OVLC Nursery

Plants from Ojai, for Ojai!

The OVLC nursery was constructed at the Ojai Meadows Preserve in 2007 to support the restoration projects there. Over the last 15 years, it has continued to grow into a space for plant propagation, educational opportunities like our Nursery Internship Program (funded by the Green Valley Project), and community outreach at plant sales. Last season was the biggest growing year ever. Our nursery produced more than 5,000 native plants for OVLC’s preserves, government agencies, environmental organizations, landscapers, and the community. This season we have 8,500 plants growing in our nursery! As part of Rewild Ojai, OVLC plans to continue to equip all those who need local plants for years to come.

“Seeds need to be genetically adapted to the climate where they are used.”

— National Academy of Sciences, 2023

Special plants for a special place

The OVLC is unique in the valley in that we adhere to best practices for sustainable local seed collection. We harvest seed only from plants in our local Ventura River watershed to preserve our precious local genetics. Using watershed-specific, hyper-local plants comes with a host of benefits, including better adaptation to climate fluctuations. The OVLC nursery supplies plants and seed to our ecological restoration projects, and our Rewild program for gardeners and landowners. Plants from Ojai, for Ojai!

COMMUNITY PLANT SALES

In spring and fall of each year, OVLC holds Plant Sales for the community. We typically hold one sale in April and another in November, but as we expand, we hope to make native plants available more frequently. The nursery is not open to the public outside of these plant sales and occasional volunteer events.

BUYING PLANTS OUTSIDE OF PLANT SALES

We often have plants available for purchase throughout the growing season – fall, winter, and spring. While our inventory is always changing with the ebb and flow of the season, we are always happy to work with you to provide sufficient plants for your project.

Contact OVLC’s Native Plant Specialist, Sophie McLean, at sophie@ovlc.org for more information.

CONTRACT ORDERS

If you are planning a larger project and have specific native plant requests, we may be able to help! We can work with you to refine the plant palette for your project and grow plants specifically for you at a discounted rate. Contract orders are ideal for homeowners, landscapers, and contractors with landscaping projects, as well as agencies, organizations, and consultants working on restoration or mitigation projects.

For contract orders, we ask that you contact us 4-6 months in advance with your project idea and plant needs, and place an order for a minimum of 75 plants. If you are an agency representative, local organization, or landscaper, inquire about our partner discount. View the Contract Order Plant List.

Directions

The nursery is located adjacent to the Lomita Entrance of the Ojai Meadows Preserve about 100 yards down Besant Road on the left side of the road. There’s a gravel pullout on the left where nursery visitors and preserve users can park.

Nursery Coordinates: 34.44329, -119.2763

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