Welcome to the Southern California Horticultural Society

PLANT LOVERS SHARINg KNOWLEDGE

On the second Thursday of each month, we invite speakers to present a talk or program about their area of expertise. We offer in-person meetings as well as live-streaming on Zoom. Everyone is welcome! In-person events are usually free for SCHS Members and students with ID; a $5 entry fee is requested for non-members. Zoom webinars are usually free, but registration is required.

Meetings may also include Plant Sales, a Raffle and expert discussion of plants brought in to the Plant Forum. Do you have an interesting plant to share? If you can't bring one in person, send in a photo and requested information on our Plant Forum Page.

For more information about the Society, please see our About SCHS page.

UPCOMING PROGRAM:

Thursday, August 14th, 2025

Friendship Auditorium

A Journey Through Oxygen, Water and Life: the Dirt on Soils

with pamela Berstler, landscape DESIGNER and nationally recognized expert on soil and water management

The Southern California Horticultural Society will meet in person on August 14 to hear a program by Pamela Berstler, landscape designer and nationally recognized expert on soil and water management. She developed the Watershed Approach, a regenerative landscape strategy, which has grown into a nationwide movement with twelve guidebooks on the subject.  For our meeting, she will be speaking to us about how the sub-aquatic world beneath our feet manifests the life we enjoy above ground.

Berstler’s talk will follow her soil-centric journey from a random course on composting to a controversial strategy for regenerating the urban and suburban landscapes across the United States. She will explain how each seed contributes 9 billion or more personalized microbes to the soil ecosystem, and how – if we redirect our attention to the soil – we can enable it to become a true carbon sink and cooling center. This in turn will give rise to a healing environment for both imperiled biodiversity and fractured human connection. 

For 16 years, Berstler has helmed G3, Green Gardens Group, educating property owners and landscape professionals alike in irrigation and rainwater capture. Her design/build firm, Flower to the People, has developed a low-cost strategy called Take Back the Turf for converting lawn into perennial landscape without removing the grass.  You can learn more about her activities at www.greengardensgroup.com and www.flowertothepeople.com.

Berstler holds a Certificate in Regenerative Agriculture from Chico State and is a graduate of both the Climate Reality Training and the Soil Health Academy, and has been the recipient of five EPA annual professional awards, the Garden Writers Association Green Medal for Sustainability, and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers’ International Sustainability Award. She is deeply committed to the reinvigoration of American entrepreneurship through regenerative and nature-based solutions. 

We are pleased to welcome Berstler to hear her live presentation on soil health and how we can improve our own gardens as well as local environments.  Please join us in person on August 14 to learn about this fascinating and important topic. You can find complete information about the meeting at: www.socalhort.org

MEETING:   In-Person @ Friendship Auditorium​​
DATE:  Thursday, August 14, 2025
Announcements:   7:10 p.m.   /   Plant Forum:   7:15 p.m.  /  Program:   7:30 p.m

This program will be recorded for the SCHS YouTube archive.

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Upcoming Events:

Saturday, September 20
SPECIAL EVENT - 2025 SCHS ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
Registration is now open! Join SCHS to celebrate our 2025 Horticulturists of the Year, Melanie Baer Keeley and Dr. Jon Keeley. We are also presenting our first annual SCHS Pathmaker Award to Katherine Pakradouni. The evening will include a gourmet dinner at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club and our annual Silent Auction fundraiser. All are welcome! For more information, see our Annual Awards Page.

Thursday, October 9 at 7:30pm
Online Zoom
Linda Chalker-Scott will speak on garden myths.

Thursday, November 13 at 7:30pm
In-person at the Blinn House in Pasadena
Christy Wilhelmi will speak about maximizing edible garden productivity in a small space.

Visit our Past Meetings page to re-watch previously recorded in-person meetings and webinars, download each meeting write-up, and reference any materials provided by our speakers.

SCHS URGES SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF THE LOS ANGELES FIRES

Dear members and friends of the Southern California Horticultural Society,

It is still really difficult to comprehend the utter devastation brought on by the Eaton and Palisades fires this year. We know of several SCHS members who have lost their homes and this is heartbreaking.

SCHS has donated funds in the past to aid nurseries that have suffered fire damage. However, it is not our policy to support individuals. We made a donation to Direct Relief (https://www.directrelief.org/) to assist their efforts to help everyone affected.

We also urge all of you to help as much as you can. These are resource organizations that are on the ground now helping real people:

Direct Relief
World Central Kitchen
California Community Foundation
California Fire Foundation
Pasadena Humane Society
L.A. Fire Department Foundation
American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles
Center for Disaster Philanthropy

We also ask you to consider giving to GoFundMe accounts, but urge you to be cautious as there are vile people trying to take advantage of this horrible situation. If you are unsure about a GoFundMe account, please reach out through verified contact avenues (direct call, text or email) to friends to make sure that their accounts are legitimate.

Our former President, John Schoustra, is still raising funds to rebuild his nursery that was damaged in the Mountain Fire in November 2024. John's friends at Apricot Lane Farms have put together a GoFundMe account to help John get back on his feet.
https://gofund.me/f1e12c5a

The recovery process will be long and difficult. We all need to help one another; only together will we be able to rebuild our beautiful neighborhoods.

- Laura Bauer, President
Southern California Horticultural Society

• Our Hort Happenings page lists events at local horticultural institutions. 
• Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Tag @socalhort in your photos to be featured on our page!
• Want to re-watch a previous meeting, plant forum, or event? Visit our YouTube Channel for all available recordings!
• Join our mailing list to be updated with important news about SCHS via email. Your email address will not be shared with anyone, and you may unsubscribe at any time.