An open call throughout L.A. County for apartment complexes, businesses, child care centers, churches, community centers, hospitals, hotels, offices buildings, schools, senior centers, shopping malls, stores, vacant lots, etc. with publicly visible open land ready for some seasonal colorful wild beautiful reconsideration.

Wildflowering L.A. is a native wildflower seed planting initiative throughout Los Angeles County by artist Fritz Haeg presented by LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division) in partnership with the Theodore Payne Foundation.

Wildflowering L.A. brings a wild and beautiful seasonal native landscape to 50 sites selected from an open call based on public visibility and distribution across the county. Owners of selected sites are given free native wildflower seed mixes at workshops in partnership with The Theodore Payne Foundation. Soil preparation, seeding, and wildflower tending is demonstrated and one of four custom wildflower seed mixes is prescribed – Coastal, Flatlands, Hillside, and Roadside – inspired by Reyner Banham’s 1971 book, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. Each of the participating sites is officially identified with a prominent carved wood sign. The project culminates with an exhibition in spring 2014.

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING?

• You should have ownership of an open plot of land (or permission from the owner to plant) that is sunny and completely visible from a public street.
• Seeds are provided for areas from 500 to 2000 square feet.
• A 3′ by 5′ wood sign is installed on each site by the project team after the seeds are planted by the owners in November.
• Each site will be identified on a published map and photographed before and after for the spring exhibition.

• Please email a photo of the site taken from the street or public viewing spot and the complete address for consideration to wildfloweringla@nomadicdivision.org.

PUBLIC WORKSHOP DATES:

Sunday, October 27, 2013, 11am-5pm
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, CA 91007

Saturday, November 2, 2013, 11am-5pm
Rancho Cienega Recreation Center
5001 Rodeo Road
Los Angeles, CA 90016

Theodore Payne at the dedication of the Theodore Payne Wildlife Sanctuary, Antelope Valley near Llano, CA, January 1961.

When I first came to California (in 1893), what impressed me perhaps more than anything else was the wonderful native flora. But as the years went by it was with deep regret that I saw the wild flowers so rapidly disappearing from the landscape. I made up my mind that I would try to do something to awaken a greater interest in native flora. Thus it was that I began to specialize in the growing of wild flowers and native plants. I collected seed of a few kinds of wild flowers, grew them and offered seed for sale. Little or no success attended this first venture, it being generally conceded that it was foolish to waste time on “wild flowers.” As a demonstration (in 1905) I secured the use of a vacant lot in Hollywood and sowed it with wildflower seeds. I went to Walter Raymond of the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena and asked him for use of a piece of ground for sowing wild flower seeds. Mr. Raymond readily consented and and the following spring there was a splendid display. I also secured the use of two lots in Pasadena, one on Green Street and the other at the corner of Lake and Colorado, which I sowed with wild flower seeds. All these plots were greatly admired and I received complimentary letters from many people.

While roaming around in the San Fernando Valley, I noticed that certain areas would produce a succession of color and flower effects – yellow predominating at one time, blue at another, and so on. I wondered if the same effects could be produced artificially so I began to experiment with mixing several varieties of seeds, sowing them and watching the results. It was in this way that I perfected my wild flower mixtures which have since become so popular.

– from “Theodore Payne in His Own Words: A Voice of California Native Plants”

Curated, produced and presented by LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division)
Wildflower consulting by Theodore Payne Foundation
Graphic design by Roman Jaster
Sign fabrication by Knowhow Shop
Supported by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation

General project inquiries to wildfloweringla@nomadicdivision.org

Media inquiries to hilary@hilarywhite.com

More info, updates, and details here