SFPGA.ORG

[incorporated in 1951]

A Brief History!

     On meeting someone for the first time we often exchange pleasantries. "Hello!" "I’m George!" "What do you do for a living?" "I’m a gardener!" "OH." In the not too distant past, being a gardener meant that you worked on a large estate and were usually highly skilled at your trade. As old estates were broken up or the money to manage them dwindled, combined with the rise (of the middle class) of a more affluent middle class, provided an opportunity for displaced gardeners. Perhaps because of past affiliations with large estates, presenting yourself as a gardener carried a lot of prestige and conjured images of grand well maintained gardens in the minds of an aspiring "middle class".

     At some point there was a change in the gardeners’ image.Perhaps it was in part an influx of workers coming to the cities from rural communities or displaced individuals leaving military service who were unable to find work in a factory or office.Having some experience with plants they turned to self employment as "gardeners". Thus a pattern of often unskilled or un-trained individuals entering the gardening trade was established. Large economic events only served to increase the influx of poorly trained individuals into the gardening trade. World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and more recently refugee influxes from smaller regional conflicts and fluctuating unemployment continue the cycle that diminishes the image and prestige of the gardening profession.The perception that it takes little skill to be a gardener is exemplified by such statements by workers in other trades as, "We can prune that for you" (i.e. roofing and painting trades).Or the usually derogatory statement, "MOW & BLOW", used in reference to limited service and/or lack of gardening skill.

     In response to this pattern of image degradation and spurred on by the "Can Do", "let’s get organized" attitudes following WWII, small groups of gardeners in communities across the State began talking about improving their image and protecting their interests.One such group began meeting at City College Ornamental Horticulture Department in San Francisco.The early meetings, 1946 to 1948, focused on strategies for improving the image and prestige of "Professional" gardeners.Two main core ideas emerged, continuing education and licensing. It is the latter that became the rallying cry and impetus for the formation of many professional gardener associations and two gardeners’ federations in the State. The "Maloney Bill", (SB # 1671 for licensing of gardeners in CA) developed and promoted through the energies of the San Francisco Gardeners’ Association in conjunction with representative Thomas A. Maloney, Speaker Pro Tempo, from District 20, never made it to the floor of the CA Legislature.Unfortunately, it died after committee debate.Some believe that it was due to fear and paranoia of regulation by the government in post WWII America, when the best organized and most visibly dominant groups in professional gardening in the State of California were the Japanese Gardeners.Memories of internment, often with loss of everything that their families had achieved, and separation from family and friends proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to recognition and licensing of professional gardeners in California. Another factor that played perhaps a lesser role in the bill’s demise in committee is that most gardeners ran their own small businesses, often working alone or with family members. This large group of independent, "don’t bother me, I’m working", gardeners resisted any sort of involvement or government regulation.Their very lack of involvement in professional groups kept them unaware of the opportunities or risks presented by the proposed bill.San Francisco has tried several more times over the years to secure State licensing for maintenance gardeners.* During this process, another group, the California landscape contractors, perceived the value of the "Maloney Bill", adopted many of its principles, and achieved licensing for the landscape contractors.

     Not all was lost however. The San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association was incorporated as a California Non-Profit (501c3) in May of 1951 with the help of Rose Fanucchi, Attorney at Law, sister to one of our founding members, Gene Fanucchi. Although we have continued to work quietly for recognition and licensing of gardeners, our focus became public awareness, personal education, and professional conduct through the adoption and adherence to a code of ethics.Many of the gardening associations that developed in the late forties and early fifties also became non-profits and sought greater strength in numbers by forming into Federations.In 1957, the San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association joined the Professional Gardeners’ Federation of Northern California (PGFNC).Through the bargaining power of the Federation many benefits became available to the individual members of each association. Memberships grew as gardeners sought an economic advantage with group insurance, uniform programs, truck & equipment purchasing, and education programs.At its peak, the combined strength of the Northern California Federation exceeded 1000 (One Thousand) members.Later, changes in provider policies stripped away many of the benefits that the Federation and its associations enjoyed.Membership (waned/languished/dropped), leaving only the committed diehard members and those seeking the social aspects of the groups.During this period, the mid to late 1970’s, some associations dropped out of the PGFNC.

     Similarly, the San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association (SFPGA) developed its own benefit programs for its members. The most notable of these were our mutual aid and blood bank programs.In October of 1960 we adopted a mutual aid program patterned after that of the Long Beach Gardeners’ Association.This is only one example of a benefit that others gained through socialization and professional interaction at industry conferences, PGFNC & Southern California Professional Gardeners’ Federation (SCPGF).To date, we have only needed the assistance program a few times to help members during a crisis.Our blood bank program began in 1970 in response to a member’s illness and grew steadily until 1995 when the Blood Bank facility we were using discontinued all long range programs like ours and no replacement organization could be found. We remain proud of our twenty-five (25) years of commitment to the "Gene Fanucchi Memorial Blood Bank" and our members who continue to give blood regularly.

     The struggle to retain members and gain new ones while seeking general recognition within the communities we serve and the industry is continues to this day.Some programs that appeared to hold promise for developing and retaining membership while providing an innovative service to the community were so overwhelmed by the response that the program had to be discontinued for lack of space and resources. One of these programs was the dumping/recycling program at City College of San Francisco that only lasted four (4) years, from 1971 to 1975.Some of our more successful ventures have been our monthly newsletter, ten (10) yearly educational seminars, fellowship program, cooperative garden & library, and now our website.

     We have published a "monthly" newsletter for our members and other interested parties since our earliest days. Though the size has fluctuated with changing editors, contributing authors and the all important advertisers to cover the cost of printing and postage, its content has always focused on informing our members about important issues and resources for the industry.Now in its fifty-second (52^nd) year we take pride in the fact that the Helen Crocker-Russell Library at Strybing Arboretum has been archiving our newsletters for their educational value for more than ten (10) years.

     Bringing members and the community together for educational programs has always been an important part of the San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association.Due in no small measure to the efforts ofHarry Nelson, a past department head of the Ornamental Horticulture & Floriculture Department at CCSF and a founding inspiration for our organization, it was a natural fit for us to hold our education meetings in one of the department’s classrooms.Over the years, we have had many speakers from the University of California Cooperative Extension, County Agriculture Services, Department of Water Resources, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Horticulture Industry Leaders and our sponsors/advertisers keeping us up to date on new materials and innovations. Other notable speakers such as Albert Wilson and our own Ted Kipping have shared their knowledge, anecdotes and wonderful pictoral images over the years. Our annual "Round Table Forums" where we share our successes and failures in pest management over the past year and pool our knowledge to strategize for a more successful year to come are highly anticipated.Members, affiliated organizations, students and the general public have all been welcome at our education meetings.Through the sharing of ideas and knowledge we forge a mutual understanding and respect for one another.

     In 1975 we began the "Harry Nelson Fellowship". Through this program we have sought to give back to the City College Community, the Department of Horticulture and Retail Floristry and the City of San Francisco by providing opportunities for students of horticulture to work with a variety of professionals and public agencies for a 6-8 week period during the summer.Numerous side benefits from this program include fellowship students continuing as employees with participating gardeners and more often than not became regular members of our organization.In a few cases the participants were so appreciative of the opportunity and what they learned from it, that they became our best fundraisers for the fellowship fund.The few exceptions to success have created a building and refinement of our technique and process to minimize any dashed expectations on the part of participating students or members.

     Since 1990, we have been involved in a variety of community service projects intended to increase name recognition within the community of the San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association and/or the Professional Gardeners’ Federation of California.We believe strongly that through community involvement the community will become/begin to recognize the SFPGA & the PGFNC as professional organizations with highly qualified members that exemplify the highest standards in the industry.Some projects have been short term high exposure activities such as the oak restoration and outdoor classroom assistance at Rooftop K-8, the Orinda Library Demonstration Drought Tolerant Garden, and our contributions and planting for the Remembrance Garden at San Francisco State University in honor of those internedduring WWII. Other programs were intended as long term commitments.The CCSF Cooperative Garden, begun in 1998 to provide a living dynamic outdoor classroom for horticulture students and the community has been our second most successful outreach program to date, with the first being our fellowship program. In 1999 we began the CCSF Cooperative Library. Collecting educational resource for the library has been reletively easy compared to providing secure regular access to the resources for the faculty, staff and students in the horticulture department.It is our hope that in 2003 a suitable home for this resource and regular hours for research will be achieved. Our most recent long term undertaking is a Web Site. In March of 2001,our website www.sfpga.org, became operational.Through this new media we hope to reach more professional and home gardeners in the years to come.

     We are forever faced with the constant process of renewal.Conserving what works and putting new energies into new strategies when others are no longer viable, ensures our survival in the ever-evolving process of our organization. Reviewing and reworking the Constitution and Bylaws, trying new categories of membership to encourage other horticultural groups to participate, andembracing and refining new ideas to meet current and future needs are some aspects of that process.

     "All work and No Play!" From our earliest beginnings we have taken the time to share moments of relaxation and play with our members and affiliates. During these relaxing times we still do a little "Shop Talk", but learn much more about each other and gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity and diversity that we as professional gardeners represent.

     Brief Time Line History of the San Francisco Professional Gardeners’ Association