By Karen England, for Let's Talk Plants! February 2024.
New Year, New Venue, New Day, New Time, New HOY!
With over 125 SD Hort members present at our new meeting location in Rancho Bernardo at San Diego Oasis on Saturday January 13, we celebrated Jeff Moore, our 2024 Horticulturist of the Year, heard his dynamite presentation on our native succulent Dudleyas with pictures from his new forthcoming book of the same name, and we reveled in being together again. Jeff brought books and plants to sell and teased us all about when the Dudleya book will be available. Check the Solana Succulents website to find out more. Books – Solana Succulents
The response to all the meeting changes has been very positive and the practically standing-room-only attendance proved it! The mood in the room was as glorious as the day was beautiful. The convivial hubbub with everyone chatting and catching up while drinking coffee and eating some pretty cute (and delicious) "succulent" cupcakes was such a fun way to start the year. (Karen was going to make the cupcakes herself from a recipe in one of her Martha Stewart cookbooks before running out of baking time so she ordered them instead from Vista's two-time Food Network Cupcake Wars winner, Little Cakes Kitchen, Little Cakes Kitchen | Cupcakes | Southern California, CA, USA. Karen still intends to bake for a meeting sometime, and who knows? You may still get her homemade cupcakes, possibly roses or chrysanthemums or? ... in a future meeting.)
There were two flavors of cupcakes at the meeting, vanilla and/or chocolate, and none were left over!
Martha Stewart has several cookbooks with botanically lovely looking cupcake recipes, and shown above are two of Karen's MS books, which were her inspiration for the cupcakes that she ordered from Little Cakes Kitchen in Vista. You can make some of these cupcakes too (for a meeting and/or for yourself) if you are so inclined. Let Karen know info@sdhort.org if you want to bring some treats to an upcoming meeting, this would be a big help!
Packed house! Two screens showing the presentation...
In the audience were several other HOY recipients, 2012 Susi Torre-Bueno, 2017 Debra lee Baldwin, 2018 Greg Rubin, 2019 - 2020 Jim Bishop, and 2022 John Clements. Board members on hand were Karen England, president and newsletter editor-in-chief, Ray Brooks, treasurer, Ken Kubarych, secretary, Jim Bishop, publicity and past president, Donna Mallen, programs, Jason Chen, member-at-large and Karon DeLeon, volunteers.
Besides getting Felco pruners, an engraved rock, Sd Hort merch and more, Jeff Moore also received a lifetime membership to the San Diego Horticultural Society.
The San Diego Horticultural Society on-demand merchandise store profits are used as a fundraising project for our SD Hort School Garden Grants and Scholarships. You buy the items you like, such as long sleeve or short sleeve tee shirts like Jeff's, sweatshirts like Karen's, hats, drinkware, reusable bags, etc., and the items are only made after your purchase is made. We do not warehouse any merchandise this way and you can get exactly what you like. Want a white tee shirt instead of navy? Prefer crewneck sweatshirts to hoodies? You will find exactly what you want when you shop here Home San Diego Horticultural Society Store (merchwebstore.com) Shop with this coupon code: SDHS10 to receive 10% off your order this February!
Please consider applying to the SDHS Board by volunteering to chair the School Garden Grants and Scholarships seat so that the money gets used for its intended purposes.
Request an application to the board by sending and email to info@sdhort.org
Karen England is the San Diego Horticultural Society's president and Let's Talk Plants! newsletter editor-in-chief.