Are you interested in creating a 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 staffers, at the L.A. Times Plants booth during The Times’ Festival of Books at USC on April 18 and 19.
In a new location this year — booth 554 in the Red Zone — the L.A. Times Plants booth will be a tribute to L.A. Times plants writer Jeanette Marantos, a passionate supporter of native plants, who died in February.
There will be giveaways of hundreds of 4-inch plants from Theodore Payne and The Times throughout the weekend. Also, anyone who signs up for our free monthly L.A. Times Plants newsletter will receive Jeanette’s Mix, a special packet of colorful sunflower seeds and California poppies that Marantos hoped to offer this year.
Jeanette Marantos at the L.A. Times Plants booth at Festival of Books on April 21, 2024.
(Maryanne Pittman)
We’ll also have colorful plant-inspired stickers and copies of the Weekend print section with Times garden coverage to give away.
Booth visitors will be able to smell and look at plants from the Theodore Payne Foundation 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 L.A. Times Plants booth (booth 554 in the Red Zone) between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on April 18 or from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 19. The Festival of Books is held on the USC campus. For more information, check the festival’s FAQ page.