Behind the Scenes at the San Francisco Botanical Garden Nursery

Join us to hear first-hand how professional horticultural staff at the San Francisco Botanical Garden's new plant nursery and volunteers are helping to grow new plants for the garden's collections and plant shop sales. Special guest Jessica Fernandez, Gardens of Golden Gate Park Plant Propagation Manager, and UC Master Gardeners Johanna Gendelman and Marcia Cohen will share highlights from the set-up of the new plant nursery. They will also share tips on seed collecting as well as on growing new plants from seed and cuttings, which can be used by home gardeners to multiply their plants inexpensively.

Speakers
Johanna Gendelman joined UC Master Gardeners in 2024. Johanna is currently helping to initiate a new plant propagation nursery at community-run Alemany Farms in SF. Recently retired from SF City and County, Johanna is also an active member of the California Native Plant Society, volunteers in local restoration efforts, and is a registered horticultural therapist. Johanna volunteers in the SF Botanical Garden’s native plant green team as well as in its plant nursery.
Marcia Cohen has been a UC Master Gardener since 2022 and currently serves as treasurer and a member of the organization’s leadership team. Marcia is active in master gardener public education activities and volunteers at the SF Botanical Garden’s Plant Nursery. She previously volunteered on green teams in the Meso-American and Australia-New Zealand gardens. She is currently transitioning her own SF garden to include more native plants and enjoys gardening in upstate NY on summer vacations.
Jessica Fernandez joined the Gardens of Golden Gate Park in 2023 as GGGP Plant Propagation Manager. As part of the new plant nursery team, Jessica has helped to set up the facilities, including advising on the purchase and deployment of equipment, tools, processes, and data. As an environmentalist and conservationist, Jessica honed her propagation knowledge in her prior roles at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the GGNP’s Presidio Nursery.

Photo credit: Jesse Schlenker, UC Master Gardener