancy and the environment, and her asso- ciation with Robinson Gardens.

Dr. Franklin D. Murphy, former chancellor of UCLA and past chief executive officer of the Times Mirror Company, serves as honorary chairman of the event. Co-chairs are Ellen Donaldson and Geraldine Chutuk. For more information, please contact John Copeland at (310) 276-5367.

GARDEN EVENTS

June 6, 7 --Sat. 9:30 a.m .to 4:30 p.m., Sun 10

South Coast Branch, National Fuchsia we fase June 27, 28 -- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

LA Division, Ntl Model Railroad Association show

May, June, July 1992

July 5-2 p.m Los Angeles State and County Arboretum, South Bay Bromeliad Associates lecture Arcadia May 3 — 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge Epiphyllum Society of America show and sale May 7, 8, 9 — Baldwin Bonanza (see story for schedule) & ’ F ee jolsina Kiciendiation bevuddlens ents May 9, 10 -- Sat. 12 to 4:30 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

International Geranium Society show

May 16, 17 — 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ye P ge 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

June 6 — noon to 4:30 p.m. g Arts Program Under the Oaks So. Cal. Hemerocallis & Amaryllis Society show May 30, 31 -- -9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m June 13, 14 -- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. San Fernando Bromeliad Society show National Fuchsia Society show and sale June 6, 7 -- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 20, 21— Sat. 1-4 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. National Fuchsia Society show and sale So. Cal. Gladiolus Society & Floralia Guild # 20 show June 6 through June 14 -- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 4, 5 - 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Descanso Bonsai Society show on main lawn

Cactus & Succulent Society of America show and sale June 7 - 2:30 to 4: p.m. Jon Sherman in Performing Arts Program

South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes June 21 — 2:30 to 4 p.m. Peninsula Performing Arts Program Under the Oaks

May 2, 3 -- Sat. 1-4 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 28 -- 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

South Coast Rose Society show Performing Arts Program Under the Oaks May 16, 17 -- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 13 - 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Fiesta de Flores benefit plant sale Glendale Chrysanthemum Society plant sale May 24 -- 2 p.m. —_ 21 — 2:30 to 4:

Tiricia Bullaro demonstates creating animal topiaries ing Arts Program Under the Oaks

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors r Deane Dana,

Dana, 4th District, Chairman Supervisor Gloria Molina, 1st District Supervisor rK Hahn, 2nd District

Supervisor Michael D. ‘Antonovich, 5th District Los Angeles State & County Arboretum

1418 Descanso Drive La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011

South Coast Botanic Garden Crenshaw Blvd. Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274

Virginia Robinson Gardens Beverly Hills, CA 90210

ARBORETA AND BOTANIC GARDENS