Dear Friends,

From Garden Feast 2007: John and Carolyn Jessup, Anita Marmaduke and Pearl Anne and Ed Seipp. From Garden Feast 2007: Lisa Goldman, Michael Barcun, Richard Goldman and Ellen Newman (left to right). All about Garden Feast Garden Feast 2008 >> Find all the details about this event, including a schedule of the day's events, ticketing and parking information. Chelsea Flower Show Raffle >> Find out how to enter to win an all-expense paid, 7-day trip for two to the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show. The Chelsea Flower Show >> The ultimate event in the gardening year! It sets the latest gardening trends, features the newest and most desirable gardening products and creates an explosion of colors and scents. May 19-23, 2009.

The countdown to Garden Feast 2008 has much of our staff and volunteers in a swirl of planned activity. We are expecting 600 guests to join us in the big tent on the Great Meadow for fantastic food by Dan McCall, a great silent auction, and the chance to win an all-expenses paid, 7-day trip for two to the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show.

Join us on September 10 as the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society honors Dr. Peter H. Raven, President of the Missouri Botanical Garden, with the 2008 Green Champion Award for his outstanding leadership in sustainability, environmentalism, and conservation of habitat and the planet's biodiversity. Described by Time magazine as a “Hero for the Planet,” Dr. Raven is widely known as one of the world's leading botanists and advocates of conservation and biodiversity. The author of numerous books and reports, both popular and scientific, Raven co-wrote Biology of Plants, an internationally best-selling textbook, now in its sixth edition. He also co-authored Environment, a leading textbook on the environment.

Dr. Raven grew up in San Francisco and is considered to be the dean of American public gardens. He is an entertaining and thought-provoking speaker acutely interested in and knowledgeable about the environment and sustainability issues.

So purchase your tickets for Garden Feast and/or for the Chelsea Flower Show raffle now! I very much look forward to seeing you on September 10 and hearing what Peter Raven has to tell us.

Warm regards,