Our speaker tonight is Susan Kennedy, the founder of the Minnesota Cactus and Succulent Society. She is a member of the Garden Club of Minneapolis and editor of their newsletter. Susan grows over 400 tender plants, as well as hardy succulent and cacti gardens. Susan shared, "I grew up in Chicago, where my mother grew African violets and my father roses. My earliest plant was a variegated English ivy. I was a math major at the then-College of St. Catherine. But while I was taking a biology class, I saw a variegated pothos plant and helped myself to a cutting. I still have that plant 60 years later.

I am retired, but worked as a math teacher and then a software engineer. I have a particular interest in succulents, tropicals, orchids, begonias and various others that catch my eye.

I live in SW Minneapolis with my dog Mollie, 7 rescue…