Green Roof in San Bruno

I spotted another green roof in the San Francisco Bay Area – this one in San Bruno. The YouTube headquarters (formerly the GAP headquarters) at 901 Cherry Avenue is planted with indigenous grasses and wildflowers cultivated from native grasslands in San Francisco. The green roof provides temperature and sound insulation, and habitat for insects and birds. The roof line itself is slightly curved, which fits in with the surrounding hills.

Green roof in San Bruno - the YouTube headquarters

I found some information about the green roof project, including the architectural firm (William McDonough + Partners), and the supplier (American Hydrotech) from the web site: http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=26. Materials used to construct the roof (from the roof up): 

• Hot rubberized asphalt waterproofing membrane, topped with a root barrier, and six inches of extruded polystyrene insulation
• Drainage boards covered with filter fabric to keep growth media out of the drainage material
• Six inches engineered soil (the growth media)

View outside of the YouTube headquarter office

YouTube– San Bruno, CA – Posted on June 29, 2011
View outside of the YouTube headquarter office in San Bruno, CA (Photo by Coolcaesar - available under CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 & GFDL, v1.258)

POPOS

I learned about POPOS—Privately Owned Public Open Spaces—on Rick Evan’s Architectural Tour in downtown San Francisco (www.architecturesf.com). A San Francisco zoning law requires that new buildings replace some of the land they take with publicly accessible open space. This might take the form of a small park, plaza, terrace, or roof garden. This is a great idea.

In practice, many of the POPOS are difficult to find, accessible only through unmarked doors or behind security guards, or available only during business hours. This makes it difficult to enjoy these mandated public spaces. The nonprofit organization San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) provides a map of the POPOS in PDF form, and in Google Maps: http://www.spur.org/blog/2011-02-03/spur-popos-guide-now-google-maps. We saw two roof gardens on Rick’s tour, including the Galleria Park Hotel and Crocker Galleria.

View Privately Owned Public Open Spaces Map in a larger map

Roof Garden Resource

One of my favorite resources for learning about roof gardens is the book Roof Gardens: History, Design and Construction, by Theodore Osmundson, FASLA. It is published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Osmundson worked for many years as a landscape architect in San Francisco, and designed the three-acre roof garden for the Kaiser Center in Oakland, California. He is considered an expert and pioneer on roof gardens.

A great resource for learning about roof
gardens all over the world, including
the San Francisco Bay Area

The book documents roof gardens of all types, provides history, and includes practical information about construction materials and techniques. Many of the projects described are for large public spaces that are roof gardens for hotels, shopping plazas, and parking structures to name a few. Examples include The Westin St. Francis, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Portsmouth, Union and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.

The book is a source of inspiration for transforming roof tops into habitat for people or creatures. Some of the same principles could be applied, on a smaller scale, to apartments and homes – providing roof or hanging gardens for their inhabitants.

Up on the Roof

I am a big fan of roof gardens. Roof gardens can provide a spot of nature on an otherwise barren surface, can lower the air temperature by 15 degrees, and can help prevent water runoff. A pioneer of roof gardens is Theodore Osmundson, who defines roof gardens on page 13 of his book, Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction:

A roof garden is any planted open space, intended to provide human enjoyment or environmental enhancement, that is separated from the earth by a building or other structure. It may be below, level with, or above the ground. While it may serve other functions—as a means of circulation or access or as a dining space, for example—a roof garden’s primary purpose is to provide a place to be among or to view plants.

Some roof gardens are meant to be enjoyed by people – with many of the same elements as an-earth bound garden, such as plants, furniture, and structure. Other roof gardens are meant for utilitarian purposes – such as insulation, filtering water, or providing habitat for birds and insects. In either case, the roof must have the structural integrity to bear the load, special materials must be used to protect the structure, water and drainage must be provided, soil must be brought in and enriched, appropriate plants must be selected for the unique in-air microclimate, and safety precautions must be taken.

West Elm's attractive roof garden in Emeryville

Botanical Legacy

My dad is a tree guy. He studied forestry at University of California at Berkeley in the 1950s, and worked for the US Forest Service as a forestry researcher in Southeast Alaska for thirty years. One of his specialties was the Sitka spruce tree. He conducted surveys, wrote articles, and contributed to the body of knowledge.

Our family hiked a lot while we were growing up. We hiked in the snow and rain, and in beautiful weather. We hiked up mountains and along beaches and rivers. We loved to take boat rides in our cabin cruiser, and find a beach for a picnic. We camped all over Alaska, Canada, and the United States. Dad always had something to teach us about plants, geology, climate, weather, natural history, and exploration and development of the West.

 World's biggest spruce tree, in Washington state

 Facts about the Sitka spruce

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Dad retired in the 1980s, but he is still interested in trees and plants. Dad is a source of inspiration as a life-long learner, and a fellow plant enthusiast. One of the highlights of the year is hiking in the desert with my folks in pursuit of wild flowers. My dad has imparted a botanical legacy, which continues to enrich my life.

The Marsh

On 30 acres, you are bound to have microclimates and little ecosystems. One of my favorite such spots on the ranch is the marsh. Its elevation is slightly lower than the field, so rain and irrigation water accumulates there. This year is no exception.

Stand of cattails in the marsh

My dad and I took an early morning stroll down the road to the marsh under the blue sky. You could feel the hint of the warm day to come, but the air was still cool. We were greeted by a chorus of bird calls. The kids had seen a bird nest or two in the area. We didn’t see any nests, but we were squawked at from the tree tops – no doubt a ruse to lure us away from any nests.

Several types of birds distract us from their nests

The small pond is filled with cattail reeds (Typha spp.) and bordered by water-loving willows (Salix spp.) and grasses. The air hums with insect life and bird calls. At night, the same area is populated by chirping frogs.

Willow trees by the marsh

Feed Store Fun

One of my favorite outings in the Bend area is to the feed store. A feed store is a hardware store on steroids – for agriculture and animal husbandry. I wasn’t disappointed this trip – we went to Big R Stores near Redmond, Oregon.

A visit to the feed store in Redmond, Oregon, where you can
buy almost anything for the garden, ranch, or farm.

Feed stores sell everything, from work clothes and footgear, canning supplies, barbeque tools, horse gear (such as bridles, tethers, and saddle bags), farming and animal supplies (like hay hooks, troughs, and salt and mineral blocks), to gardening and irrigation supplies, kitchen ware, and tools to fix or build anything. And yes, you can buy feed for your horses, cows, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, and any other creature that needs to eat on the farm.

You can buy feed in bulk.

Invariably, I gravitate to the gardening section, and always find something interesting. This time I found CowPots™, which are planting pots made from 100% Renewable Composted Cow Manure. Earlier in the day I walked through the field and saw giant cow pies. Later I walked through the feed store and saw starter pots made from cow pies. This is brilliant. This is the type of innovative thinking that could save the economy, and the planet.

Beautiful Bend: 2011

Greetings from Bend, Oregon, where we are visiting my sister and her family on their 30-acre ranch. My family and I had a great time driving up from the San Francisco Bay Area together. With all the rains, there is an abundance of water up and down Interstate 5 and the 97. It was a pleasure to see lakes and marshes full of water, and plants and trees green and foliant. The Southeast Alaska crew (my folks, brother, and sister-in-law) flew down.

Together, we saw my niece, Sarah, graduate from high school (how can that be), and threw a party with extended family from Oregon. My two nieces and two nephews have all matured so much since we last saw them several years ago - I suppose that happens!

The ranch is emerging from winter; the hay crop will be ready for harvest in a month. The big sky and mountains are as beautiful as I remember. Plants are in various stages of waking up from winter. We can hear frogs and birds of all kinds. Life abounds!

Wheels for moving the irrigation line across the hay field.

Ranching in Bend

In addition to their day jobs, my sister and her husband run a small ranch. They raise a variety of livestock—at times goats, chickens, pigs, cows, horse, llama, and dogs—and grow their own hay. The ranch is in the greater Bend, Oregon area, and beautifully situated with several mountains in the distance.

Big sky sunset over the goat herd

Together they have built their home, improved the land, and are raising their four children. They are both resourceful and competent as they carry out the tasks of running a ranch. On any day that may mean planting or harvesting, managing the irrigation system, feeding the animals, dashing to the hardware or feed store for a part or supplies, fixing a piece of farm equipment, or juggling these task on top of work and family.

Irrigation line for the hay crop

The boys plant a vegetable garden in the summer, and sell eggs all year round. The girls enjoy the animals. My sister finds time to plant a flower bed in the summer, despite the fact that frost can descend at any time.

A flower bed in Bend

High Desert Low Down

We’re heading to Bend, Oregon to celebrate my niece’s graduation from high school (wootwoot) and my sister’s (undisclosed age) birthday. It’s been several years since we visited Bend, so it will be a treat to get together with family. And, I’m looking forward to learning more about the geology, climate zone, and high desert plants.

In preparation, I pulled out the trusty Sunset The Western Garden Book. Bend is in climate zone 1A, which is a cold, intermountain area on the edge of the Cascades. Bend is considered high desert, and is situated on an ancient volcanic region. In June, mean temperatures range from 41 to 72 degrees, with extremes recorded at 23 degrees (low) to 99 degrees (high). Annual rainfall averages 11.7 inches, some of which comes from snowfall. The growing season is short, from 50 – 100 days per year, and frost can occur any time of the year.

The USDA hardiness zone is 5a, which may be more useful for gardeners who are interested in plants that can withstand the cold temperatures. This is a challenging area for gardening and agriculture.

Forested area in the Bend, Oregon area

Freshly Planted

I finished planting the first batch of veggies in the raised bed. This includes four kinds of tomatoes from starters; and carrots, radishes, lettuce, Kentucky pole beans, and Sugar Snap peas from seeds. In a few weeks, I’ll plant a second batch of carrots, radishes, beans and peas, to extend production, and add broccoli, chard, another type of lettuce, as well as pumpkin and squash.

It’s only been a week, and I already see a few sprouts. This is a relief since, inexplicably, it is raining in June. Yes, rain in June. I was afraid my seeds might rot, wash away, or be exposed and eaten by birds. This is very atypical for the San Francisco Bay Area. Usually we don’t see rain past April.

Tomatoe starters and radish sprouts (lower right corner)

This is my first experiment planting in several phases. I plan to do more intermediate planting as vegetables finish their life cycle. I’m loosely following information from Renee’s Garden, specifically the Long Summer, Mild Winter Garden design for USDA zones 8-10 (http://www.reneesgarden.com/hm-gardnr/resource/designs.htm). The design provides an ongoing planting schedule through spring, summer, and fall. The design is for 18 by 20 feet, and I have 4 by 8 feet, so a few adaptations are needed!

More Plants of Leona Canyon

East Bay Regional Park District provides a great resource for identifying plants and wildflowers in the parks. You can access or download wild plant or wildflower photo guides from: https://www.ebparks.org/natural-resources/biodiversity/plants-checklist.

• The wild plant guides are available for the district, and sorted by scientific name or family name.
• The wildflower guides are available by district or by a specific park, and sorted by sorted by color, then by family and genus within the color.

The photo guides also identify whether a plant is a native plant or introduced, and whether an annual or perennial. I am using the information to identify a few more plants from our recent hike in Leona Canyon. This is a great resource for anyone new to the San Francisco Bay Area, or who wants to learn more about plants in the area.

California Buckeye in bloom	Climbing Morning Glory vine
Horse tails	Purple annual

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Riparian Plant Communities

My family and I hiked the Canyon Oaks Drive end of the Leona Canyon trail on Memorial Day weekend. This end of the trail is lower in elevation, and considerably wetter than the Merritt College end. A small creek runs along the trail, and drains into a marshy pool of water. We ended up hiking on the day it rained, but it was somehow fitting to walk through the lush, green forest in a misty rain.

Leona Canyon trail head, from Canyon Oaks Drive.
The big willow thrives in a marshy area. 

The small creek hosts a riparian woodland plant community, with white alder, oak, willow, blackberry, and elderberry, to name a few. Many of the trees grow in standing water. California buckeye is plentiful and in full bloom. In fact, plant life is plentiful. It is almost difficult to distinguish individual plants because of the mass of vegetation.

Arched branches in an emerald 
green understory.

I searched online to find out more information restoration efforts in California's riparian areas and found the River Partners website. They have a mission to create wildlife habitat, and to restore and protect the environment along streams and rivers in the Western United States.

A tunnel of vegetation. California Buckeye
is in bloom on the right.