A Prickly Love Affair
By Karen Zimmerman
26 Apr 2009
What's your profession? Please describe it.
They call me a Succulent Plant Propagator. My job includes caring for and propagating our huge potted collection of cactus and succulents under the direction of the Curator of Desert Collections, John Trager.
Fortunately, we don't do this alone. We couldn't manage the endless work involved without the terrific family of volunteers who come in every week. I have the priviledge of working with these devoted gardeners, collectors and plant enthusiasts, and have the pleasure of calling them my friends.
Where do you do this?
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. With the exception of the Desert Conservatory in the upper Desert Garden, the Collection nurseries are behind the scenes, and not in the public areas . It is made up entirely of potted plants; tens of thousands of rare and interesting succulent plants from around the world.
Do you enjoy what you do?
I love it! I started out as a volunteer myself. I was self-employed working full time at my shop, using one of my days off to work a full day at the Huntington. I finally figured out that if I loved working there for free, I would really love working there full time for wages! When the position opened up, I was ready to make the switch. I'm embarrassed to say that the first few checks they cut for me remained forgotten in my mailbox for days on end. That's love.
When you were young, what did you want to "be" when you grew up?
I didn't really know what I wanted to do until I was in my 40s. Early on, my grandparents instilled a deep love of plants in me, and so I considered botany in high school, but wasn't really interested in the clinical aspect of plants. I mistakenly thought horticulture only focused on the florist trade, so I avoided that, too.
The first career I fell into was also a love of mine involving animals. I co-owned a small but successful pet grooming business for 12 years.
Do you feel stuck doing what you are doing?
Oh yes, constantly; with cactus spines, of course. Actually, I feel incredibly lucky and happy to be outside every day caring for so many rare plants. It is a real joy to work with so many incredible and knowledgeable people on staff, too.
What are the most and least satisfying parts of your job?
Most satisfying I'd have to say is seed sowing and watching them grow. This includes my aloe hybridizing obsession. I am completely enamored with the amazing teeth and colors you can get with some of these little fantasy aloes, thanks to my friend and Master hybridizer, Kelly Griffin. I am hoping we will release my first aloe hybrid next year through our International Succulent Introductions program. This is an awesome program that propagates and distributes rare and unusual succulents into the hands of growers in an effort to conserve their wild cousins.
The least satisfying has to be how really terrible I feel when a plant dies. It's impossible to avoid, but I don't have to like it. Second runner-up is our constantly running out of space! To this day there are more succulent plants being discovered, and we want to grow them all!
How do you combine photography with your job?
Oh, this is the really great part. My supervisor, John, is a very accomplished photographer. His images can be found in many world renown books on succulents, including the Cactus and Succulent Society of America Journal. His encouragement and mentoring of my efforts has been amazing, and I feel very fortunate to work with him. I am proud to say that last year I was fortunate enough to have one of my own images used on the cover of the journal. My first publication! Another has just been published this month inside the journal profiling one of the plants on our current ISI listing, which is published every spring.
You know, with so many unusual plants in the gardens to enjoy, there is never any shortage of photo subjects where I work. Add the array of insects, reptiles, mammals and birds that live on the property, and you've got a photographer's paradise!
Anything else you'd like to add?
I encourage all of my jpg friends to visit the Huntington. It is a fantastic place to explore any time of year, and is worth a visit whether you've been here before or not. Look at me, I've worked here almost eight years, and I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Give me a shout, I'd love to meet you.
9 responses
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Tim Narraway said (26 Apr 2009):
I have a fascination with Copiapoa in particular, as well as vetplante, such as the halfmens, so was fascinated to see your story. Good luck and hope to see it in print some day soon.
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Nancy Farris gave props (26 Apr 2009):
Nicely written, Karen....sure gave ME a better understanding of what you do!
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Andre Easter said (27 Apr 2009):
As a cactiphile, I have really enjoyed this. Good writing and fine photography.
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Sherry Davis Johnson added a link (30 Apr 2009):
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Dalal Jebril said (2 May 2009):
Loved the pics and the story..Voted!
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anni siegel gave props (2 May 2009):
So impressive both Brian and I will be visiting the gardens, soon!
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Lacy Bender gave props (22 May 2009):
Wow, really amazing photography and story! Really, WOW.
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Rey mos gave props (31 May 2009):
Beautiful shots with an interesting story. Well done.
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peggy gardner gave props (1 Jun 2009):
wow, this is really cool --- gotta love your title. b e a u t i f u l images.
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