Kate Sessions in Balboa Park

Share this Article

Kate Sessions (1857-1940) started in the nursery business in 1885 which resulted in nurseries in Coronado, City Park, Mission Hills and Pacific Beach.

The rest is history. We could list all her achievements and accolades, but here's the rub: Kate Sessions knew plants, introduced plants, and changed the face of San Diego with her passion and her expertise.

San Diego's Balboa Park? We can thank Kate Sessions. It all started in 1892 when she leased 30 acres of land for a nursery in "City Park", now called Balboa Park. Here's the deal she struck. She gets the 30-acre lease and in exchange she'd plant 100 trees per year in Balboa Park and make 300 more available for planting throughout the San Diego. Sessions kept her end of the bargain by planting imported seeds from around the world all over Balboa Park. Today, we see the park filled with cypress, pine, oaks, pepper trees and eucalyptus.

The Kate O. Sessions Balboa Park Nursery still exists and provides the plants and trees for Balboa Park. In fact, the 8.3 acre nursery is small compared to the 32 or so acres Kate Sessions had her dirty paws on

Jacaranda

at the old location at 6th and Upas, the northwest corner of the park. Still, the nursery pumps out seedlings from the variety of plant and tree species found all over Balboa Park. The nursery is quite in the open, yet hard to find on the eastern side of Balboa Park near the Frisbee golf course and the city golf course on Pershing Drive.

Drive around San Diego and you'll see jacaranda trees with their beautiful lavender blooms in fall and spring. Look for them more in spring and the brilliance of color they display. Downtown is a great place to see them. We have Kate Sessions to thank for the jacarandas. She imported them to San Diego. Jacarandas are native to South America.

Balboa Park pays homage to Kate Session with a bronze statue in her honor, as the "Mother of Balboa Park" at the entrance to Balboa Park on Laurel Street and the Cabrillo Bridge. Kate Sessions died in 1940.

Kate Sessions Park

To get a great view of San Diego Bay and downtown San Diego, visit Kate Sessions Memorial Park. A 79-acre city park named for Kate Sessions and her contributions to the city. The park is located at Lamont Street and Soledad Road, at the cusp of La Jolla just north of Pacific Beach. Can't beat the summer concerts up at Kate Sessions Park.