Nancy Carol Carter   Celebrating the Horticulturist of the Year for 2026 Nancy Carol Carter. Reminder, there is no meeting in December. Join us on January 17, from 1:30p - 3:30p, at Oasis Rancho Bernardo (Note: this meeting will be held upstairs in the Grand Assembly Hall and not in our regular room downstairs.) Click here to register to attend. About Nancy - After a long and rewarding career in legal education, Nancy Carol Carter retired as a Professor of Law and Director o

Conclude the year and celebrate the winter solstice with a self-guided tour of Jim Bishop and Scott Borden's hillside garden in Mission Hills. Many of the large aloes and drought-tolerant plants are currently in full bloom. Their 1930s Spanish-revival style house and garden in Mission Hills offer views of Mission Valley. Scott and Jim have been cultivating the steep hillside for 24 years. In 2003, they transformed an old, cold swimming pool into a walled garden featuring a st

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! December 2025. Join us on Zoom for discussion of Truffle Hound by Rowan Jacobsen at 4:30/5p pacific time on Zoom on January 5, 2026. Truffles attract dreamers, schemers, and sensualists. People spend years training dogs to find them underground (or pay absurd amounts for a ringer). They plant entire forests of oaks and wait a decade for truffles to appear. They pay $3,000 a pound to possess them. They turn into quivering puddles in th

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. The Atacama Blooms - Copiapoa Cactuses Let’s continue our quest for the marvels of El Desierto Florido, the Atacama super bloom of September 2011. Along this foggy Pacific coast, ... ... as is often the case in areas that outsiders might consider gloomy, everything is colorfully painted. Fishing ... ... and mining are the two main industries. We of course enjoyed delicious fresh fish. Nature’s fishermen

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. Turkey Tails - Trametes versicolor -  fruiting body on rotting tree log. Bernard Spragg – Flickr Pro: https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/41856600312 . Urban Tree Observations: Conks, Stains, Saps and Bugs In October, I wrote about abiotic tree mishaps – especially those inflicted on urban trees by well-meaning humans. Many were preventable, so please re-read that essay  if you’re a DIYer, as many of those failures

By Jason Chen, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. Photo credit: Excerpted from Let's Talk Plants!  March 2018. " Camellia japonica , COMMON CAMELLIA (Theaceae), East Asia.   Sharon Lee's dazzling display of large and small pink, white, red, and variegated Camellia blooms [at a meeting]. They were fragrant and simply beautiful to share. Some arrived in individual plastic containers, and each was displayed in its own tiny water dish. 'Nuccio’s Pink Lace', 'Frank Houser', 'Nu

By Skye Resendes, UC Master Gardener of San Diego County. First published by the Union Tribune on December 10, 2022. Reprinted with permission, in Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. Wix stock photo. Evergreens Can Be Part of a Sustainable Holiday Celebration Here’s how to incorporate fragrant trees and boughs, long a symbol of life and hope, and still be a green consumer. Traditionally decorated Christmas Nobel fir Christmas tree. Photo Credit: larsmarkusson. The history of de

By Susan Lewitt, for Let's Talk Plants! December 2025. Calscape Sicklepod rockcress © 2009 Gary A. Monroe. Okay, this is a teaser! This marvel is tiny and hard to find in nurseries, but I just couldn’t resist showing it off! This and others like it could be lost without our supporting biodiversity through the use of native plants. Left photo: "Sicklepod rockcress" by Henrik Kibak is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Middle photo: "Sicklepod rockcress" by Tom Wainwright is licensed u

By Joan Herskowitz, originally published December 2024, in Encinitas Magazine. Reprinted with permission in Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. Photo credit: Janine Free. Neel’s Nursery: Making California's native plants available to San Diego County. Surrounding a gazebo tucked away on a wooded lot in the Gold Coast Plaza on Coast Hwy 101, across the street from the Pannikin coffee shop, you will find an Encinitas treasure. You have arrived at Neel’s Nursery, the County’s only

By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. For over two decades a meeting highlight was the Plant Forum, where a horticultural expert spoke about plants brought in by members. These descriptions were printed in the newsletter and were also compiled, and are available free on our website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum .  This is an alphabetical listing of over 7500 plants, including over 1600 detailed descriptions. Check it out when thinking about plants to a

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let's Talk Plants! December 2025. Question for Sharing Secrets for this month… Can you share vignettes or items from your garden, in words and if possible, pictures, that are made with a sculptural element. Or maybe you can just share pottery or items you use to amuse yourself. In other words, your version of Garden Art! (Some have said this is a great question! Well, we have Ida Rigby to thank for this. If you have a question or thought, share it w

Words and pictures by Francesca Filanc, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. As a Francophile I eat outside in the garden for almost every meal and live an artistic French lifestyle . Photo credit: Francesca Filanc. The French Lifestyle Thanksgiving is just around the corner and before you know it, when you read this article,   it will be December. We have had a lot of much needed rain in California this November.  As I was driving down the country lane on the approach to my

In-person at San Diego Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, CA. Online registration required - SD Hort Member (and their guest) registration is FREE and in-person non-member registration is $15.00 (Consider joining or renewing with the San Diego Horticultural Society for $30.00 and attend this meeting for free.) Next meeting: November 15, 2025 At Oasis RB, 1:30p-3p Chuck the Plant Guy! Chuck McClung is a lifelong plant enthusiast, gardening mentor, landscaping consultant, and author. Popu

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2025. Join us on Zoom for discussion of The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, on Monday November 3, 2025, at 4:30/5p pacific time on Zoom. Note: The Zoom SDHBC meeting link is not published, instead it is emailed to discussion participants. If you would like to receive the link, please email info@sdhort.org  with “book club” in the subject line. An Instant New York Times Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling au

By Jim Bishop, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2025. For years after a road trip that Scott and I took in Western Australia back in 2016, I'd wanted to return. I was totally blown away by the plants, scenery, animals and open spaces. (You can read my posts from that trip here: https://mylifewithplants.blogspot.com/search?q=Southwest+australia/ .) This time since the planning and driving was somewhat difficult, we decided to take a tour focused on wildflowers. We especially

By Tim Clancy, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. Located on 101 in Solana Beach. Representative of which species? Photo credit: Chartreuse Appreciation Society. Travel Advisory – PODOCARPUS SPECIES Destination: Coastal Region of Encinitas, California Advisory Level:  Level 3 – Exercise Increased Caution Summary: Podocarpus specimens are advised to exercise increased caution when choosing the coastal area of San Diego County as permanent growing locations due to inhospita

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. Image by   Michaela Wenzler   from  Pixabay. Growing Radishes in San Diego - Crisp, Colorful, and Flavorful San Diego’s blend of sunshine and mild seasons means you can enjoy homegrown radishes nearly year-round.  Crisp, colorful, and full of flavor, they’re one of the most satisfying and low-maintenance vegetables to grow when you keep their love of cool soil and consistent moisture in mind. When to Plant Radishes thri

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2025. Wix stock photo. . . . Of one thing I feel sure, a working knowledge of both gardening and cooking would tend to give a young person in the inevitably difficult world of tomorrow an added confidence about living, a talisman in times of stress, and a reassuring sense of independence and power." - Constance Spry, Come into the Garden, Cook, 1942 When I grow radishes, whether I have harvested a couple or dozens, my favorite

By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. Western Marsh Rosemary is a fast-growing perennial herb that likes full sun and moisture. It is seen here next to a member of the Aster family. “ Limonium californicum  (Sea Lavender, western marsh rosemary)” by Derell Licht is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. Got Water Loving Plants? Do you have an area that takes lots of water and possibly stays wet? There are some native plant species that can tolerate these conditions bec

"Mr. Trees" Tyler Trimble. What an outstanding presentation! Thank you, Tyler, for sharing your wealth of knowledge with the San Diego Horticultural Society. Meeting recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/EYtTxqiQE4M Tyler Trimble has certainly earned the nickname of “Mr. Trees.” As a third-generation farmer, a fruit tree specialist, and longtime nurseryman, he has personally planted over 10,000 fruit trees in Southern California soils over the past 20+ years. Before

By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. For over two decades a meeting highlight was the Plant Forum, where a horticultural expert spoke about plants brought in by members. These descriptions were printed in the newsletter and were also compiled, and are available free on our website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum . This is an alphabetical listing of over 7500 plants, including over 1600 detailed descriptions. Check it out when thinking about plants to ad

The LTP! Archives are edited by Cathy Tylka and Karen England. These articles are by Pamela Homfelt, originally published in Let’s Talk Plants! as a part of a yearlong series called Successful Drought Tolerant Gardening edited by Cindy Sparks. Part 1 appeared in September 2009, No. 180, and Part 2 in October 2009, No. 181. Republished together November 2025. To Design Or Not To Design? That Is The Question These days almost everyone is redesigning landscapes for one reason

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. This month’s question: What are you doing in your garden to make things easier to maintain as you grow older and your knees/back/muscles don't cooperate as they used to?  This question is thanks to Susi Torre-Bueno!                                          Linda Chisari reports… ... In 1976, when we moved into our current house in Del Mar, we were very excited to find a huge, south-facing backyard, perfect for a veg

By Francesca Filanc, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2025. Many of us live in our gardens. By that I mean, we spend a lot of time in our gardens. Working in them for sure, but it’s also so important to sit in the garden and appreciate the beauty of nature. I for one enjoy most of my meals in the garden. Looking at the beauty of nature while eating a delicious meal, many times containing some item from the garden, such as herbs or apples, lemons, limes, oranges, passionfruit a

"Mr. Trees" Tyler Trimble. Next Meeting – October 18, 2025 – 1:30p -3p In-person at San Diego Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, CA. Online...

https://www.sdhort.org/event-6293343 Fallbrook Open Garden When: Saturday, October 04, 2025, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Location: Fallbrook...

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger will be the 50th book that the SD Hort Book...

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2025. The Atacama Desert Blooms! With a little nostalgia we leave...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. Jacaranda tree loses its foliage before blooming in May. Nearby trees have already leafed out. "SelecTree. UFEI. " Jacaranda mimosifolia Tree Record." 1995-2025. Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. Is That Tree Really Sick? “I think my tree is dying”. Sadly, this is a common lament for far too many residents. Decline of urban trees often arises from largely preventable abiotic causes. Environmentally stressed tr

By Sherry Goldman, UC Master Gardener of San Diego County. This article first appeared in the Union Tribune in September 2024. Reprinted...

By Susan Lewitt, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. California Native Plant Society’s Native Plant Sale The CNPS Native Plant Sale ...

Susan Pacheco presenting Planting and Growing Grapes. Photo credit: Karen England. https://youtu.be/Wq9M8sdPX9U Planting and Growing...

Compiled by Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. For over two decades a meeting highlight was the Plant Forum, where a...

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. Current question: Did you ever think a plant was named one thing and then...

By Francesca Filanc, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2025. One of the author’s nieces as a little girl enjoying the wildflower garden....

By Ellen Reardon and Carl Price, originally published in Let’sTalk Plants! October 2008, No. 169, republished October 2025. WiX stock...

MG Susan Benes Pacheco's current north county San Diego front yard with ripening crop of red and white grapes.  Next Meeting – September...

By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! September 2025. WiX stock photo There will be no SD Hort Book Club meeting this month. We are...

Text and photos by Jim Bishop, for Let's Talk Plants! September 2025 In June, I attended my second Garden Fling of the year in Memphis,...

By Sommer Cartier, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. Photo by Murat Ts. on Unsplash. Fall Gardening in San Diego -Turning Heat into...

By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. There are over 700 native bee species in San Diego County, and they need the...

By Karen England, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. Pomegranate, photo credit: WiX stock photo. I have been a regular speaker on the subject of herbs for close to thirty years and in that time, I have always enjoyed surprising audience after audience with just how herbal the entire plant world is and has been for millennia. Seeing people’s minds become “blown” (it looks much like the emoji 🤯 ) as I give my talks is a perk of my job, it’s better than television. One such

By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. For over two decades a meeting highlight was the Plant Forum, where a...

https://youtu.be/w4rQOIgBTdM An Introduction to the San Diego Natural History Museum Canyoneers with Samantha Barlin...

By Jodi Bay, UC Master Gardener of San Diego County. Originally published August 2024 in The San Diego Union~Tribune. Reprinted with...

Photo credit: Richard Schulte, Master Gardeners of San Diego in Balboa Park! – Cool San Diego Sights! UC Master Gardener Program of San...

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. The question for Sharing Secrets this month -   What is your favorite...

By Francesca Filanc, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025.   WiX stock photo, edited and revised. September Garden To-dos Summer is...