Are you interested in creating native habitat or have questions about your plants? Come meet experts from the Theodore Payne Foundation and the California Native Plant Society, along with Times staff, at the LA Times Plants booth during the Times Book Festival at USC on April 18-19.
This year, in a new location, Booth 554 in the Red Zone, the LA Times Plants booth will be a tribute to LA Times plant writer Jeanette Marantos, a passionate advocate for native plants, who died in February.
There will be giveaways of hundreds of 4-inch plants from Theodore Payne and The Times all weekend. Additionally, anyone who subscribes to our free monthly LA Times Plants newsletter will receive Jeanette's Mix, a special package of colorful sunflower and California poppy seeds that Marantos hoped to offer this year.
Jeanette Marantos at the LA Times Plants booth at the Festival of Books on April 21, 2024.
(Maryanne Pittman)
We'll also have colorful plant-inspired stickers and copies of the Times' weekend garden coverage print section to give away.
Visitors to the booth will be able to smell and look at the Theodore Payne Foundation's plants and learn how native plants can not only save water but also support local wildlife, such as bees, birds and monarch butterflies. Theodore Payne will also have merchandise available for purchase and other seed packets to hand out.
As part of the booth, representatives from the California Native Plant Society will show visitors how to use Calscape, an online database of native plants that allows you to customize your landscape needs based on your ZIP code.
Stop by the LA Times Plants booth (booth 554 in the Red Zone) between 10am and 6pm on April 18 or 10am to 5pm on April 19. The Festival of Books takes place on the USC campus. For more information, consult the festival section. FAQ Page.
