January 2010 - The Arboretum
Lightscape Tickets!

Coach Barn Closed for Painting

The Arboretum’s Coach Barn is closed until the end of March for painting. However, rainy weather may influence the schedule of our reopening.
The barn is due for painting, as could be readily seen on its south side which gets the most exposure to the sun and weather.
In December of 2009 work began on the barn. Loose paint was removed by hand scraping followed by light sanding and filling. While the original plan was for scaffolding to be erected around the tower, the logistics proved impractical and the work is being done with a hydraulic hoist. 
 

As of early January a layer of primer has been applied and the barn is already looking quite stunning. With a full coat of paint and fresh red trim the barn will be returned to its full Victorian splendor!
Visitors and staff have been commenting on its appearance favorably even now, we look forward to welcoming visitors again in March.

 
The Arboretum’s Coach Barn was constructed in 1879 by architect Albert Austin Bennett for Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin.
The Coach Barn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Early Fruit & Vegetable Seed Catalogs of Southern California: Avocados

If there is one crop that is still heavily associated with southern California, it is the the avocado. Interest in the avocado started growing around the turn of the 19th century, and by the 1920s, orchards were springing up all over southern California.

“Learn to Love the Avocado”
by Thomas Sheddon for the California Avocado Association. (1928)

Avocado Planters' Chart
(n.d.)

Many varieties of avocado were offered in these early catalogs as can be seen in these pages from Pioneer Nursery, Armstrong Nurseries, and Theodore Payne:

Pioneer Nursery, 1924
Armstrong Nurseries, 1921
Theodore Payne, 1918

Below are photos from Newbery Sherlock's 1917 catalog. The avocado nurseries were located in Altadena.

They even provided avocado recipes.
Avocado ice cream, anyone?

View more photos:

 
| Seed Catalogs – Home | 1888-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1945 | Avocados | Wartime | Aggeler & Musser | Germain’s | Bibliography |

Copyright: The Los Angeles County Arboretum makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Arboretum. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.

Early Fruit & Vegetable Seed Catalogs of Southern California: Aggeler & Musser Seed Company

E. A. Aggeler & Henry L. Musser opened their seed company in 1896 at 620 South Spring Street, Los Angeles. They also later opened a Market Branch store at 767 South Central Avenue. Both stores are featured on this page from their 1920 catalog.

 A 1921 profile of Musser and his company extols the many contributions that they made to southern California: “Through the long continued experiments carried on by this organization have been introduced some vegetables of national reputation, including the California Pearl Cauliflower, the Los Angeles Market Lettuce, the Casaba Melons, the White Rose Potatoes, the Anaheim Chili and Pimiento Peppers and many varieties of vegetation of local prominence, all of which have meant millions of dollars to Los Angeles and California” (McGroarty, 633).

Aggeler & Musser sought to set themselves apart as honest, reliable seedsmen who knew their business well and who were happy to educate their customers.
Like many nurseries at the time, in addition to offering seeds, they also offered gardening tools, poultry supplies, and remedies for animals.
 
 

1920
1920
1920
1944

 
View more photos on our Flickr page:

| Seed Catalogs – Home | 1888-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1945 | Avocados | Wartime | Aggeler & Musser | Germain’s | Bibliography |

 
Copyright: The Los Angeles County Arboretum makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Arboretum. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.

Plants sorted by color

Here you can see slideshows of images sorted by the color of the flower. It is a subjective selection based on the digitized images and the colors occuring after the digitization process. 
Read more about the project and the main purposes

Pink

White

Red

Orange

Blue

Purple

Yellow

Green

Early Fruit & Vegetable Seed Catalogs of Southern California: Germain’s Seed Company

 
Germain Seed and Plant Company was established in 1871 by Swiss born Eugene Germain at 326 – 330 South Main St., Los Angeles.

Eugene Germain was a very prominent Angeleno serving as the first president of the Board of Trade, and was one of the first vice-presidents of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. In 1893 he was appointed by President Cleveland to serve as United States Consul to Switzerland (McGroaty, 682).

Germain’s son Marc succeeded him as president in 1909, and in 1922, Manfred Meyberg took over the presidency after working his way up from stock clerk (Padilla, 202). Both are featured in this staff picture from the 1915 catalog. Another pioneer in California’s horticultural history, Theodore Payne, also worked for Germain’s from 1896 until 1903 when he started his own business (Padilla, 163)

We were excited to find such an early example of one of the catalogs in Spanish; published in 1906. More photos from this catalog can be viewed in the Flickr slideshow below.

Germain's later moved to 625 S. Hill Street and opened several locations in California as can be seen in the 1945 catalog below.

View more photos in the Flickr slideshow:

| Seed Catalogs – Home | 1888-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1945 | Avocados | Wartime | Aggeler & Musser | Germain’s | Bibliography |

Copyright: The Los Angeles County Arboretum makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Arboretum. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.

Shrubs and trees

What defines a tree or a shrub?
Tree: A tree is a perennial woody plant. It most often has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification and height at maturity are sometimes cited as part of the definition of a tree at maturity.
Shrub: Woody plants that do not meet the definition of a tree by having multiple stems and/or are small in size are usually called shrubs.

Ribes speciosum Pursh

Ribes speciosum is a very common and beautiful shrub that is native to California. It is found in shaded canyons and woodlands up to 1500 ft. and in coastal sage scrub and chaparral, ranging from northern Baja to Santa Clara County. It is a member of the currant family, Grossulariaceae, which contains only one genus of about 200 species.
Ribes speciosum. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. XVIII (18: plate 1557. 1832).
Find out plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
Currants and gooseberries were classified as two separate genera, but the plants are so similar that both are now included in a single genus, Ribes, from an Arabic word that means acidic. It is very easy to tell the difference between a gooseberry and a currant; gooseberries have prickly or armed stems, and currants are smooth-stemmed. All members of the currant family are shrubs that bear mostly edible berries. The garden gooseberry, Ribes uva-crispa, and the cultivated currant, Ribes nigra, have been grown for centuries. Many species of Ribes grow in our local mountains.
The fuschia-flowered gooseberry is one of Southern California’s showiest natives, hence the species name speciosum. Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry bears an armor of thorns along its branches and the fruits are strikingly spiky. The spiny, arching branches are covered in inch-long, dangling, cherry-red blossoms from January through May, making it a superb hummingbird plant.
Melaleuca fulgens R. Br.
Melaleuca fulgens, commonly known as the scarlet honey myrtle, is a shrub or small tree of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) endemic to Western Australia.
Melaleuca fulgens. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. II (2: plate 103. 1816).
Find plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
The myrtle family is a family of dicotyledonous plants. Clove, guava, feijoa, allspice and eucalyptus belong in this family where the species are woody, contain essential oils and have flower parts in multiples of four or five. One notable character of the family is that the phloem is located on both sides of the xylem, not just outside as in most other plants.
Melaleuca is a genus of around 170 species. However, there are many unnamed and incorrectly named species and the true number is probably well in excess of 200.  The botanical name for the genus means black and white and presumably refers to the blackened lower bark and white upper bark of some species, resulting from fire.  Melaleucas are commonly known as paperbarks  in the tree forms and  honey myrtles  in the smaller forms.
Melaleuca is closely related to Callistemon (bottlebrushes), and differs from that genus in the way that the stamens are connected to the floral tube. The stamens are generally free in Callistemon but united into bundles in Melaleuca.
The scarlet honey myrtle is notable for its showy orange, red or purple flowers. It was one of the many species first described by the botanist Robert Brown, appearing in literature in 1812. The species name is the Latin adjective fulgens, meaning bright, and refers to the showy flowers.
This shrub has narrow leaves 0.75 to 1 inch long, and both leaves and branches give an aromatic fragrance when bruised. Native birds, particularly Australian Honeyeaters searching for nectar, are attracted to the shrub when it is in flower.  In California, the flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds.
More shrubs and trees

You can see all images in full size if you click on the image slider, or visit Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden Flickr-page.

Early Fruit and Vegetable Seed Catalogs in Southern California: Wartime

The catalogs below are an example of some of the patriotism on display during both World Wars I and II.  American citizens were encouraged to grow their own fruits and vegetables and start their own Victory Gardens to do their part.

 
Paul J. Howard's Flowerland. Victory, Vegetables, Vitamins (c. 1940s)

Paul J. Howard's Flowerland offered customers a Victory Garden planting chart. (c. 1940s)

Paul J. Howard's Vegetable Seeds of Outstanding Merit
“Plant your Victory Garden with these selected seeds for fresh, home-grown vegetables of mouth-watering quality.”
(c. 1940s)

“America” the Food Supplier of the World
This catalog appealed to American patriotism.
Aggeler & Musser Seed Company (1944)

This page gives thanks to the return of the boys who served in WWI.
Aggeler & Musser Seed Company (1920)

Raise Some Food and Help Win the War
Fraser's California Sun Ripened Vegetable and Flower Seeds (1943)

Diegaard's Nursery told customers that planting fruit was “a decided effort toward victory which is the duty of each and every one of us. 
Diegaard Nurseries (1943)

On this page, Germain's tells it's customers that they have been supplying badly needed vegetable seeds to our Allies.
Germain Seed Company (1945)

New Beans from “Over There”
Theodore Payne advertises beans that were sent to him from the boys at the front.
Theodore Payne Garden Guide (1919)

| Seed Catalogs – Home | 1888-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1945 | Avocados | Wartime | Aggeler & Musser | Germain’s | Bibliography |

 
Copyright: The Los Angeles County Arboretum makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Arboretum. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.

Perennials

What defines a perennial?
Perennial Plant: A perennial plant, or simply “perennial,” is a plant that lives for more than two years. The name is derived from the Latin words per (“through”) and annus (“year.”)

Euphorbia rigida M. Bieb
Euphorbia rigida is commonly known as gopher spurge or upright myrtle spurge. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and South Africa, where it is considered a weed. The common name “spurge” derives from the Middle English and Old French spurge – “to purge” – due to the use of the plant's sap as a purgative. 
Euphorbia rigida. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. XXIV (24: plate 43. 1838).
Find plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
Euphorbus is the Greek physician of King Juba II of Numidia (52–50 BC – 23 AD), who married the daughter of Anthony and Cleopatra. He wrote that one of the cactus-like euphorbias was a powerful laxative. In 12 BC, Juba named this plant after his physician Euphorbus. Botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus assigned the name Euphorbia to the entire genus in the physician's honor. 
This plant belongs to a genus of plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of about 2,000 species, Euphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom. The genus is primarily found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and the Americas, but also in temperate zones worldwide. Succulent species originate mostly from Africa, the Americas, and Madagascar. The plants are annual or perennial herbs, woody shrubs or trees with a caustic, poisonous, milky sap. The roots are fine or thick and fleshy or tuberous. Many species are more or less succulent, thorny or unarmed. The main stem, as well as the side arms of the succulent species, are thick and fleshy. The deciduous leaves are opposite, alternate or in whorls. In succulent species the leaves are mostly small and short-lived. 
Euphorbia veneta. Currently known as Euphorbia characias. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. XXIV (24: plate 6. 1838).
The milky sap of spurges, called latex, evolved as a deterrent to herbivores. It is usually white and colorless when dry. The pressurized sap seeps from the slightest wound and congeals after a few minutes in air. In contact with mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth, the latex can produce extremely painful inflammation. Therefore, spurges should be handled with caution and kept away from children and pets. Latex on skin should be washed off immediately and thoroughly.
Anigozanthos flavidus DC

Anigozanthos flavidus is a member of the Haemodoraceae, occurring in the open forests of south-western Australia. Commonly it is referred to as tall kangaroo paw or evergreen kangaroo paw. The name may arise from the Greek word anisos meaning unequal and anthos, a flower, referring to the shape of the flower. 
Anigozanthos flavidus. In the source referred to as Anigozanthus flavida. var bicolor. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. XXIV (24: plate 64. 1838).
Find plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
The kangaroo paws comprise a small group of 11 species in the genus Anigozanthos and a single species in the genus Macropidia. They are perennial herbs consisting of strap-like leaves arising from underground rhizomes. Flowers occur in clusters on stalks, which emerge from the bases of the leaves. A number of species die back to the rhizome in summer, regenerating in autumn.
Anigozanthos flavidus. Image source: Edwards’s Botanical Register Vol. XXIV (24: plate 37. 1838). 
Find plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
Anigozanthos flavidus is the most widely cultivated member of the kangaroo paws, as it has proven to be hardy in many climatic zones, even those with humid summers, which often do not suit plants from the west. In comparison with other kangaroo paws, A. flavidus is probably the least attractive species. The typical color of the flowers is a pale greenish-yellow, which is not particularly appealing. However, the combination of hardiness and bird attraction has made the plant popular in cultivation. Owing to its vigor, A. flavidus has been the basis of considerable hybridization work involving the other, more colorful species, which have proven difficult to maintain in cultivation.  A. flavidus can be grown from seeds without any pretreatment. The species can also be propagated by dividing the clumps after flowering. This is the best way to propagate desirable color forms. Hybrid kangaroo paws are propagated commercially by tissue culture.
Epilobium canum (Greene) P.H. Raven
Epilobium canum, known as zauschneria or California fuchsia, is a species of willow herb and a member of Onagraceae, the evening primrose family. Native to dry slopes and chaparral of western North America, especially California, it is a perennial plant notable for the profusion of bright scarlet flowers in late summer and autumn. Other common names are hummingbird flower and hummingbird trumpet. 
Epilobium canum. In source referred to as Zauschinera Californica. Image source: The Floricultural Cabinet and Florist's Magazine. (1848) Vol XVI (16). P. 265.
Find plant location in the garden with Google Maps.
The original genus name was in honor of Johann Baptista Josef Zauschner (1737–1799), a professor of medicine and botany in Prague. The genus name Epilobium canum comes from three Greek words: epi (“upon”), lobos (“pod” or “capsule”), as the flower and capsule appear together, and canum meaning “ash-colored”, “gray”, “hoary.”
California fuchsia is slender-stemmed and multi-branched with toothed, green, lanceolate to ovate leaves that are densely covered with fine, short hairs. The lower leaves are generally opposite, the upper mostly alternate. The flowers are scarlet, tubular to funnel shaped with a basal bulge, and with four two-cleft petals, borne on short auxiliary stems. California fuchsia grows at elevations to 10,000 ft. in dry areas, rocky slopes, and cliffs.
More perennials

You can see all images in full size if you click on the image slider, or visit Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden Flickr-page.

Plants sorted by family

Here you can watch slideshows of images from specific plant familys. Click on the slideshow to see the images in full size.
Amaryllidaceae family

Alstroemeriaceae family

Asteraceae family

Fabaceae family

Grossulariaceae family

Haemodoraceae family

Iridaceae family

Malvaceae family

Onagraceae family

Proteaceae family

Rhamnaceae family

Solanaceae family

Early Fruit & Vegetable Seed Catalogs of Southern California: Bibliography

Below are resources that were cited or researched for this project:
 
California State Agricultural Society. Transactions of the California State Agricultural Society. Sacramento: G.H. Springer, 1894.
McGroaty, John Steven. Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea: with Selected Biography of Actors and Witnesses to the Period of Growth and Achievement, Volume 3. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921. (Available on Google Books)Padilla, Victoria. Southern California Gardens: An Illustrated History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1961. (Available at the Los Angeles County Arboretum Library)
Roske, Ralph J. Everyman’s Eden. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968. (Available at the Los Angeles County Arboretum Library)Sackman, Douglas C. Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
Sheddon, Thomas. Learn to Love the Avocado. 1928
 
List of companies featured in this project (and on Flickr):
Aggeler & Musser, Los Angeles
Armstrong Nurseries, Ontario
Diegaard Nurseries, Monrovia
Richard Diener Nursery, Oxnard
Fraser's, Pasadena
Germain Seed & Plant Company, Los Angeles
Harris Seed Company, San Diego
Hobbs-Gregg Nurseries, San Dimas
Paul J. Howard's Flowerland, Los Angeles
Knott's Berry Place, Buena Park
Morris & Snow Seed Compnay, Los Angeles
Newbery-Sherlock Avocado Nurseries, Pasadena
Orcutt Seed & Plant Company, San Diego
Pasadena Nursery, Pasadena
Theodore Payne Seedsman & Nurseryman, Los Angeles
Peddycord's, Pasadena
Pioneer Nursery, Monrovia
R. M. Teague Nurseries, Reseda
Tuttle Brothers Nurseries, Pasadena
Wagner Nurseries, Pasadena
Winsel's, Los Angeles
| Seed Catalogs – Home | 1888-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1945 | Avocados | Wartime | Aggeler & Musser | Germain’s | Bibliography |
 

 

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Phone: 626.821.3222

301 N. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA, 91007