San Diego County Flower & Plant Association honors industry icon

The San Diego County Flower & Plant Association (SDCF&PA) awarded the Industry Icon Award at its Awards Dinner on July 22. This year’s award, which recognizes exemplary contributions to the county’s horticulture industry, goes to Julian Duval, longtime leader of the San Diego Botanic Garden.

Julian was the first executive director of Quail Botanical Gardens (now San Diego Botanic Garden, SDBG). As a longtime zoo curator and director, he developed an appreciation of floras and faunas from countries including the United States, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, before taking over SDBG.

Since making San Diego his home in 1995, Julian has dedicated himself to the county’s horticulture industry. He has been honored with awards including the San Diego Horticultural Society Horticulturalist of the Year Award, the American Horticultural Society Professional Award and the Paul Ecke Jr. Award in Excellence from the governing board of the San Diego Botanic Garden and the Ecke family.

Julian retired as president and CEO emeritus of the SDBG in 2019. He and his wife, Leslie, lived on site at the SDBG for nearly 25 years. They now live in Vista, California, where both are enjoying retirement, and Julian is absorbed in his own private botanic garden.

For more information, please visit www.flowerandplant.org.