Re: Taft Garden and Proteaceae Nurseries in southern California?

The Taft "botanical garden" (Earth Concern Center) has gone through some significant changes in the last few months.
 
They did, indeed, develop a partnership with the Santa Barbara Botanica Garden just over two years ago.  After 18 months, the partnership soured, the on-site Director at the Taft site was sent back to Santa Barbara, and Mr. Taft is still, as I speak, in discussion with the SBBG folks regarding some kind of new working arrangement.
 
An interesting aside: Dennis Perry, owner of Perry's Panorama in Somis (Protea specialist) was in talks with Mr. Taft to create a production nursery on the Taft property.
 
Jo O'Connel's nursery (Australian Native Plants) is in Casitias Springs, a quaint little burb between Ventura proper and Ojai proper.  Unincorporated, I'm sure.
 
Would anyone be interested in making a day of visiting with Taft, O'Connell, and Perry?  I could make arrangements.
 
Joe
 

david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com> wrote:


I had heard the garden was no longer open
to the public, and had certainly been one of the
highlights of the garden tour with the local
Hortisexuals when we visited back in 1999, if I
remember the year correctly... I also had thought
that Jo's nursery was in Ojai, but the address listed
in her advertisement in Pacific Horticulture Magazine
lists Ventura as the contact address.

I assume these are
coming from a specialty grower in southern California,
and would love to know the name of it if anyone on the
list is aware of a good supplier of Proteacea.


--- bridget lamp wrote:

> Hi, David,
>
> I got to visit the Taft Garden in 2000, during my
> Lotusland internship. I believe they are or were
> undergoing changes towards a botanic garden--maybe
> in
> conjunction with UCSB and/or Santa Barbara Botanic
> Garden. The last time I was in touch with anyone
> about this was back in 2002/2003.
>
> I also got to visit Jo O'Connell's nursery, at that
> time she was in Ojai, on the way to Taft.



Joe Seals
Santa Maria, California --
where the weather is always perfect
and my NEW garden will soon be blooming and full of birds and butterflies

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