Smartest Woman in the Room: 'Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer'

Aptonyms that amuse us--like the priest Father O’Pray, the dentist Dr. Payne or the meteorologist Dallas Raines--get us thinking. Are you destined to become a noted horticulturist if your name is Lili Singer?

For the lily is perennial, ubiquitous, adaptive, rooting in both earth and water environments, seemingly delicate but actually strong. And it’s not much of a stretch to apply many of these traits to garden expert extraordinaire Lili Singer.

A journeywoman plants expert, Singer is seemingly everywhere at once: the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia, Southern California Horticulture Society meetings in Griffith Park on the second Thursday of the month, the California Native Plant Society board. 

This week, she popped into Internet mailboxes via the Arboretum’s fall class schedule. “Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer” is experiencing its seasonal registration stampede.

The Thursday morning lineup features special guests each week from 9:30 to noon. That’s swell and all, but die-hard Los Angeles gardeners come to listen particularly to Singer herself.  S

he’s a horticultural Jackie-of-all-trades with, hard-to-believe but true, nearly 40 years of teaching, consulting, writing, broadcasting and nursery management under her belt. 

As moderator of the Thursday series for nearly a decade, her vast knowledge of plants in Southern California is a boon to new, veteran and professional gardeners. 

How long, exactly, has she been associated with the Arboretum?  Patch asked just the other day.

“Eight years plus? Maybe going on nine years.” Singer thinks for a moment. “I’ll have to check the calendar.”  She pauses, then adds, “But I’m sure about this: I’ve never missed a class. Well, once, when I had the flu. I left early.” 

Nine Years of Lectures

The Arboretum’s ongoing lecture series offers 24 classes a year, fall, winter and spring. Nine years of lectures means Singer has hosted over 215 garden talks with horticulture experts.

“We offer a potpourri of topics each season,” Singer explained. “An eclectic mix, something for everyone: edibles, native plants, field trips, wonderful (garden) spots to visit that you might not normally have access to.”

The eight lectures series is a better value than attending on a drop-in basis, although that option is always available. September 6 is the last day to enroll in all eight classes for $100. After the series beings September 15, classes cost $20 each.

Bargain hunters, note: Anyone can transfer the admission ticket, sharing with a friend, in case of scheduling conflict. Plus the price of admission bestows knowledge to help become a better gardener. What’s not to like?

On tap each season is a wide array of garden authorities. Opening the series Sept. 15 is Los Angeles Times columnist and garden blogger Emily Green.

Garden preservation is one topic; another is Arts and Crafts historical landscape design with Laramee Haynes; plant propagation is presented by the accomplished Dave Lannom, former head of the Mt. SAC Horticulture Department. A tour of elegant gardens from San Marino and Pasadena requires pre-registration. 

Edible Gardens

The current schedule, plus winter classes with Carol Bornstein of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and edible garden maven Rosalind Creasy, is available online at www.arboretum.org.

Singer says one of the main attractions of the Arboretum for her is its multifaceted grounds. 

“I love the Arboretum!” Singer croons. The orchid house, the propagation area, and “the large core of Arboretum regulars. A group of us goes to lunch every week after class.” 

Horticulture VIPs hanging out with Arboretum regulars? 

“I love talking to gardeners,” Singer assures. “That’s one of my favorite activities. And teaching. And working at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday mornings.” Singer has enough energy to power an electric grid. My guess is she just hasn’t put her big brain to the task yet. 

Southern Californians fondly remember Southern California Gardener, a handsome, award-winning monthly newsletter, intelligently written by Singer and beautifully illustrated by artists’ line drawings. Next came The Gardener’s Companion, a bi-monthly publication, also written and edited by the talented Ms. S.

Singer hosted “The Garden Show” for years on KCRW; taught gardening and horticulture at UCLA Extension; and continues to lecture for water conservation and resource management groups. In 1997 she was named Horticulturist of the Year by the Southern California Horticulture Society.  Not too shabby for a self-taught gardener.

After studying English in college, Singer clerked part-time for her father’s rare succulents nursery, opened when Lili was 16.  She moved on to other garden retailers to gain more experience, eventually managing Merrihew’s Sunset Gardens in Santa Monica. She developed an encyclopedic knowledge of resources, plants, problems and solutions. Teaching came next at UCLA Extension and garden consulting and  troubleshooting followed.

Singer, the savant, diagnoses the trickiest of garden woes. At each Arboretum lecture, time is allotted for Q&A. This part of the class is almost like watching a magic act. In years past, I have witnessed skilled and eloquent gardeners pose all manner of animal, vegetable and mineral questions, some of which I didn’t even understand until I took a soils science class. Singer hits all the right notes, about drainage, controlling ants, rodent problems, pruning fruit trees, companion planting, native oaks, too much shade, too much sun.

Because Singer is accurate, informed, and passionate, she has no trouble drawing a crowd. Those wanting a quieter conversation will find her at her other job at the Theodore Payne Foundation most weekdays. As Director of Special Projects and Adult Education, Singer wears many of her garden bonnets at TPF.

Many gardeners opt to schedule house calls. A two-hour consultation with Singer isn’t prohibitively expensive, especially considering the amount of information pouring from her brain to your ear.

Flaccid lemon tree in a shady, rocky corner?  Singer can recommend a substitute for existing conditions.

Watering schedule problems? She walks the novice and experienced through the particulars to transform their potential paradise.

As the summer draws to a close, Southern California gardeners are inking in Thursday mornings at the Arboretum. From Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, the gospel of Lili Singer naturalizes like the lilies of the field.

Call the Arboretum at (626) 821-4623 or send an email message to jill.berry@arboretum.org for class registration information.