Blog


Red Bird of Paradise or Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Plant of the Moment: Red Bird of Paradise or Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima). The forecourt is a blaze of color as this West Indies native comes into bloom! The Red Bird of Paradise so impressed the 17th-century Spanish explorers when they saw it in bloom that they imported it to Europe, where it has been gracing[…]

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A big thank you to eight devoted Rancho Los Cerritos volunteers who showed up on the hottest day of the year thus far to toil in the garden! It takes many hands to keep the site maintained for our community to enjoy, but this was an especially amazing group of people! If you are interested[…]

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RLC decorated for July 4th

Imagine you are at Rancho Los Cerritos in 1876 celebrating the 100th birthday of the United States with the Bixby family. As the evening approaches you are sitting with Sarah Bixby Smith waiting for the sky to be enveloped in a glorious display of “sky-rockets.” The Fourth of July is one of the most important[…]

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National Pollinator Week! National Pollinator Week, a worldwide celebration, is from June 21-27 and is initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership. The sole purpose of this week is to celebrate and encourage others to learn ways that we can protect pollinators. Many pollinators are increasingly being affected by the possibility of extinction and National Pollinator[…]

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Juneteenth National Independence Day has just been made a national holiday. It is celebrated on June 19th to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday dates back to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved people were free.[…]

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Plant of the Moment: Justicia carnea – Brazilian Plume Flower. Located in the backyard’s shaded planter beds to the east of the wisteria arbor, this delightful perennial generally has two, and occasionally three, waves of brilliant color in the summer. And it’s not just a pretty flower! Scientists have been looking into its medicinal qualities,[…]

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Plant of the Moment: Romneya (Matilija Poppy). They are scattered throughout the California native garden, the flowers of this perennial started to pop up in mid-April. They are primarily native to Ojai, with scattered populations found as far south as Baja California. The Matilija poppy’s preferred habitats are dry washes and canyons where its underground[…]

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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI): How Chinese women were erased from history. For Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, we want to also acknowledge the Chinese women that are missing from our history. When talking about the past, it is important to acknowledge what is there but also what is missing and[…]

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Rancho Los Cerritos mourns the passing of Julia Bogany. We had the privilege of collaborating with Ms. Bogany on our most recent exhibit, Tevaaxa’nga to Today: Stories of the Tongva People as well as on children’s programming related to the exhibit. Julia Bogany shared her knowledge and wisdom with the curatorial team for the exhibit’s[…]

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