Founded in 1907 at the request of the Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Floral Association helped prepare Balboa Park for the 1915 Exposition. Members donated specimen plants, especially trees, from their gardens to help with the huge landscaping project. Over 3,000 ferns were grown in members’ homes before replanting them along the Prado for the opening of the Exposition.
The association has over 1,500 members and is Southern California’s oldest garden club. Their bi-monthly publication, California Garden, is the oldest continuously published horticulture magazine in the country.
Join the association for as little as $15. Members and their guests enjoy programs on horticulture and garden topics, plant sales, an extensive horticulture library, the Flower Arrangers Guild, tours, workshops, flower shows and their newsletter.
HillQuest Tip: Stop by the library as you stroll the Prado and enjoy browsing through their 3,000+ book collection for gardening tips from the city’s greenest thumbs — and it’s free!
San Diego Floral Association is based at the Casa del Prado #105. Visit them online at www.sdfloral.org or call (619) 232-5762.
Kate O. Sessions
Kate O. Sessions (pages 62 & 81 of HillQuest, volume 2) was one of the founders of this organization attending every meeting in her tall wicker chair and contributing knowledge in each newsletter. Credit Kate for the rows of Queen Palms which still line both sides of Sixth Avenue. SDFA’s founding triad also included begonia expert, Alfred D. Robinson and Frank Gifford (well-known for his olives). A bronze plaque honoring A.D. Robinson was dedicated on April 19, 2005 just inside the west door of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building.