Welcome to the Southern California Horticultural Society,
where passionate gardeners meet to share ideas
and learn from each other

On the second Thursday of each month, we invite speakers to present a talk or program about their area of expertise. We are once again offering in-person meetings as well as live-streaming on Zoom (with registration).

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.

Next Meeting: 

Thursday, October 6th, 2022

The Whitelock Cycad Collection Takes Root at the Huntington

with Gary Roberson

Photo provided by speaker

Meeting In-Person at the The Huntington Library,
Art Museum and Botanical Gardens 

Register on Zoom For the Oct. 6 Meeting

The Southern California Horticultural Society's monthly meeting and program will be held on the FIRST Thursday of the month, on October 6, and takes place at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. This “double feature” begins with a guided tour of the new Loran Whitelock Cycad Garden led by Huntington staff, followed by a lecture.  Our speaker, Gary Roberson, serves as the Lead Project Gardener of the cycad garden, and he will describe his experience in relocating the 40-year-old Whitelock collection, starting with the inventorying, labeling and microchipping of the plants in 2014 and taking us through to the present day.

Roberson’s love of plants began with his own garden at the age of six, and continued through his involvement with Future Farmers of America, which led to Horticultural Intern positions in both Germany and Australia. Over the years, he has worked in the wholesale and retail nursery industries, and when an opportunity arose to work at The Huntington, he moved from Washington state to Southern California in 1999. He has cross-trained in the Jungle, Palm, and Desert gardens before assuming his current position.

In July 2015, the Huntington received a large donation of cycads from the estate of Loran Whitelock, a passionate local plantsman known internationally as the leading expert in cycads. Roberson was tasked with the responsibility of spearheading the documenting, labeling, transporting, and transplanting of over 640 cycads from Eagle Rock into The Huntington gardens, nearly tripling their collection. Altogether over 2,800 plants (including clivias, staghorn ferns, orchids, aloes, agaves, palms, begonias, bulbs, etc.) were gathered from Whitlock’s extensive garden.

The collection is now a long, diagonal ribbon winding through several themed gardens. The new Cycad Rockery is the most dramatic display of these ancient beauties, which have settled into their new home nicely over the past seven years. We are very much looking forward to both the tour and Roberson’s talk on this special evening and would also like to express our thanks The Huntington for hosting this program.

REGISTRATION:    
The tour and the meeting that follows are free for SCHS members, but $5 for non-member. Pre-registration for the tour is required, as there is a cap of 60 attendees. Tour check-in will be from 5:00 - 5:20pm at the circle in front of the Ahmanson Classroom in the Brody Botanical Center. If you will be attending the meeting, but not the tour, check-in will be from 6:45 - 7:00. Note: parking will be in the Huntington main lot - please allow for car traffic and walking time. Tour registration closes on Wednesday, October 4. If you have questions, please contact: socalhort@gmail.com

REGISTER HERE FOR THE PRE-MEETING TOUR

Thursday, October 6 Schedule:
5:00pm - 5:20pm: Check-in for Cycad tour
5:30pm - 6:30pm: Cycad tour
6:45pm - 7:15pm: Check-in for October meeting

7:20pm: Meeting begins

7:30pm: Program begins

VENUE: The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens

1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108

Link to directions

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.

If you have been enjoying our monthly webinars and would like to help support the SCHS until we can meet again in-person, please consider donating any amount you feel you can. Even better, become a member, with levels beginning as low as $15. for the year. You can find details about the various levels of membership on our website at Join SCHS.

Thank you for your attention - we always appreciate your support!

Other Events and News

Thursday, October 6 - The new Cycad Garden at The Huntington with pre-talk tour! Please note this is the FIRST THURSDAY in October. Register here for the tour.

• Our Hort Happenings page lists events at local horticultural institutions. 
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• Want to re-watch a previous meeting, plant forum, or event? Visit our YouTube Channel for all available recordings!
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