Thursday,  August 13, 2026

Online zoom

“Two Gardens in the same spot”

Bob Sussman

Owner of matilija nursery

Register Here

On August 13 the Southern California Horticultural Society will host Bob Sussman, owner of Matilija Nursery in Moorpark, to present an online program about how a California native plant garden can actually offer you two gardens in the same location. He will provide examples and suggestions on how to achieve this by selecting plants that will maximize seasonal color changes within your garden, in addition to incorporating other elements.

Sussman’s formal education is in finance, but after several years working in banking and making a multi-hour commute wearing a coat and tie, he opted to instead start a California native plant nursery in Ventura County. Without any formal training in the subject, Sussman received help from people who were knowledgeable about natives and also  learned through trial and error, or as he says “a lot of error!” Today, Matilija Nursery focuses on growing California native plants primarily for residential landscapes, offering a large selection of easy-to-grow perennials and shrubs as well as Pacific Coast irises.

The idea for a year-round garden came to Sussman while he was out hiking, when he observed that from late winter through the end of spring the hills – like our gardens – were ablaze with all kinds of flowers, but that in nature only a very small percentage of California natives were in bloom from summer through fall. In this program he will share how, with strategic planning, you can have 60% of your landscaped area flowering during winter all the way through to spring, with the other 40% blooming from summer into fall. This is what Sussman means by “two gardens in the same spot”. We look forward to hearing – and seeing examples of – how we can make this work for ourselves.

It’s not too soon to begin planning for fall planting, and this presentation will offer us great tips, so don’t miss it! You can register to attend at: www.socalhort.org.  

All images courtesy of speaker.

EVENT DETAILS: 

Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm (PDT)
Online only: Register on Zoom - FREE

Meeting opens 7:05pm/ Announcements: 7:10pm / Plant Forum at 7:15pm / Lecture starts 7:30pm

Zoom is FREE for all

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, August 13 | Online Zoom at 7:00 pm PDT | FREE for members and non-members
Bob Sussman, owner of Matilija Nursery in Moorpark, will present “Two Gardens in the Same Spot” a talk on year-round gardening with California native plants.

Saturday, September 12 | Annual Awards Banquet | at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club 
Save the date! Join SCHS for our Annual Awards Banquet honoring James Henrich as the 2026 Horticulturist of the Year and Dr. Chaz Perea as the SCHS Pathmaker Award recipient. Enjoy an evening of dinner, awards, and our always-fun silent auction. Event and ticket details will be announced soon!

Thursday, October 12 | Online Zoom at 7:00 pm PDT | FREE for members and non-members
Cricket Riley and Alice Kitajima, two of the authors of Designing the Lush Dry Garden, will share deas for creating and maintaining vibrant, climate-resilient landscapes.

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 Statement of Solidarity

As a horticultural nonprofit, we stand in solidarity with the agricultural and horticultural workers whose skill and daily labor sustain our gardens, green spaces, and food systems. We honor their expertise and recognize that these workers, like all people in the United States, are protected by constitutional rights that uphold equal protection under the law, freedom of speech and association, and the right to fair and lawful treatment in their workplaces and communities.

We are committed to respecting their contributions to the land and supporting safe, fair, and dignified working conditions. Our work is possible because of theirs.

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