Welcome!
We’re glad you’re here!

“Here” being wherever you are on this engaging trail called “growing natives” – whether for beauty, habitat value, water conservation, gardening pleasure, or whatever might have brought you and so many like you onto the trail. Whether you are a first-time adventurer, or a professional gardener, a novice grower, or a seasoned propagator, an expert designer or a homeowner looking to take your first step, welcome! You might be an educator, or public servant, a tribal member, or land manager, a park ranger, an HOA, or maybe just someone who wants to establish an honest relationship with nature right outside your door, welcome!

California Native Horticultural Foundation (CNHF) is your new home.

My name is Mike Evans, and I’ve been on the “growing natives” trail for nearly 50 years. Believe it or not, my favorite part is not the plants, but the people and places. And that is why after a fulfilling career as President of Tree of Life Nursery, I set out to establish a non-profit – to provide the trustworthy voice for native plants incorporated into the human environment, statewide. We will speak loud and clear in nurseries and gardens, in nature-based landscapes and in ecological restoration, wherever natives are being propagated and planted. When there’s a need for experienced advocacy, authenticity in design, or good horticultural knowledge to grow the best plants and care for them well, CNHF will be there as a dependable clearinghouse, so everyone can get it right.

We aim to dispel all the myths and answer all the skeptics, confidently providing solid information on how to be successful with native plants in every landscape situation. We will focus on the art, science, technology, and “soul” of natural gardens, and dare I say, make it fun along the way?

So thanks for being part of CNHF, whose goals are (and this might sound a bit cliché), as lofty as we might set them. Let’s experience this trail together,and bring in lots more people along the way. 

California is a place worthy of our best effort.

A fellow walker,

 

Mike Evans
Founder and President, California Native Horticultural Foundation