OPEN TODAY: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants with Jane S. Smith

Event
A book cover featuring plants and vegetables, a black-and-white photo of Luther Burbank, and the title “The Garden of Invention.”

Thu., March 13, 2025, 2:30–5 p.m.

Free with reservation | No entry to the grounds before 2 p.m.

Ahmanson Classroom

Reservations
Join author Jane S. Smith for a colorful discussion about gardener Luther Burbank’s many plant creations, his role in establishing California as the world’s agricultural cornucopia, and the lasting influence of his discoveries and great fame.
Lectures
Gardens

In this Second Thursday Garden Talk, Smith will discuss Luther Burbank (1849–1926), who was the most famous gardener on the planet for over 40 years. From his modest home in Santa Rosa, California, and his experimental farm in nearby Sebastopol, he developed over 800 new varieties of fruits, flowers, trees, nuts, and grains.

You can order The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants from the Huntington Store.

A book signing and plant sale immediately follows the presentation.

Key Details

  • Reservations are required to attend the talk.
  • No entry to the grounds before 2 p.m.
  • Book purchases and signing will take place on the patio outside the Ahmanson Classroom.
  • No early bird shopping.
  • Rain or shine.

About the Speaker
Jane S. Smith writes about the intersection of science, business, popular taste, and social history. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University and has taught at Northwestern University on subjects ranging from modern fiction to the history of public health. She is the author of nine works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants, winner of the Caroline Bancroft Prize for Western American History. For more information, visit janessmith.com.

A book cover featuring plants and vegetables, a black-and-white photo of Luther Burbank, and the title “The Garden of Invention.”
Black-and-white photo of an older person holding a shovel in a garden of tall flowers.
A book cover featuring plants and vegetables, a black-and-white photo of Luther Burbank, and the title “The Garden of Invention.”
Black-and-white photo of an older person holding a shovel in a garden of tall flowers.

The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants by Jane S. Smith.

Luther Burbank, glass negative, Bain News Service, publisher. | Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-38962.