Trees in Washington Park

Another great discovery in Burlingame was Washington Park, bordered by Carolan Avenue, Burlingame Avenue, and the Burlingame High School. Washington Park is the former site of the Moses Gunst estate, and home to about 80 species of trees.

Eucalyptus viminalis – Manna Gum Eucalyptus (#34 on the Trees of Washington Park map)

The trees are from all over the world, making the park a mini botanical garden, tucked in among the play grounds, recreational buildings, and baseball fields. I spent a couple of my free Saturday hours, wandering the paths and marveling at the beautiful trees.

Melaleuca stypheliodes – Black Tea Tree (#36A)

The Burlingame Trees website provides a map of Washington Park, with a key for all of its trees. Using the map and key, I was able to identify many of the trees (some were familiar from the Tree ID class I took at Merritt College in 2012).

Ginkgo biloba – Maidenhair Tree (#37)

The park is a great resource for viewing trees as they go through their seasonal cycles, and as they grow to maturity. The trees have the room they need to spread and grow, which makes them beautiful specimens. Before planting a tree in your yard, I recommend visiting Washington Park in Burlingame to see how it will look in the future.

Metasequoia glyptostroiboides – Dawn Redwood (#49)

Washington Park is also just a great place to visit – an oasis of trees, set in the City of Trees. In the winter, it is quiet and tranquil; in the spring, it must be breathtaking with its flowering trees (Malus, Prunus, and Pyrus species).

Sequoiadendron giganteum – Giant Sequoia (#76)

Legacy Trees in Burlingame

In December, my husband and I journeyed across the San Francisco Bay for several nights in Burlingame. He was attending a seminar for therapists and psychologist, given by one of his favorite speakers as part of a series. I came as his travelling companion (working remotely by day, then ready to explore after hours). We enjoyed our stay at the Hilton, with close access to the walking trail around the lagoon, and beautiful views of the Bay and San Francisco International Airport traffic to the north.



Anza Lagoon in Burlingame – complete with a walking trail and beautiful trees

From the Burlingame Historical Society, I learned that the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition camped in the Burlingame area in 1776, and Spanish missionaries developed the San Mateo/Burlingame area as a  farm to support their San Francisco mission from 1776 – 1822.  After Mexican independence in 1822, mission lands were secularized, and land grants passed to the private sector. Wealthy San Francisco business leaders discovered the Peninsula as a desirable location for vacation estates in the 1800s, and as farm or dairy lands to support their businesses in the City. In 1893 the Burlingame Country Club and its five cottages were built, and in 1894 the Burlingame Train Station was added to welcome visitors. With the 1906 earthquake, Burlingame became a desirable place to settle, and the town incorporated in 1908. Burlingame is named after the Honorable Anson Burlingame, who was appointed as the United States Minister to China by President Abraham Lincoln.

Historic Burlingame train station – now a working Caltrains station, and museum

Burlingame is called “City of Trees”, and values its legacy trees, so I was surprised to learn that the area actually had few trees in the late 1800s. The Peninsula was described as “a vast, windswept prairie” according to the web article, “The Origins of Burlingame’s Famous Trees.” Several wealthy estate owners hired gardener John McLaren to landscape their frontages on El Camino Real (the main thoroughfare), to make the area more attractive and block the relentless wind off the Bay. Construction began in 1875 along a four mile stretch of El Camino Real, with the planting of long rows of blue and manna gum from Australia, and elms from America and Europe. Today El Camino Real and the Caltrans corridor are lined with beautiful, mature trees, and the remaining 2.2 mile stretch of trees is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Legacy trees line the Burlingame rail right-of-way- many of the trees are
over 100 years old, and 70 - 100 feet high 

Winter Movies 2014: King Corn

Our last though-provoking movie, in which plants take central stage, is King Corn (2006), a documentary by Aaron Wolf, Ian Cheney, and Curt Ellis. This film investigates how corn has invaded the diets of Americans. Ian has his hair analyzed, and learns that most of the carbon in his body originates from corn. After college, Ian and his friend Curt move to Greene, Iowa to spend a year growing an acre of corn, and investigating how corn has come to dominate the American diet.

 

Both young men had ancestors who farmed in Greene. They rent an acre of land from a local farmer, and set about learning how to farm. The film follows the months of the farming year from January to November, investigating the farm subsidy and food distribution system in America. In the process we learn how the Farm Bill program changed in the 1970s, from controlling surplus, to subsidizing overproduction. This ensures we have plenty of food, and reduces the percentage of income needed to feed ourselves (from 32% of our income to 16%). We learn about use of genetically engineered corn, designed to be used with pesticides that kill everything in the field except the corn; and use of nitrogen based fertilizers to replenish the soil. At the end of the film, they harvest their one acre of corn, producing 180 bushels (when their ancestors farmed, 40 bushels per acre was considered average).

I found several items especially interesting such as the opinion expressed that the Farm Bill is supporting over production of low grade, practically inedible corn, rather than nutritious and healthy food. That the corn is used to feed livestock (not just to grain them out). That the process causes harm to the stock (if they were not slaughtered, they would die). That the corn is used to create corn syrup or fructose, used to sweeten almost everything from hamburgers to sodas to processed food (and thus fuelling rampant obesity in America). That we are truly made of corn, because corn, in some form, is used in everything. Take a look at the trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1112115/

Winter Movies 2014: The Garden

Today’s documentary, in which plants have the starring role, is The Garden (2009) by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, the story of the largest community garden in the United States. The 14-acre garden was started in South Central Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the riots in 1992 over the Rodney King verdict. The community garden enabled poor families in a blighted neighborhood to sign up for a plot of land, and grow food for their families. For ten years, they farmed the land for free, transforming the neighborhood, community, and their lives.

Then they receive the Notice to Vacate from the owner. The farmers organize under the name South Central Farmers, and hire a lawyer. They receive an injunction, giving them time to research and make their case. Turns out the owner is not the owner—he is a Developer who had lost the property to the City in an eminent domain action years before, receiving $5M in compensation. Ten years later the City offered to sell the land back to the Developer for the original price of $5M. Several community leaders were promoting the idea that what the community wanted was soccer fields, not community gardens, on this land. Interesting, since the land is surrounded by warehouses, not exactly an inviting neighborhood for soccer matches.

 

As the story unfolds, it is evident that a few individuals are working a back room deal to profit from the land deal. The Developer offers to sell the land to South Central Farmers for $16M; amazingly, they are able to raise the funds, but the Developer backs out. The beautiful garden plots are bulldozed over. The film’s post log reports that several years later, the 14 acre plot is still bare land—no soccer fields and no development.

The community garden transformed a blighted, cement- and warehouse-covered piece of land, producing food for poor residents who were willing to do the work, and helping the planet by reverting to natural processes that heal the soil and cleanse the air. Of course, the owner of the land has the right to use the property, but, as depicted in the film, it is often not an even playing field. After seeing the lush gardens, with their banana and papaya trees, vegetables and herbs, it seems a shame to see it revert to a bare lot. The film raises interesting land use questions. Are there better ways to use fallow land? How many of our urban problems could be solved by rethinking how we use land? The film was a microcosm of larger issues. Take a look at the trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252486/

Winter Movies 2014: Dirt! The Movie

We’re in the grip of winter, here in the Bay Area, and that can mean an unseasonable hot streak, crisp clear days, or life-giving rains. Whatever the weather, January is a fine time to hunker down with hot cocoa and a good movie, and wait for the warmer days of spring in the garden. This year’s theme for our winter movies is documentaries with movie star plants. These films entertain us, enlighten us, horrify us, and make us smarter!

Dirt! The Movie

I first heard about Dirt! The Movie (2008) when I was taking a Soil Management class, at Merritt College, from Dr. Ed Brennan. This documentary by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow is a celebration of dirt, informing us about the living skin of soil that encircles the earth, and cautioning us about the continual mistreatment of soil by humans. The film is based on the book, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, by Bill Logan, and narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis.

The film introduces the idea that earth is surrounded with a thin covering of soil that is teaming with life (bacteria, fungi, and nematodes to name a few), making it a very unique planet. The film includes an entertaining summary of the origin of soil, and establishes how interconnected the planet’s processes are. Humans have disrupted the ecosystem through greed and ignorance, leaving a wake of destruction, deserts, and disaster. Over the last 100 years we have lost 1/3 of the topsoil. Fortunately, the earth is capable of healing itself, through its own processes, if we would only stop our destructive ways and adopt earth-friendly practices.

Many experts, from a wide variety of backgrounds and from all over the world, were interviewed in this film. The ideas are both sobering and hopeful. I especially liked learning about how dirt is used as a viable building material in many parts of the world. Vandana Shiva expressed interesting ideas about sustainable agriculture in India, and explained how traditional houses are plastered almost daily with a mixture of dirt and cow dung. The mixture keeps houses cool in summer and warm in winter; and the cow dung acts as an antiseptic. I also appreciated hearing many experts stress the importance of building and maintaining healthy soil to ensure our survival on earth. Humus-rich soil holds moisture, prevents erosion, and supports crops and forests. Take a look at the trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1243971/

 

 

Winter Outing to the Oakland Zoo

Today, our son and his lovely fiancé (yes!) from Shanghai head back to University of Alaska, Anchorage to resume their studies for another semester. My husband and I will miss them, but look forward to more time together in the future. In the meantime, we have many happy memories of preparing for and celebrating Christmas as a family, and getting to know each other.

The weather has been unseasonably warm this holiday season (low to mid sixties during the day), and dry (an unprecedented number of "spare-the-air" days – meaning no traditional yuletide log in the fireplace). The light is fantastic and golden, and always in your eyes, no matter what time of day. Last year I reported on our expedition to the Presidio and Fort Point for a unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge. This year we headed for the Oakland Zoo in the East Bay – a first visit for all of us.

 Ancient alligator	 Hanging snake
 Long-necked love	 Quick snack

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The Oakland Zoo is part of the 500-acre Knowland Park, located in the Oakland Hills. The zoo covers 45 acres, and provides naturalistic settings for the animals. It is always a pleasure to watch animals move, interact, and eat. Some of my favorites are elephants and giraffes; Meer cats and otters; and snakes and alligators. It is also fun to watch human groups, enjoying leisure time together.

Young African elephant	 Meer cat on the alert
Grazing zebras	 Sun Bear out foraging

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I was surprised to see so many tree and plant species in the zoo, including bottle trees, olive trees, oak trees, and many types of grasses. The Native Plant Society (NPS) put together a plant list in 1995, which is quite comprehensive:  http://www.monocot.com/zoo/LeitnerZooPlantList1995Linked.html. This makes the Oakland Zoo a useful resource for observing plants and trees go through their seasonal cycles, in addition to observing the animals go through their life cycle in natural habitat. Plus, it is just a lot of fun!

Young Bottle tree at Oakland Zoo  

 

Looking Ahead to 2014

Happy New Year! I love the feeling of another year stretching out ahead of me. Granted, most of it is spent in the mundane – eating, sleeping, bathing, working, cleaning, and moving from place to place. But there is always room in the margins for exploration, fun, and trying something new!

Looking ahead, I plan to continue some of the themes started last year:

• Visit private and public gardens throughout the seasons, both locally and around the country. This includes exploring my family roots, and locating the family farm in Vermont!
• Identify some good native (or near native) plants that can thrive in the San Francisco Bay Area’s dry climate (whether sunny or shady), clay soil (hard but full of nutrients), and pests (especially deer). Using this information, I intend to rejuvenate the planters in my front yard.
• Continue exploring gardening history. As part of that, I plan to investigate the theme of “plants on the move”. With the discovery of the New World, the quest for marketable crops, Linnaeus and his disciples collecting specimens and spreading the new binomial classification system, the frenzy to collect exotic plants, and scientific curiosity, plants (and their diseases) experienced a “diaspora” of sorts all around the globe.
• Enjoy all the beauty and bounty of the San Francisco Bay Area, and its gardens, raised beds, roof gardens, hanging gardens, and wild preserves!

 Roots and the family farm	  Peaceful gardens and their plants
 Native and near-native plants	 Estate gardens

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I may publish once a week for part of the year, to give myself more time to research and immerse myself in my areas of study. But stay tuned, and continue with me on this quest for beautiful gardens in Eden By The Bay!