2026 Ruth Borun Lecture Series
featuring John and Molly Chester 
of the 2018 documentary
The Biggest Little Farm

John Chester is a farmer, 5-time Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer, and director/producer. In 2011, he and his wife Molly founded Apricot Lane Farms, a biodynamic and regenerative farm on 234 acres in Moorpark, CA. John’s 2018 film, The Biggest Little Farm, chronicled the first years of their work, achieving worldwide acclaim, interest, and affection that continues to this day. With Molly running the day-to-day farm operations, John has spent the past five years producing a 12-part documentary follow-up to the film titled Biggest Little Farm -The Series, launch date to be determined.

Molly Chester is a chef, author, and co-founder of Apricot Lane Farms. Through her own health journey and work as a private chef, Molly realized that the quality of foods she prepared was inseparable from the health of the land it came from. That realization led Molly and her husband John to spend 14 years transforming severely depleted farmland into the thriving farm and habitat chronicled in the acclaimed documentary The Biggest Little Farm and in The Apricot Lane Farms Cookbook (Avery, 2022).

In August 2025, Molly and John entrusted Apricot Lane Farms to a longtime team and began a new chapter on their own 27-acre off-grid property near Bend, Oregon, where they are focused on homesteading, education, and storytelling. Biggest Little Farm - The Series, about the final five years of their work at Apricot Lane Farms, will be released soon on YouTube.

Photos of the Chesters courtesy of Apricot Lane Farms

Ticketing: FREE for SCHS Members | $20 for Non-Members*

Click here to register! A confirmation will be emailed to the address used when registering.

Registration will close at 5 pm PDT on Thursday, March 12

Zoom/Online Registrants: a Zoom link will be emailed once the registration process has been completed.

About the Ruth Borun Lecture Series

The Ruth Borun Lecture Series, established in 2020, honors the legacy of Ruth Borun, a longtime Southern California Horticultural Society (SCHS) member who cultivated an internationally admired garden and deeply engaged with the world of horticulture.

A passionate plant explorer and garden enthusiast, Ruth traveled widely to visit innovative gardens and spent weekends searching for rare and unusual plants – proteas in Del Mar, orchids in Carpinteria, camellias at Nuccio’s Nurseries, and California natives at the Theodore Payne Foundation. Her love for gardening was passed down from her mother and continues through her daughter Nancy, who now cares for Ruth’s cherished garden.

Ruth’s collaboration with landscape designer Christine Rosmini (an SCHS Horticulturist of the Year) shaped a garden that gained worldwide recognition. It was notably featured in Sunset magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and was one of only three American gardens included in Christopher Lloyd’s book, Other People’s Gardens.

In her memory, the Borun family – through the Anna and Harry Borun Foundation – has generously endowed the SCHS with funds to sponsor this annual lecture series, bringing inspiring and prominent horticultural speakers to SCHS members and other plant enthusiasts.