San Diego Horticultural Society

SDHS Mission Statement
The San Diego Horticultural Society promotes the enjoyment, art, knowledge and public awareness of horticulture in the San Diego area, while providing the opportunity for education and research.

Welcome to the San Diego Horticultural Society. We're delighted you've visited this website, and we invite you to join us at one of our monthly meetings or other upcoming events. The only requirement is a curiosity about horticulture and an interest in learning new things. We're a friendly and dynamic group and we welcome all garden enthusiasts in the San Diego County area. I look forward to meeting you personally and sharing this wonderful organization with you in the near future.

Sincerely, Susi Torre-Bueno, President

Mary Irish: Plants for Drier Gardens
Monday, July 13
Meeting is from 6 to 9 p.m., speaker begins at 6:45 p.m.
Surfside Race Place, Del Mar Fairgrounds

The San Diego Horticultural Society welcomes horticulturist Mary Irish, whose very timely program titled “Plants for Drier Gardens" will inspire us to try new plants as we face increasing water restrictions. Irish will provide a thoughtful review of woody plants and perennials that thrive on minimal watering, even in the summer, and provide ample beauty, structure and color in the garden. Plants from both the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan deserts are especially good ornamentals and will be featured in her talk.

Copies of her bookswill be available for sale. The evening starts at 6:00 p.m. in the Surfside Race Place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Jimmy Durante Blvd. in Del Mar. Parking is free and everyone is welcome. Admission is free for members and $5 for non-members.

Garden writer, lecturer, and educator Mary Irish has lived in Arizona for 23 years. She is the author, with Gary Irish, of Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants; Gardening in the Desert; Perennials for the Southwest; Trees and Shrubs for the Southwest and four other books. She is a frequent contributor to national and regional publications including Horticulture and American Gardener, as well as writing and consulting for on-line plant services. Irish has worked as a consultant on projects for the City of Scottsdale, the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden in Glendale, Arizona, as well for numerous homeowner associations and private gardens.

Irish regularly teaches classes on desert gardening, use and cultivation of agaves and succulents, woody plants, desert palms and desert perennials. Her plant interests range widely, with agaves and their relatives, bulbs and desert perennials currently at the top of the list. She served as the Director of Public Horticulture at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix for 11 years, during which time she managed the Garden's Plant Introduction and Sales Program. She currently serves on the Board of Boyce Thompson Arboretum. She has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.S. in Geography from Texas A&M University.