About California Garden

The first issue of California Garden magazine was printed in July of 1909.

The magazine specialized in information for growing plants in the San Diego area. It is the oldest horticulture magazine in continuous publication in the United States. Except for a brief two-year period, all writers, editors, and photographers have been volunteers, many of whom are well-known authorities in their fields.

Many of the articles are written by famed horticulturalists Kate Sessions and E. Bernard and other luminaries—the eminent Alfred D. Robinson, of course, Theodore Payne, Lester Rowntree, Kate Sessions, Alice Rainford, Roland Hoyt, Rosalie Garcia, Barbara Jones, Lucy Warren. More contemporary authors include Marion Almy Lippitt, Carol Greentree, Nibby Klinefelter, Gina Wright, Christine Wotruba.

Even though the organization was founded for beautification of San Diego, many people wanted to grow vegetables and fruits, so California Garden expanded to give advice on growing edible items. Today subscribers include readers in foreign countries with similar climatic conditions, as well as in colder areas of the United States, where the information is used for growing plants in greenhouses.