Connecting to our Natural World: ​The Portland Botanical Gardens  
Sean Hogan, Co-founder & Board President, Portland Botanical Gardens
Kate Bodin, Executive Director, Portland Botanical Gardens 
6 November, 2021         
​9:30 am - 11:00 am, PDT
First Saturday PDX welcomes back Sean Hogan, former curator of the Lan Su Chinese Garden, for  a talk about his latest project -- the Portland Botanical Gardens -- an ambitious, nonprofit, multi-conservatory and multi-garden campus to be constructed in the Portland Metropolitan area.

With a team led by Sean, the Portland Botanical Gardens (PBG) hopes to cultivate a community where people connect, discover, and celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience of plants.  Visitors will "traverse Oregon" and "walk the world" as they navigate through multiple conservatories and outdoor spaces filled with plants from all over the world, including the Pacific Northwest, lowland tropics, deserts, alpine steppes, and many more regions.

PBG strives to provide a unique experience to all visitors and serve as a resource in horticulture, climate research, and environmental justice.  It will foster partnerships with international conservation organizations along with local gardens such as Lan Su Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden. The goal is to complement and highlight the beauty of Portland’s thriving gardens through the continuous sharing of research and education.
More information:  https://portlandbg.org/​
About the speakers:
Sean Hogan is an acclaimed plantsman, collector, and designer specializing in flora ranging from California to South Africa.  He has served as the Director of Collections at the Hoyt Arboretum and a curator at the University of California Berkeley Botanical Garden.   Sean was also the Curator of Lan Su Chinese Garden at its inception, working with his Suzhou counterpart in finding and acquiring appropriate plants locally for the Garden.  Author of Flora: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia and Trees for All Seasons: Broadleaf Evergreens for Temperate Climates, he has also contributed extensively to Apple Park in Cupertino, California.   Sean is the owner of Cistus Nursery, a firm specializing in public and private garden design and planning, with a focus on the introduction of new climate-appropriate plants for the Pacific Northwest. 
​Kate Bodin has years of leadership and management experience, and a passion for building programs and loves working with people and plants.  Before becoming a registered horticultural therapist, she spent eleven years as the academic leader at two art colleges.  She currently teaches horticulture at Portland Community College.  Kate holds an MEd in Creative Arts and Learning, and an undergraduate degree in visual art.
Video of this presentation can be seen here

​Join us after the webinar from 11 - 11:30am in our First Saturday PDX Tea House to further the discussion and online social time.  Bring your cup of tea! 
​(Separate  access link for this will be provided in your single registration for this event.)
This presentation is offered via Zoom Webinar:
  • Join with computer, tablet, or smartphone. 
  • Register here and receive the links to join the webinar and the Tea House in the same confirmation email 
  • See our Zoom page for information on how to connect to the event.  
Our program series is supported by Portland State University's Institute for Asian Studies, Northwest China Council and Lan Su Chinese Garden.   All our programs are free and open to the public.