Speakers Bureau

The TPF Speakers Bureau provides informative illustrated presentations by knowledgeable staff members to neighborhood groups, garden clubs, educational institutions, and public agencies throughout the region.

Most programs are one hour in length (including questions) with resource lists and educational materials. To offset expenses, we request a $200 honorarium.

Contact: info at theodorepayne.org or (818) 768-1802

We offer the following presentations:

Beneficial Bugs in the Garden with Lili Singer – A healthy native garden includes a miniature menagerie of tiny insects and other creatures that keep pest populations in check. This richly illustrated lecture highlights helpful bugs you’re likely to find in home landscapes, with tips on how to attract and conserve them.

California Native Plants: The Big Picture with Lisa Novick – This impactful lecture showcases the beauty and ecological importance of California native plants and how their use in the garden conserves water and energy. Learn about gardening for support of plant-animal relationships, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and our natural heritage.

California Native Plant Horticulture with Lili Singer – The essentials on gardening with California flora: why natives are valuable, about plant communities, plus planting techniques, establishment, irrigation, pruning and ongoing maintenance. (Two hours)

Four Seasons of Color with California Natives with Lili Singer – Your native plant garden can be a seasonal showcase of flowers, seed, fruit, and foliage. This class illustrates a wealth of trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and grasses that can ensure color all year long.

Gardening for Wildlife with Lisa Novick – You and your garden can be part of local ecosystem health. This talk reveals native plants that provide essential leaf, nectar, seed, nut, and berry foods for Southern California bird, bee, and butterfly species, among other welcome wildlife. Plant natives and they will come!

Growing Natives in Containers with Lili Singer – A vast array of California native plants will grow happily in containers, and potted natives add texture and color to the garden, as well as habitat for birds, butterflies, and native bees. This colorfully illustrated lecture – for gardeners with large or limited spaces – offers tips on successful container gardening and dozens of different plant choices for pots.

Native Plants and Hummingbirds with Lili Singer – Learn how to attract and support hummingbirds, including which native plants these tiny and beautiful creatures favor and how to keep the birds healthy and happy all year.

Look, Ma, No Lawn! with Lili Singer – Are you ready to lose the lawn? We’ll explain how to take it out and offer alternatives for the space: specifically low-care native plants that need no fertilizer and use a fraction of the water required for turf.

Perfect Partners: Gardening with Natives and All Sorts of Edibles with Lili Singer – Gardening with natives and growing our own food are two wonderful activities that help us connect with nature and use our land in a positive ways. This class discusses how best to combine natives and edibles in the home garden, why this partnership is so rewarding for both the gardener/chef and wildlife, and which plants make the best companions.