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John Edward Bleck was a very well-respected horticulturist and plant breeder who lived in Goleta, California. He was born in April 1933 and passed away just weeks before his 92nd birthday in 2025. After getting his degree in horticulture John worked at the UCLA Botanic Garden, later renamed the Mathias Botanical Garden UCLA. He later moved up to the Santa Barbara area where he co-owned with his wife Mary Bleck the renowned succulent plant nursery Abbey Gardens. After selling the nursery John became the manager and collections curator of the University of California Santa Barbara Biology Department greenhouses. At UCSB he maintained the large botanical collection and conducted an extensive aloe breeding program aimed at producing small reliably flowering aloes for household indoor use. John was a founding member and officer of the Santa Barbara Cactus and Succulent Society and a president of the Santa Barbara County Horticultural Society. For more information about this knowledgeable and generous man, please see the John Bleck Obituary. John was a good friend of Randy Baldwin and continuously gave San Marcos Growers plants that he thought we should grow. Over the years we have propagated many of these plants and added them to the list of plants we sold. |
