Thread by @SDNHM

#TBT Some call her The Mother of #BalboaPark, The Plant Lady, or even The Female Johnny Appleseed. At The Nat, we just call her Kate.

Kate Sessions was a pioneering woman for any time period, let alone the 1800s...🎩1/5

A lifelong lover of plants, she got a science degree from #UCBerkley, but there weren’t many opportunities for a college-educated woman in the #Victorian era. 🎓 So, Kate decided to create her own opportunity and started her own business. 2/5

She founded a nursery in what is now #BalboaPark in 1892 & expanded from there. She was an early member of #TheNat, planted #PalmCanyon & the Aloe and Agave Garden, & was hired by the city to plant 100 trees every year for 10 years. 🌳 But this work wasn't perfect... 3/5

Some non-native plants Kate Sessions introduced are invasive & can have negative effects on wildlife. Yet she drove interest in horticulture & botany, saved species nearly extinct in their native areas, & helped build appreciation of SD flora. 🌻 It's a multi-faceted legacy. 4/5

Kate Sessions passed away in 1940 at the age of 82. A sculpture of her stands near the Laurel Street Bridge in #BalboaPark, and her legacy of caring for plants in San Diego remains strong. 🌿

#ThrowbackThursday, #ArchivesAtoZ, K is for Kate. sdnhm.org/blog/blog_deta…