Before Native Plants Were Trendy: The Gardens at the Long Beach Ranchos

Rancho Los Alamitos presents

April, February 23, 2026

Doors Open at 5:30 PM; Lecture from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

$10 per person. Free for RLA members. Free onsite parking.

This talk explores how Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos became early adopters of California native plants - shaped by designers like Ralph D. Cornell and plant pioneers like Theodore Payne and Allen Chickering.

Drawing from each site’s living collections, Rancho Los Alamitos' Deputy Director, Andrew Chaves, and Rancho Los Cerritos' Horticulture Manager, Amanda Chaves, will highlight the native plants that have proven resilient over time and continue to thrive in Southern California’s climate. Discover how these historic gardens quietly anticipated today’s conversations around drought, sustainability, and ecological design and what they can teach us about planting landscapes that will endure for the next 100 years.

Doors will open at 5:30 pm, and the lecture will start at 6 pm. Details are subject to change. We hope you join us.

Rancho Los Alamitos is located on the ancestral and unceded land of the Gabrielino/Tongva people, who cared for this land for thousands of years and continue to do so today. Learn more by visiting gabrielinotribe.org.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation