THOUSAND OAKS : Clubs Plan Tours of Botanic Garden

In honor of Arbor Day, local garden clubs will host free tours and talks in the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden in Thousand Oaks on Sunday.

After two tree-planting ceremonies--scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2 p.m--members of the Conejo Valley and Westlake garden clubs will take visitors through the Botanic Garden, showing them an orchard of rare fruit trees, a butterfly garden and many varieties of native plants.

A family tour is scheduled for 3 p.m., and a general tour will start at 3:30 p.m.. Both begin at the garden entrance off Gainsborough Road between Lynn and Moorpark roads.

Highlights include the more than 60 unusual fruit trees, including sapote (a light green fruit that tastes like pudding), capulin cherries (which look like supermarket cherries but have a different flavor) and cherimoya (which taste like a cross between pineapple and banana).

Many of the offbeat trees will not be in bloom, but an expert will be on hand to answer questions, said Andrea Hager, a member of the rare fruit growers club.

Club members are hoping the events will help raise public awareness of the Botanic Garden.

“More and more crowds have been coming to the garden, more and more families,” said Carmen Oblinger, who volunteers at the Botanic Garden. “People are starting to get the message.”