In this Issue

Year-end Reflections

New Classes & Events

Special Preview Screening of "Butterflies & Bulldozers"

Winter Gift from the Garden

BOOKSTORE Gift Ideas Our 2008 Wall and Desk Calendars, printed in Florence, Italy feature antiquarian images from the Helen Crocker Russell Library rare book collection. Preview the first three months of the Orchid Wall Calendar >>

VOLUNTEER WITH Kids The next Children's Docent Training arrives in February.

Year-End Review It's Annual Report time again. Find out about all the exciting initiatives for 2006-2007 and their results. (PDF 2.8 Meg) Download the 2006-2007 Annual Report

Help your Botanical Garden thrive. Find out more about how you can Support the Garden.

A seasonal treat this month at the Garden is the winter-blooming South Africa native, Erica canaliculata. Commonly known as "Christmas Heather," this bushy evergreen shrub is not a heather at all, but a heath. It sports dark green needle-like leaves year-round and a profusion of pink bell-shaped flowers in winter, making it look rather like a misshapen Christmas tree covered in snow. Erica canaliculata can be found in the South Africa Garden and in this month's In Bloom feature, complete with photos, plant profile and exact locations.

From the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As I sit to write you during this holiday season, having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I pause to reflect on what those of us associated with the Botanical Garden have to be thankful for. First, we have the glorious climate that makes this collection possible and flourish. Second, we are standing on the shoulders of a number of men and women who had the foresight, perseverance and talent to take an area of wind blown sand dunes and turn it into one of the most beautiful urban parks (and botanical gardens) in the nation.

In 1860 this was an inhospitable place for most of the plants now in the Botanical Garden's collections. Most said it couldn't be done, no one could plant a viable park in such an environment. But along came William Hammond Hall…

Read the full report >>

New Classes & Events

Membership

A Winter Gift From the Garden

Give them flowers all year long! A gift membership is a unique way to support the Garden and introduce others to the Garden we all love. Holiday gift, birthday present or thank you gift for your host, …a gift membership to SFBGS is perfect for the garden lovers on your list.

Benefits of Gift Membership include:

• Admission to the Annual Plant Sale & Members-Only Preview Sale
• Invitations to Members-Only Events
• Discounts at more than 75 Bay Area nurseries, AND MUCH MORE

View the entire list of membership benefits >>

Giving a gift membership is easy… Register Online, or call the Membership Department at (415) 564-3239, ext. 303. You’ll get the gift of knowing that you are supporting a San Francisco treasure… the Garden we all love!