Theodore Payne (June 19, 1872 - May 6, 1963), was an English

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

, and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. His best known work was done over his adult life in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Biography

Payne was born at Manor Farm,

Church Brampton Church Brampton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Church with Chapel Brampton, in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. Together with nearby Chapel Brampton the two villages ar ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on June 19, 1872. Payne was orphaned and sent to

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

and then served an apprenticeship in

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

. He first saw California native plants in London, at The

Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

in 1891. Payne was apprenticed for three years to J. Cheal and Sons, a nursery firm in Crawley, Sussex.Theodore Payne Foundation: Theodore Payne biography
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California

In June 1893 Payne completed his contract and traveled to the United States. He arrived in New York, traveled to Chicago where he visited the World's Columbian Exhibition, then set out for Southern California. Upon arriving in 1893, he worked for a week picking apricots, then in July found a job as head gardener for Madame

Helena Modjeska Helena Modrzejewska (; born Jadwiga Helena Mizel; October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909), known professionally in the United States as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish-American actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. She was success ...

at "Arden." her ranch estate in Santiago Canyon of eastern Orange County. In his memoir, '' Life on the Modjeska Ranch in the Gay Nineties '', he offers perhaps the best account of daily life on the Modjeska Ranch. It was there that he began his lifelong interest in

California native plants California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...

, exploring the extensive natural areas surrounding the Ranch. In 1898, Payne left the employment of Madame Modjeska for a position with the Germain Seed Company. He remained with this firm for five years, becoming head of the seed department. He started his own business in 1903 when he purchased the Evans Nursery in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

. California native wildflower seeds and bulbs and native plants were the specialty of his

plant nursery A nursery is a place where plants are plant propagation, propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which se ...

business. His nursery location moved several times before settling permanently on Los Feliz Boulevard in

Atwater Village Atwater Village is a neighborhood in the 13th district of Los Angeles, California. Much of Atwater Village lies in the fertile Los Angeles River flood plain. Located in the northeast region of the city, Atwater Village borders Griffith Park and ...

in 1923, a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The main nursery building was designed by architect

Myron Hunt Myron Hubbard Hunt (February 27, 1868 – May 26, 1952) was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California and Evanston, Illinois. Hunt was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Archi ...

. Even in the early years of the 20th century, native

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s were being lost to agriculture and housing at an alarming rate in California. He urged the use of

and lectured across the state on preserving the wild flowers and landscapes native to California. In 1907 Payne married Alice Noyes in San Francisco, a marriage of 56 years. In 1915 he laid out and planted 262 species in a wild garden in Exposition Park, in central Los Angeles. In 1926 he helped to establish the Blaksley Botanic Garden (Santa Barbara Botanic Garden) in Santa Barbara, In 1939 he created native plant garden with 178 plant species at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

He assisted Susan Bixby Bryant in 1927 with the siting and design of the original Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Orange County, and helped relocate the Garden to

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

in 1951. In 1958 he helped create the native plant garden at

Descanso Gardens Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. It sits on the northern edge of the San Rafael Hills. Descanso Gardens features a wide area, mostly f ...

in La Cañada. By the time he retired in 1958, Payne had introduced over 430 species of native plants to the public through his nursery. Theodore Payne died on May 6, 1963.

Organizations

He was a founding member of the California Association of Nurserymen—CAN, the Wild Flower Club, the Nature Club, and other horticultural organizations. He was a member of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, including serving as president of the organization. He was a member of many other local horticultural, scientific, and social organizations. The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants was founded and incorporated in 1960 upon Payne's retirement to carry on his life's work. The Foundation is located in

Sun Valley, California Sun Valley is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood is known for its younger population. There are three recreation centers in Sun Valley, one of which is a historic site. The neighborhood ...

, a community in the City of Los Angeles. The Foundation promotes the understanding and preservation of California native flora by propagating plants for use by the general public, through educational programs related to the horticulture and botany of the flora, with the display of botanical art depicting the flora, among other programs. The Foundation hold Payne's business and personal papers, an archive that provides insight to the horticultural history of California. ::::"''Be a good Californian; be loyal to your own state and keep your landscape Californian, by planting trees from California.''" — Theodore Payne

References

Bibliography

*"Life on the Modjeska Ranch in the Gay Nineties", by Theodore Payne, 1962. *"Theodore Payne In His Own Words: a voice for California Native Plants", by Theodore Payne, Many Moons Press 2004. *"Wildflowers of the Pacific Southweste", by Theodore Payne, 1939.

External links