NEXT GENERAL MEETING: Sat., April 18, 2026 - Walker Wilson - Conservation Through Cultivation - Growing A Local Ecotype Nursery. In-Person, Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, 1:30p -3:30p
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Viguiera laciniata - San Diego Bush Sunflower, a San Diego endemic species that happens to be excellent for garden conditions. Evergreen, tough and made for full sun conditions, it will still stay green with just once a month or less watering. Trim off dead flowers for another round of blooms. A great choice for almost any San Diego garden, and to showcase local species.
Walker Wilson - Conservation through Cultivation - Growing a Local Ecotype Nursery
Walker Wilson is the founder of Walker's Wildlands nursery in Fallbrook. After studying environmental science and history in college, Walker found himself struggling to find meaningful work where he could make a genuine difference. The available jobs in habitat restoration were often physically grueling, poorly paid, and offered little autonomy—leaving him disillusioned with spraying roundup and pulling weeds. Rather than give up on his passion for the environment, he decided to channel that frustration into action and forge his own path. Walker started by offering native plant focused landscaping services, using his earnings from that work to fund his dream of starting a nursery, and through volunteering with local groups like the Chaparral Institute and the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, he built a network that eventually led him to the land and the support needed to launch Walker's Wildlands.
Today, Walker's Wildlands specializes in growing locally-sourced California native plants, with a focus on providing the bounty of plant species found along our region's hillsides and trails to restore habitat and create sustainable, climate appropriate landscapes. By reintroducing these native plants, his work directly combats habitat loss, which is a primary driver of extinction in San Diego County. Because San Diego has more endangered species than any other county in the continental U.S., supporting local biodiversity throughout the county is vitally important. Built on a foundation of community support, volunteer help, an organic growth business model, Walker's nursery is a labor of love.
He is dedicated to educating the community about the vital role of native plants and proving that the incredible biodiversity of San Diego can be right in our own backyards. - Growing a Local Ecotype Nursery.
This meeting is in-person at San Diego Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, CA.
Online registration required
SD Hort Member (and their guest) registration is FREE
Non-member registration is $15
The Plant Forum has returned! So please bring some of your plants to share with members...
All you have to do is:
1) Bring a cutting or a potted plant to a meeting.
2) BEFORE you leave home, take a minute to print out a slip of paper with the common and scientific name of the plant, where it is native to (if you know that), what city it is growing in, your name, and a couple of sentences about your experience with the plant.
MEETING LOCATION:
San Diego Oasis
In the Innovation Center room downstairs
17170 Bernardo Center Dr
San Diego, CA 92128
Looking Ahead: Upcoming May 16, 2026, Meeting -
If You Build it, They Might Come
Molly Rightmyer is a bee taxonomist who has become increasingly interested in native plants while attempting to increase the bee diversity of her home garden, an experience she wishes to share with other gardeners who hold similar aspirations.
She got her start as a freelance scientific illustrator here in southern California. She then worked with fossil turtles as an apprentice illustrator at the American Museum of Natural History, NY, eventually landing a job as scientific assistant for Hymenoptera, working with Jerry Rozen and Jim Carpenter. Under Jerry’s kind tutelage her interest in bees was sparked; she then attended the University of Kansas to work with Charles Michener, obtaining her PhD on the systematics of the parasitic bee Triepeolus in 2006. Afterwards, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian studying parasitic bees in the genus Nomada, and at the USDA Wild Bee Lab in Logan, UT, working on the systematics of the mason bee genus Osmia. Since returning to San Diego, Molly has shifted her focus to education as she homeschools her two daughters. She is currently a Research Associate at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
