Presidio Coastal Scrub

A trail beckoned to us from the battery we were exploring in the Presidio; my folks, husband, and I answered the call. The trail followed the bluff, high above the rocky shoreline, giving us more grand views of the Golden Gate Bridge, ocean, and hills to the north. We were buffeted by the wind, blowing unabated across the ocean. I wished we had brought our walking sticks to help ground us!

Coastal scrub and Golden Gate Bridge (did I mention windy?)

In this area, a coastal dune scrub plant community replaced the coastal dune community of Baker Beach. Low lying grasses and bushes grew along the bluffs, holding them in place, along with a few gnarly trees. You can learn more about the coastal dune scrub plant community on the National Park Website: http://www.nps.gov/prsf/naturescience/coastal-dune-scrub-community.htm

Beckoning trail high on the bluffs



Wild coastal vistas, just a few miles from downtown San Francisco

Many of the flowering plants are small and low to the ground, similar in size to the miniature plants we see growing in the harsh conditions of the tundra in Alaska and Canada. Some of the plants that grow in the Presidio area are common natives and non-natives, others are rare or endangered.

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After a day of exploring the wild side of the Presidio, we headed back to the East Bay for dinner at one of our local neighborhood Chinese restaurants and good conversation. I recommend visiting the Presidio for a day of recreation with family or friends, or studying plant communities that could influence unique garden designs.
 

Presidio Batteries

North of Baker Beach is a whole string of batteries, built into the bluffs overlooking the ocean outside the Golden Gate. They are part of a fortification system constructed over many years. After our picnic at Baker Beach, we drove north a mile or so to park, and then explored.

We enjoyed more beautiful views of Golden Gate Bridge from this different vantage point, and sweeping views of water, hills, and sky. The ocean was choppy, but fleets of sail boats took advantage of the brisk wind. Here the plant community changes from dunes to coastal scrub.



Fortified bunker and the Golden Gate Bridge

The batteries are fascinating in their own right. They are solid and substantial. With my love of wild, desolate places, this would have been a prime assignment. The views of the ocean on one side and the Bay on the other, the Marin Headlands to the north, the rocky and forested coast to the south. But I imagine for most, it would have seemed like the end of the world, and more akin to banishment! You can learn more about the fortification system on the National Park Website: http://www.nps.gov/prsf/historyculture/batteries-east-and-west.htm

Geometric lines of one of the batteries 

Iron door with graffiti

Some of the plants in this area look like weeds. However, after visiting the Wanted Weeds exhibit at this year’s San Francisco Garden Show, I have a new appreciation for weedy plants. As my aunt and I learned, they can “be virtuous host plants, nectar sources, and medicinal”. Maybe it takes a tough little plant to stand guard at the batteries.

Weeds at the edge of the bunker, and pines on the hills

 

Presidio Dunes

April is a beautiful time to visit Presidio of San Francisco, located on the northern tip of the San Francisco peninsula. If you recall from Presidio for a New Perspective in December 2012, my family only recently “discovered” the Presidio area. The area was a military outpost for over 235 years, until it became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1994. Parts of the area were used for military purposes, but others were left wild, giving us window into the natural habitat.

My folks, husband, and I visited the Presidio last April, on a beautiful and blustery day, after a long period of gray and rainy days. Our first destination was Baker Beach. We roamed the sandy beach, grateful for our wind breakers, but we did see a bikini or two on the beach! I love this view of the Golden Gate Bridge, so different from the familiar view from Oakland and the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach

I was pleased to see that some sand dune areas are roped off from public access, allowing them to revert back to their wild state. The native plants thrive in the shifting sands. This is a great place for a gardener to study and contemplate how to create a dune garden. You can learn more about the natural setting on the National Park Website: http://www.nps.gov/prsf/naturescience/index.htm

 

Protected Dunes at Baker Beach

We ate our lunch among the pines and dunes of the sheltered picnic area, and then wandered along the road looking at plants, military bunkers buried in sand, and vistas of the Bridge and the Marin Headlands.

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Presidio for a New Perspective

The fun and flurry of Christmas is over. The rains continue to pelt the Bay Area, with brief interludes of clear skies. The winter solstice recently marked the shortest day of the year, with many more short days to come before spring. It will be awhile before we can get back into the garden - what to do?

This is a great time to take the family or friends out and enjoy the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area abounds with cultural, historical, and natural destinations that appeal to many ages and interests. After 15 years here in the Bay Area, we are still discovering new and interesting events to attend and places to visit. A recent find was the Presidio of San Francisco, including Fort Point and the Fort Scott parade grounds.

Fort Scott parade grounds - now with other uses, like the Disney Museum
 

Presidio arches - the old and the new

The Presidio is a decommissioned military base that sits on the southern face of the Golden Gate. Fort Point was built in 1793-94 to defend the entrance to the San Francisco Bay. Its 7 feet-thick walls and San Martin canyon, cast in Peru in 1684, sit beneath the giant support structure for a portion of the Golden Gate Bridge. This location provides a perfect spot to view San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands from a whole different perspective. Sometimes a new perspective is just what we need, to move in a new direction.

Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands - viewed from Fort Point