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Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation

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Changing California’s Landscape 1951-2006

In 2006, the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation donated its archives to Special Collections along with funds to process the collection. Processing of the collection is now complete and the collection is fully available to researchers. This exhibit showcases the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation Collection and chronicles the Foundation’s role in creating ornamental landscapes perfectly suited to California’s challenging climates.

Ray Hartman in profile, wearing a plaid jacket, outdoors in front of a slatted wood fence.
Ray Hartman, founder of the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation

Early Years

The Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation (SHRF) was founded in 1952 by a group of horticulturalists and nurserymen committed to improving western horticulture. Named after the location of its original headquarters on Verde Vista Lane in Saratoga, California, the SHRF grew out of nurseryman Ray Hartman’s vision of a horticultural experiment station for developing hardy, reliable trees and shrubs for the California landscape. Hartman engaged his longtime friend Maunsell Van Rensselaer, a horticulturalist, and a handful of others interested in examining the possibility of establishing an experiment station as a foundation.

The Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation was ultimately established as a non-profit organization under the direction of a Board of Trustees, which was advised by a Board of Councilors drawn from prominent figures in the fields of western horticulture, arboriculture, landscape design, and botany. The Foundation’s activities were advised by a director who reported to the Board of Trustees. During their fifty-four years, the Foundation introduced several new cultivars of magnolia, California lilac, and manzanita, and strongly promoted the use of drought-tolerant landscaping.

Meetings to establish the Foundation began in 1951

Typed meeting notes dated April 16, 1951, from a "meeting to discuss the establishment of the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation."

First Foundation building under construction, 1951

Two workers at a wood-sided building under construction, one ascending a ladder to the roofline.
Two workers on the nearly completed Foundation building, one working on the roof and one on the exterior wall, with a ladder and lumber visible.
Typed letters of congratulation to the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation from directors of the Arnold Arboretum, New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Bailey Hortorium, and Fairchild Tropical Garden.
Typed letters of congratulation to the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation from directors of the Arnold Arboretum, Morton Arboretum, Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Foundation, Missouri Botanical Garden, and Alexandra Botanic Gardens.
Research

Exhibit: Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation

Introduction Research Trees and Landscaping Outreach and Education Legacy
Exhibit from
Curated by Liz Phillips
For detailed information about the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation Collection, explore the finding aid at the Online Archive of California.
Previously on display March 24, 2008 - September 9, 2008 in the Shields Library (Lobby - Archives and Special Collections)