Pacific Palisades Garden Club will meet electronically at 7 p.m. on March 7 to hear Steve Hampson speak on “How to Grow and Maintain Dahlias.” (visit: pacpalgardenclub.org).
Dahlias are a perennial that produces superb cut flowers. The flower, which needs full sun, is a genus of tuberous plants that are members of the Asteraceae family; related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia.
Hampson grew up in New York and attended the University of Delaware. He pursued his master’s degree in horticulture at Penn State.
After a stint running an apple orchard and plant nursery in Pennsylvania, he settled in Southern California.
Before he recently retired, Hampson was a senior horticulturist at the famed Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach, where he was a well-known and popular horticulture lecturer.
As a true master horticulturalist, he has a reputation for being very knowledgeable on sweet peas, water lilies, dahlias and daffodils as well as orchids.
Hampson is a member of the Orchid Digest editorial board and a frequent contributor of articles and photographs for its publications. In addition, he is also an accomplished botanical illustrator and travels extensively looking at flowers in their native habitats.
Steve Hampson will speak to the Pacific Palisades Garden Club.
New Garden Club Members Sought:
The annual dues to belong to the Pacific Palisades Garden Club are $30 for an individual, $10 for youth membership (17 and under) and $35 for a household. One can renew online or mail a check, payable to PPGC to PPGC, Attn: Membership Chair, P.O. Box 261, Pacific Palisades Ca. 90272.
Membership includes monthly meetings that generally have a plant exchange (once in person meetings resume), field trips and tours to private and public gardens and a membership roster booklet.
The PPGC, a nonprofit, works to promote the love of gardening, education, and to restore, improve and protect the quality of the environment through projects that demonstrate stewardship of shared habitat and the responsible use of resources.