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Kate Sessions' Legacy

Katherine Olivia Sessions (1857 to 1940), known to many as "Kate", left a legacy to the San Diego community which continues to enrich our daily lives. During her long career in San Diego as a world-recognized horticulturist, florist, nurserywomen, and landscape designer, she imported, introduced, propagated, and popularized hundreds of trees, palms, vines, shrubs, and succulents. These include many of our most beloved plants: poinsettia, bird of paradise, Italian cypress, twisted juniper, queen palm, yellow oleander, Carolina yellow jasmine, banyan, New Zealand Christmas tree, Aleppo pine, Brazilian pepper tree, blue cypress, bougainvillea, and star jasmine.

A fervent advocate of developing "City Park," as Balboa Park was named until 1910, Kate Sessions became the official "City Gardener" as she began extensive plantings on the scrub brush acreage. Beginning in 1892, under contract with the City of San Diego, she planted more than 100 trees a year in the park and contributed more than 300 trees a year to the beautification of the city. Kate Sessions helped with the design of the park and also with the wildly successful 1915 Exposition. She advocated many of the developed areas such as Palm Canyon and the Aloe and Agave Garden. Numerous trees in the park and throughout the city were planted with her own hands and exist to this day. Kate Sessions has truly been the "mother of Balboa Park." A statue honoring Kate Sessions' contribution to the development of Balboa Park and to the quality of life in San Diego is long overdue.