Theodore Payne

Theodore Payne (June 19, 1872 - May 6, 1963), was an English horticulturist, gardener, landscape designer, and botanist. His best known work was done over his adult life in Southern California.

Payne was born at Manor Farm, Church Brampton Northamptonshire, England on June 19, 1872. Payne was ophaned and sent to Ackworth School and then served an apprenticeship in horticulture. He first saw California native plants in London, at The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in 1891. Payne was apprenticed for three years to J. Cheal and Sons, a nursery firm in Crawley, Sussex.

In June 1893 Payne completed his contract and traveled to the United States. He arrived in New York, travelled 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 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, 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. California native wildflower seeds and bulbs and native plants were the specialty of his plant nursery business. His nursery location moved several times before settling permanently on Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village in 1923, a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The main nursery building was designed by architect Myron Hunt.

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