Tickets on Sale Friday - 2/6/26

NEXT HYBRID MEETING: Riley Black, When The Earth Was Green, February 21, Oasis, RB And Zoom

Riley Black is the bestselling and award-winning author of When the Earth Was Green , The Last Days of the Dinosaurs , and more. A regular contributor to National Geographic , Smithsonian , and Slate , as well as a repeat guest on NOVA and Science Friday , Riley has spent more than fifteen years bringing the public the latest about the deep past. When not enthusing over fossils in articles and books, Riley regularly volunteers with museum field teams to uncover new

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SDHS Facebook Group

Join and visit our Facebook Group and interact with other San Diego Horticultural Society Members and friends.

Previous Zoom Meetings

If you missed a zoom meeting or want to watch all or part of it again, meetings recordings are now available via SDHS YouTube Channel, or use the links below.

This Month's Articles

NEXT HYBRID MEETING: Riley Black, When The Earth Was Green, February 21, Oasis, RB And Zoom

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NEXT SHARING GARDENS: Saturday, February 14, 2026, Stroll A Fabulous 2-Acre Open Garden In Olivenhain

Registration Opens Jan 31, 2026. Members bring your Valentine to a fabulous garden! On Saturday, February 14, 2026, a sumptuous garden will be open to members of the San Diego Horticultural Society (SDHS). Stroll this 2-acre garden in Olivenhain and see the paradise created over the last 30 years. The garden is a mixture of plants ranging from drought tolerant to tropical. Some special features are the lath house, tool shed, koi ponds, and numerous pieces of art. As a bonus

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NEXT SD HORT BOOK CLUB: In Kiltumper by Niall Williams With Christine Breen, February 2, 2026, 4:30/5p On Zoom

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! February 2026. Join us on Zoom for a discussion of In Kiltumper - A Year in an Irish Garden by Niall Williams with Christine Breen (Pacific Time) at 4:30p for social half hour and 5p for book discussion on January 12, 2026. Kiltumper in Co. Clare is where Niall Williams and Christine Breen have been living and writing for 40 years. This is a warm-hearted and uplifting memoir of their life in rural Ireland. "Its byways are as meande

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BOTANICAL ENCOUNTERS: The Atacama Superbloom, Chile 2011

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. The Atacama Superbloom, Chile 2011 Let’s return to the fog shrouded Atacama Desert coast in Chile… …and immerse ourselves in the abundance of tough desert flora that were exuberantly flowering in the aftermath of a rare phenomenon in the Atacama, rain. As we know, the plants survive on whatever moisture the perpetual fog offers. Each plant has strategies for waiting until the next time there is rain whe

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TREES, PLEASE! Are Your Trees Climate Ready?

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. Standing Groundhog - LadyCamera, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 Are Your Trees Climate Ready? Valentine’s Day is looming, but February 2nd is Groundhog Day . Although we have ample sunshine for groundhogs to see their shadow, where are all the woodchucks? Duh. There aren’t any marmots in San Diego ( unless you count the one that hitch-hiked from NorCal in 2009 ). So how do “we” know that win

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FROM THE MASTER GARDENERS: Staghorn Ferns

By Mike Harrelson, UCCE Master Gardener of San Diego County. First published in the San Diego Union Tribune March 2023. Republished with permission in Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. Photo source: Staghorn Fern Background Images, HD Pictures and Wallpaper For Free Download | Pngtree . Staghorn Ferns For sheer pop, indoors or out, staghorn ferns ( Platycerium spp.) can’t be beat. Once considered difficult to grow in San Diego County, staghorn ferns are now commonly found in

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GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Pollinator Food And Host Plants For Butterflies And More!

By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. What a great color coordination! "Desert Marigold Moth (in a Desert Marigold flower)" by Lon&Queta, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Pollinator Food and Host Plants for Butterflies and More! Native plants in our gardens create a sanctuary for nature that supports the local biodiversity by supporting native pollinators. Some pollinators are generalists and go to many different species of flowers, while others, known as spec

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MEETING REPORT: Horticulturist Of The Year 2026, Nancy Carol Carter, Celebration

SD Hort president Karen England presented Nancy with her award basket that included a framed certificate, a lifetime membership to the San Diego Horticultural Society, Felco pruners and a carrying sheath, a 2026 journal and a maple wood-turned bowl by Ray Brooks. Photo credit: Rachel Cobb. Horticulturist of the Year for 2026 Nancy Carol Carter. There was carrot cake from VG's Bakery in Cardiff. Photo credit: Rachel Cobb. About Nancy - After a long and rewardi

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SHARING GARDENS REPORT: January 2026 Vista Open Garden Of Julian And Leslie Duval

By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let's Talk Plants! February 2026. Photo credit: Member Sherry Simmons, used with permission. Julian Duval (the SDHS Horticulturist of the Year in 2014) was the first President/CEO of Quail Botanical Gardens (now San Diego Botanic Garden) from 1995 until 2018, during which he grew this outstanding botanical treasure from an all-volunteer hidden gem to the bustling modern venue it is today. During his tenure at SDBG he and his wife Leslie purchased a 2/

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SHARING SECRETS: What’s In Bloom?

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. What’s In Bloom? This month’s question… What is blooming in your garden or in the gardens of those around you that make you happy it’s in season? And take and send a photo, if you can too! Kay McGrath tells us … ... It is the season for aloes to bloom! This year they are fantastic. Christel Chase of 92103 relates… ... So great that you propelled me outside, AWAY from my computer! I found

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GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: Birds Of A Feather

By Francesca Filanc, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. Encouraging and Enjoying Songbirds in the Garden Movie still from Field of Dreams, dvdbeaver.com “If you build it, they will come.” Do you remember the movie Field of Dreams? The lead actor Kevin Costner built a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield, and if I remember the film correctly, it was to encourage baseball players to play baseball and then people came to watch. When I moved to this property 10 ½ yea

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