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Wilson (Albert) papers
M1397
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Albert Wilson papers
source:
Tolmach, Lucy
creator:
Wilson, Albert, 1903-1996
Identifier/Call Number: M1397
Physical Description:
32 Linear Feet
(20 boxes, 3 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1910-1995
Abstract: Material related to Wilson's career as horticulturalist, author, and broadcaster.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
[identification of item], Albert Wilson papers (M1397). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford Libraries,
Stanford, Calif.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Lucy Tolmach, 2003. Accession 2003-259.
Albert Wilson (1903–1996), was an American botanist, landscape architect, author, teacher and lecturer on gardening and landscaping,
and a TV and radio talk show personality who wrote several books popularizing gardening, as well as an autobiography.
Albert Wilson was born in San Francisco and placed in an orphanage. He was saved from the 1906 earthquake when someone tossed
him out the orphanage window to safety.
He graduated from Lowell High School and later attended Stanford University, receiving a bachelor's degree in botany in 1927
and a master's in biology in 1934. He earned a teaching credential, and began speaking at garden clubs, later lecturing on
gardening and landscaping at Stanford, the University of California Extension, College of San Mateo and Canada College. His
first book, "Distinctive Trees, Shrubs, and Vines," was published in 1938. He later published more books on gardening as well
as on his experiences in the orphanage. One title, "How Does Your Garden Grow," was a longtime best-seller. During World War
II, he was drafted and assigned to design gardens at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri.
Mr. Wilson became famous as a garden expert and had a series of radio and television shows, including a regular talk show
broadcast on San Francisco's KGO, "Dig It with Albert" (originally called "How does your Garden grow"). He was also on the
local PBS TV member station KQED and had a show on KCSM-TV in the late sixties. Wilson was a frequent guest lecturer at local
gardening clubs and nurseries throughout the San Francisco Bay area, mentoring and befriending many attendees. He designed
and built his home in 1929, on Creek Drive in Menlo Park, California. Wilson was also well known as a landscape architect,
having designed Allied Arts and Fremont Park in Menlo Park, and countless backyards and gardens throughout the San Francisco
Bay area.
--adapted from his obituary and Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Wilson_(botanist))
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Horticulture -- California -- History
Landscape gardening -- California.
Tolmach, Lucy
Wilson, Albert, 1903-1996