From a speech at Descanso Gardens about the Theodore Payne Foundation...

Text: "Well I hope for the Foundation that we’ll be able to grow a large variety of native trees and shrubs and wildflowers and bulbs and ferns and everything and supply them to the people at reasonable rates; to give some to schools and Boy Scouts and Campfire Girls and so on. Also to enter into a campaign of education; educate the people to the value of these beautiful things that God’s given us in this beautiful California."

From a speech at the dedication of the Theodore Payne Wildflower Sanctuary out near Lancaster...

Text:" Now there’s a great demand for wildflowers, a great demand for native plants, and we have such a wonderful native flora: we have about a hundred kinds of native trees, about a thousand kinds of native shrubs (and shrubby plants), and four [or] five thousand kinds of other plants (wildflowers, perennials, and ferns). With all of this great wealth of natural vegetation it’s a great pity we don’t utilize more of it. Furthermore, some of it is becoming very scarce in its wild state.  And unless something is done to save it, why, a lot of it will go out of existence.  So that it is very necessary that we have some kind of an organization that we can grow these things and make them available to the public. There’s so much work to be done, so it’s got to be a non-profit institution. And there’s a tremendous amount of work that an institution of this kind can do! In educational way, schools are very much interested in natives and wildflowers.. Many of them want nature trails. The Audubon Society wants them. We have call from everybody. Lately we’ve had a call from several people for advice.  And that’s another thing the Foundation aims to do is to give free advice to different people and institutions and individuals who want a native planting."