1994 was a year of big changes and surprises for me. I was starting to be aware that there were other people in San Diego who shared my passion for gardening and plants, however, I knew very few of them. My backyard looked great, but almost no one other than me saw it. My father astutely noted that I wasn't going to make many friends gardening alone in the backyard. So I set out to find my fellow obsessive compulsive garden and plant enthusiasts.
Several years earlier I had joined the Rainbow Cyclists bike group and had made several new friends and biked many remote places in San Diego. So, when I heard of a new garden group called Rakes and Blades I quickly joined up.
Rakes and Blades was a group of gay men and their friends that met one Sunday a month usually in a member's garden. It was here I met some colorful individuals and avid gardeners. At first I was intimidated by the Latin plant names they used and their insistence that we all learned them. I did learn a lot of Latin names, but I also learned that there many people like me that had a somewhat limited capacity for learning words that they only heard once or twice. It seems to me that the visual, speaking and written word parts of my brain are not well connected. I can learn a plant name from reading a plant tag or article, but have no idea that it is the same name when I hear someone speak it.
Rakes and Blades seemed to run the gamut of gardeners and garden types. There were collectors that grew bromeliads, cactus, roses or some other plant specialty. There were gardens of plants that were started by free cuttings, well maintained gardens, gardens with chickens, and gardens that seemed to have no maintenance at all. At one of the latter gardens with broken pots, unplanted plants, waist-high weeds, piles of junk and several broken down trailers the owners described their style as eclectic. However, someone in the crowd commented that it was better described as "Sanford and Son" (reminiscent of the 70's TV show).
We visited remote gardens tucked away in the back areas of the county where the owners had created their own personal paradise. There were urban gardens full of tropical and exotic plants. All seemed impossibly creative and highly reflective of the owners’ personal interests and tastes. Patrick Anderson hosted us in his then fairly new Fallbrook garden. The now famous succulent garden was still a citrus orchard, but you could already see his influence in the exotic and unusual plant choices. However, I recall him saying that he would never plant a prickly cactus in his garden. Tastes change, people change.
I also met the always entertaining Frank Mitzel; Laurie Connable, who at the time had a huge flower garden in Poway; Phil Favel, owner of an Elfin Forest garden with giant Aloe dichotomas; Tom Carruth, now curator of the roses at the Huntington; and the creative and artistic plant enthusiast, Alan Richards.
I was fortunate and a little afraid to host a Rakes and Blades meeting at my own garden in Encinitas. I grew a lot more flowering plants than most the others in the club, but luckily it was a spring day and everything was in bloom. The kind words and praise from everyone that attended provided inspiration to want to do even more.
In February of 1994, I was stung by a bee while bike riding and somehow locked up my front wheel and plunged head first into the pavement on Carmel Valley Road. Among the injuries, most of my front teeth were chipped or cracked and one was knocked out. Several months later, I got much better-looking veneers and caps. That summer after a Rakes and Blades meeting I went to the beach and my car was stolen. It was found several weeks later and the stereo, my garden hat, and free plants from the meeting were gone...but oddly my checkbook and house keys were left behind.
In late August there was a Rakes and Blades meeting at Alan Richard's garden. Later in the day he was hosting a garden party to celebrate his mostly completed garden. It was a very hot and humid day and I puttered around in my garden so long that I missed the meeting. However, I did make it to the garden party. Alan's house and garden looked like something out of magazine. He had a brightly colored rectangular koi pond at an angle across the back patio. From there paths led down into the garden. A group of 3 handsome men arrived and were paying a bit too much attention to me. Still a bit shy about my new teeth, I headed down into the garden to escape and ended up weeding crabgrass out of the cactus garden. When I returned to the house with cuts and scratches, one of the 3 in a navy blue tank top struck up a conversation with me. His name was Scott Borden.
In the fall of 1994, I had learned about the first meeting of the new San Diego Horticultural Society at Quail Gardens (since renamed The San Diego Botanic Garden). I think I may have heard about the meeting from Patrick Anderson, or maybe Buena Creek Gardens, or both. I thought about attending, but wasn't certain I would. The Monday of the meeting, I was informed at work that my job of 13 years was being phased out and I would be laid off the following February. This somewhat painful push towards a new chapter in my life made the decision to attend an easy one. After all, what were they going to do if I left work a bit early, fire me?
I arrived to the meeting in the still being constructed meeting room and found it already packed. I sat somewhere in the back where people were frantically adding more chairs. Having never attended a formal horticulture meeting before, I didn't know what to expect. I vaguely recall Don Walker, the president, talking about the need for a local horticultural society and asking us to join. I recall Steve Brigham of Buena Creek Gardens clowning around and providing his usual knowledgeable and entertaining banter about plants. While showing the unusual the flowers of Dutchman's Pipe, Aristolochia gigantea, for some reason, he decided to wear one as a mask over his face and the audience burst into laughter. Patrick Anderson, Don and others pressured me to join that evening. In spite of my now uncertain finances, I gladly signed up. For many years, I arrived just before the meeting started and sat somewhere near the back. Little did I know then that 20 years later, I would be president of this organization.
Over the next several years, I attended as many meetings I could. I would listen to the wonderful speakers and topics that influenced my gardening style and what plants I grew in my garden. I especially loved looking at the unusual plants flowers and cuttings that members brought in from their home gardens. There was always something on the plant display table that I had never seen before. Often after the main meeting Steve Brigham would talk about the plants on the display table. Was there anything he didn't know?
I realized that though I thought I knew everything about home gardening, I knew very little and even less about plants, especially those that do well in Southern California. Overall, I'd say the biggest impact that Society has had on my gardening is changing my tastes and appreciation of what I once considered unusual plants that I assumed were difficult to grow. Looking back over the plants I've mentioned in articles for this column, I grow relatively few of these today. Through the Society, I've been exposed to countless plants and garden styles and ideas that have inspired me to keep changing how I garden. I've learn about water management, low water use plants and succulents. Twenty years ago I was intrigued and fascinated by succulents, but never thought that I would be growing so many. I never even imagined growing a tree aloe, protea or alstroemeria, let alone knew what a Leucadendron or Cycad even was. Today they seem common place, but I can't imagine gardening without these and many others. And I imagine if you’ve attended a few meetings, you to have made changes in gardening practices and what you grow.
As you may know, I travel frequently and visit gardens whenever possible. In July of this year, I toured gardens in England and loved all the perennials and summer blooming plants they can grow. However, in the much prized plant collections growing in the Wisley Royal Botanic Garden greenhouses, I noted that we can grow almost all of these plants outside. While I always enjoy seeing how people garden in other parts of the world, I've come to realize that we are very fortunate to be able to grow so many exotic plants from around the world without much effort. We all are so lucky to live here and be part of such a wonderful organization.
Several years earlier I had joined the Rainbow Cyclists bike group and had made several new friends and biked many remote places in San Diego. So, when I heard of a new garden group called Rakes and Blades I quickly joined up.
 |
| Me in my garden in the summer of 1994 |
Rakes and Blades was a group of gay men and their friends that met one Sunday a month usually in a member's garden. It was here I met some colorful individuals and avid gardeners. At first I was intimidated by the Latin plant names they used and their insistence that we all learned them. I did learn a lot of Latin names, but I also learned that there many people like me that had a somewhat limited capacity for learning words that they only heard once or twice. It seems to me that the visual, speaking and written word parts of my brain are not well connected. I can learn a plant name from reading a plant tag or article, but have no idea that it is the same name when I hear someone speak it.
Rakes and Blades seemed to run the gamut of gardeners and garden types. There were collectors that grew bromeliads, cactus, roses or some other plant specialty. There were gardens of plants that were started by free cuttings, well maintained gardens, gardens with chickens, and gardens that seemed to have no maintenance at all. At one of the latter gardens with broken pots, unplanted plants, waist-high weeds, piles of junk and several broken down trailers the owners described their style as eclectic. However, someone in the crowd commented that it was better described as "Sanford and Son" (reminiscent of the 70's TV show).
We visited remote gardens tucked away in the back areas of the county where the owners had created their own personal paradise. There were urban gardens full of tropical and exotic plants. All seemed impossibly creative and highly reflective of the owners’ personal interests and tastes. Patrick Anderson hosted us in his then fairly new Fallbrook garden. The now famous succulent garden was still a citrus orchard, but you could already see his influence in the exotic and unusual plant choices. However, I recall him saying that he would never plant a prickly cactus in his garden. Tastes change, people change.
I also met the always entertaining Frank Mitzel; Laurie Connable, who at the time had a huge flower garden in Poway; Phil Favel, owner of an Elfin Forest garden with giant Aloe dichotomas; Tom Carruth, now curator of the roses at the Huntington; and the creative and artistic plant enthusiast, Alan Richards.
I was fortunate and a little afraid to host a Rakes and Blades meeting at my own garden in Encinitas. I grew a lot more flowering plants than most the others in the club, but luckily it was a spring day and everything was in bloom. The kind words and praise from everyone that attended provided inspiration to want to do even more.
In February of 1994, I was stung by a bee while bike riding and somehow locked up my front wheel and plunged head first into the pavement on Carmel Valley Road. Among the injuries, most of my front teeth were chipped or cracked and one was knocked out. Several months later, I got much better-looking veneers and caps. That summer after a Rakes and Blades meeting I went to the beach and my car was stolen. It was found several weeks later and the stereo, my garden hat, and free plants from the meeting were gone...but oddly my checkbook and house keys were left behind.
In late August there was a Rakes and Blades meeting at Alan Richard's garden. Later in the day he was hosting a garden party to celebrate his mostly completed garden. It was a very hot and humid day and I puttered around in my garden so long that I missed the meeting. However, I did make it to the garden party. Alan's house and garden looked like something out of magazine. He had a brightly colored rectangular koi pond at an angle across the back patio. From there paths led down into the garden. A group of 3 handsome men arrived and were paying a bit too much attention to me. Still a bit shy about my new teeth, I headed down into the garden to escape and ended up weeding crabgrass out of the cactus garden. When I returned to the house with cuts and scratches, one of the 3 in a navy blue tank top struck up a conversation with me. His name was Scott Borden.
 |
| Scott Borden and his niece Kate at Mother's Day in Encinitas Garden |
I arrived to the meeting in the still being constructed meeting room and found it already packed. I sat somewhere in the back where people were frantically adding more chairs. Having never attended a formal horticulture meeting before, I didn't know what to expect. I vaguely recall Don Walker, the president, talking about the need for a local horticultural society and asking us to join. I recall Steve Brigham of Buena Creek Gardens clowning around and providing his usual knowledgeable and entertaining banter about plants. While showing the unusual the flowers of Dutchman's Pipe, Aristolochia gigantea, for some reason, he decided to wear one as a mask over his face and the audience burst into laughter. Patrick Anderson, Don and others pressured me to join that evening. In spite of my now uncertain finances, I gladly signed up. For many years, I arrived just before the meeting started and sat somewhere near the back. Little did I know then that 20 years later, I would be president of this organization.
 |
| Alan Richards, Jim Bishop, unknown person and Tom Piergrossi inspecting the Plant Forum at an early San Diego Horticultural Society meeting |
I realized that though I thought I knew everything about home gardening, I knew very little and even less about plants, especially those that do well in Southern California. Overall, I'd say the biggest impact that Society has had on my gardening is changing my tastes and appreciation of what I once considered unusual plants that I assumed were difficult to grow. Looking back over the plants I've mentioned in articles for this column, I grow relatively few of these today. Through the Society, I've been exposed to countless plants and garden styles and ideas that have inspired me to keep changing how I garden. I've learn about water management, low water use plants and succulents. Twenty years ago I was intrigued and fascinated by succulents, but never thought that I would be growing so many. I never even imagined growing a tree aloe, protea or alstroemeria, let alone knew what a Leucadendron or Cycad even was. Today they seem common place, but I can't imagine gardening without these and many others. And I imagine if you’ve attended a few meetings, you to have made changes in gardening practices and what you grow.
As you may know, I travel frequently and visit gardens whenever possible. In July of this year, I toured gardens in England and loved all the perennials and summer blooming plants they can grow. However, in the much prized plant collections growing in the Wisley Royal Botanic Garden greenhouses, I noted that we can grow almost all of these plants outside. While I always enjoy seeing how people garden in other parts of the world, I've come to realize that we are very fortunate to be able to grow so many exotic plants from around the world without much effort. We all are so lucky to live here and be part of such a wonderful organization.
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