Looking Ahead to 2020

Happy New Year! 2019 is a blur behind us, and 2020 is in our sights. It's always fun to have a new year stretching out before us, beckoning us into the future!

Each year I like to pick a theme for Eden By The Bay. For 2020, I think the only thing we can possibly entertain is Vision! It's too perfect, and the same opportunity will never present itself again. So, for the year 2020, we will look to the past for visionary ideas that got us to where we are; live fully into the present moment with the ideas that surround us; and look to the future for great ideas that will sustain close to eight billion of us. As always, our focus will be gardens, landscapes, and the natural world.

2020 vision - past, present, future	Innovations of the past
Roof gardens of today	Future of farming

Along the way we'll take time to rest, to breathe, to read great books and watch great movies. We'll spend time with our loved ones over delicious meals, get our hands dirty in the garden, and take inspiration from time in nature. We'll roam locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and hopefully put on our travelling shoes to venture further afield. Despite the ups and downs of life, I'm planning a great year in 2020, and hope you'll come along!

Garden on the 17th Floor

While exploring some of the downtown districts in Seattle we had the opportunity to visit the Russell Investments roof garden at 1301 Second Avenue. This is a privately-owned garden on the seventeenth floor that is made available to the public during business hours.

Russell Investments rooftop garden on the 17th floor

You can bring lunch and eat outside with fantastic views of the city and the sound on three sides, or purchase lunch in the small cafeteria. When we visited, the cafeteria was closed and access to the garden was blocked for holiday maintenance, but we could still enjoy the views and garden design from within. The sun broke through after days of drizzly rain, so we were treated to very dramatic skies and lighting.

View of the sound from the rooftop garden

City view from the rooftop garden

The garden resembles a prairie or coastal scene with several “big bonsai” trees, golden grasses, low shrubs, and slate and wooden pathways. The sculpture of an abacus in steel and green glass is especially fitting for an investment company. The overall design calls to mind a modern interpretation of nature, using plants and materials from the Pacific Northwest. You can see this design in this aerial photo posted by Reed.

Roof garden design from above (posted by Reed)

We already have plans to visit the garden for lunch on our next trip in warmer weather. Roof gardens in urban centers help reduce heat emission from the roof, provide habitat for people and birds, and are a pleasure to view in an industrial setting. After our visit we headed over to Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya in Capitol Hill for conversation over delicious ramen noodles in steaming broth.

San Francisco Garden Show Highlights – 2014

I’m pretty sure my aunt and I managed to see about everything at this year’s San Francisco Garden Show, which ended its five-day run on Sunday. We lingered over the beautiful gardens. We attended seminars on urban farming and native plants. We drooled over beautiful spring blooms in “Annie’s Fabulous Springtime Slideshow” (Annie Hayes of Annie’s Annuals and Perennials in Richmond). We were disappointed to miss the Wente Vineyards chef demonstration, but hope they will return another year.

Then we shopped! I found a low-growing—Ceanothus maritimus “Valley Violet” —in a six inch pot from Gold Rush Nursery. My aunt found a fantastic ceramic grater for ginger, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, garlic, and hot peppers from La Provençale Garlic Grater (OK, I bought one too). We managed to resist the De Brito Chocolate Factory booth, but now I’m asking myself, “why did we resist?” (luckily there is always next year).

We both marveled over the beautiful Bonsai trees. This Juniperus chinensis sargentii has been 40 years in training, and is regularly displayed at the Golden State Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt.

Beautiful bonsai juniper - 40 years in training

We saw a number of raised bed alternatives. Some of them can be implemented right on top of cement.

Raised bed planters

Ad hoc raised bed planter

We got some great ideas for what to plant in raised beds, including agave, and a mixture of ornamental and useful plants in the same planter.

Agave plants in raised garden beds

Ornamental and edible plants comingle in a raised garden bed

I got a chance to study the water catchment system up close. It is a little industrial looking, and hard to imagine where I would put something like this on the property with our tiny San Francisco Bay Area cottage. But it is definitely the direction we should be heading to save water.

Stacked water containers for managing rain water and gray water

Best of all, my aunt and I got a chance to hang out together, and get caught up on personal and family news. We also got front row seats to a new generation getting INSPIRED for the world of gardening to come.

Inspiration strikes a sustainable gardener of the future 

San Francisco Garden Show 2014

INSPIRED is the theme of this year’s San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, which wraps up its five-day run at the San Mateo Convention Center today. My aunt and I made our annual trip to the show on Saturday (we have been coming to the show, on and off, over the last 15 years). And inspired we were—by the seminars, the gardens, the beauty, the great ideas, and the enthusiasm of gardeners both young and old. This year, with the burden of severe drought on everyone’s mind, the threads of using native plants and conserving water ran through the fiber of the show.

The Grand Allee - raised beds with Mediterranean trees and plants

No City Water for this Garden, created by New Leaf Landscaping and Clearwater Design, showed an interesting idea for integrating water catchment and reuse right into the garden design. Using caught rainwater and recycled gray water, a native garden can be kept beautiful with no city water. This is the kind of thinking we need.

Water storage - large tanks store rain water and gray water

I was immediately drawn to the Roof Top Garden, created by the Foothill College Environmental Horticultural Design program, with its cozy and inviting garden up on the roof; and to the Agave garden, created by the Arizona State University Landscape Architecture program, with its emphasis on hardscaping from repurposed material, and on plantings that mix beautiful native plants and food production.

Roof top garden - planter with colorful plants

Repurposed hardscaping and agave plants

For pure fun and fantasy, I spent some time in Vulcania: An Oasis for the Soul by Clearwater Design. It is hard to ignore the whimsical mini-Nautalis (of Captain Nemo fame) set in a tropical garden with exotic plants, a lagoon, and a glowing red volcano.

The Nautalis - from Burning Man to the San Francisco Garden Show

I was also charmed by the “vine orb” featured in Old Vine by Terra Forma Landscape. Using a metal structure for the foundation, pruned grape vines were woven to create a unique gazebo. This is a great idea for using the materials around us to create something beautiful and functional.

Repurposed grape vines provide a unique shelter

These are some of my favorites, but we were inspired by so much more!

On the Roof at MOMA

I am always on the lookout for roof top gardens. They can be elaborate and extensive, or a quiet and private space. On one of our son’s visits home from University of Alaska, Anchorage, we visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (or MOMA) to view their art collection. The building was designed by Jensen Architects (an international firm based in San Francisco), and is very distinctive.

One of the fun discoveries was the Carolyn and Preston Butcher Garden Terrace, with its roof top sculpture garden and small coffee bar. We spent part of our MOMA visit on the roof, enjoying the combination of closed and open air space, and interesting sculptures. I also enjoyed the chance to study the raised planting areas and choice of vegetation. It was simple, yet very satisfying.

Carolyn and Preston Butcher Garden Terrace (MOMA) - raised bed

The museum closed earlier this summer for a three-year renovation project. See their web site for information about their off-site exhibition this fall (http://www.sfmoma.org/). You can catch a glimpse of the Garden Terrace in the short video “Trailer for Stories from the Evacuation” (fast forward to 1:11).

San Francisco Garden Show Highlights – 2013

My aunt and I are always on the lookout for interesting ideas, cool gadgets, and beautiful gardens at the San Francisco Garden Show. This year was no exception. With our creaky knees, we love finding raised bed options. Best of Show for us was the new GreenBed™ durable bed kit. You can purchase 4’x8’ feet of planting space, with either 1’ or 2’ high walls. The side slabs are made of wood chips and cement, and the kit provides all the hardware you need to assemble the beds. The 2’ high kit on display was engineered so the plantings were in easy reach, with no need for bending. This is ideal for seniors, or anyone with mobility problems.

GreenBed raised beds - ready to assemble

Other interesting hardscaping ideas include these stone and wire walls. I’ve seen them before in various sizes and shapes, but I’m always pleased to see variations. This seems like a very practical solution for a stone wall, when a stone mason is difficult to find or afford. The fence, consisting of small walls on the diagonal, was also interesting. It provides a hint of privacy, but is still open and inviting.

Stone and wire walls

Fence of diagonal walls

The Show is a great place to pick up plants, gadgets, and gardening supplies at great prices. I was taken with this Lee Valley tool display. My aunt bought a beautiful canvas shopping bag decorated with California poppies. We found chocolate, too - the salty kind from De Brito Chocolate Factory in Hollister, California. Yum.

Tool Appeal - beautiful tools ready for the garden

The Wanted Weeds display, by Urban Hedgerow, drew us both in. Their premise is that we should rethink weeds – they can “be virtuous host plants, nectar sources, and medicinal”. We loved seeing the messages posted on the walls of this interactive display – “Weeds are weeds too” read one sign, “Weeds give you something to do” read another, and “Death to Oxalis” read a third.

Wanted Weeds - extolling the benefits of weeds.

Another successful San Francisco Garden Show! We enjoyed a seminar on green roofs, a cooking demonstration, the Marketplace, and lots of beautiful gardens. I was pleased to see technology moving in – smart phone users could access sfgardenshow.com, and Sunset Magazine was advertising their new Western Gardening Book for the iPhone, iPad, and web (www.sunset.com/wgb). Very cool.

Green Roof in Anchorage

This green roof caught my eye in downtown Anchorage. The Visitor Information Center is covered with a meadow of local wildflowers, reminiscent of a prairie sod roof from pioneer days.

Visitor Information Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. 

The log cabin is also surrounded with annuals in shades of pink and purple. Annuals are very popular in a place with a short and intense growing season. The soil is rich with nitrogen so the flowers grow large and bold.

Sod roof and perennial border of bright annuals.

Another Terrace Garden

While on the Davenport’s Garden Terrace, I spotted another terrace garden in the vicinity. This one may not have the budget or exposure of the Davenport, but I like that they provided this planting area for the building. I wasn’t aware of the planting from the street, so it must be for the use and enjoyment of the building’s employees and visitors.

An elevated planting area in the Spokane urban landscape

Though simple, the tree and planters soften the urban landscape, and provide respite from concrete and steel girders.

Davenport Hotel – The Garden Terrace

I love raised beds almost as much as roof top gardens, when I find them together, I’m ecstatic! While in Spokane, Washington recently, we stayed at the historic and renovated Davenport Hotel. The Davenport is beautiful, with respect for the past and a vision for the future (they have LEED Gold Green Building Certification). One of their features for hotel guests is a garden terrace on the fourth floor, over the entrance, shops, ballroom, and restaurant.

The Garden Terrace

The look is both classic and modern, with raised beds for shrubs pruned in a round shape and deciduous trees (possibly Acer spp.), and urns for columnar trees (possibly a variation of Cupressus sempervirens 'Stricta'), in contrast with the brick building of the hotel. Drip irrigation keeps the plantings watered.

Raised beds and planting urns

The terrace is protected from the wind by the hotel. In late April it was still a little chilly to sit out, but in summer or fall, this would be a great place to relax in solitude or with friends. My husband and I simply enjoyed the fresh air and view of the surroundings from a different vantage point.

San Francisco Garden Show Highlights – 2012

I was pleased to see several Landscape Architecture schools exhibiting in this year’s San Francisco Garden Show, including University of California, Berkeley, Academy of Art, West Valley College, and Arizona State University. I loved seeing the fresh, innovative ideas presented alongside the ideas of experienced professionals.

I was especially drawn to the ASU exhibit—PLAnTFORM—which incorporated a series of raised beds in its design. According to their display description, the raised beds provide additional planting areas, and capitalize on “the function and science of roof gardens.” The plant choices are water-wise, and the raised beds themselves are beautiful and modern looking. I love that their plants were identified with botanical and names (evidence of fellow plant nerds).

Sleek, modern raised beds in ASU's PLAnTFORM design

 My aunt remarked that after two knee surgeries, waist-high raised beds would be ideal for her. She could stand comfortably and tend her plants. This is a great idea for a niche market – creating beautiful planters for standing gardeners. I’ve been brainstorming design ideas for wheelchair gardens; waist-high raised beds would be a great companion idea.

Eden by the Bay – First Anniversary

Yesterday the Eden by the Bay blog celebrated its first anniversary! That means 154 posts covering everything from Mediterranean climates, desert plants, arborists, pruning, and vegetable gardening to Sunset climate zones, roof top gardening, great gardening books, holidays, movies with plant movie stars, and gardening history. For the most part, I’ve stuck with the original charter of gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area. But, I soon found that there is a connection between the larger botanical and gardening world, and the specific world of gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Welcome to Eden: The first post!

I’ve learned a lot about blogging in the last year, and had fun trying out the Google Blogspot tools. I’ve especially enjoyed interactions with the Eden by the Bay community. We have readers from all over the world, including Russia, British Isles, Canada, India, Pacific Rim, Europe, Eastern Europe, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East, to name a few, in addition to the Americas. I love having gardening friends all over the world! I also love getting links to interesting articles from readers, and try to share them. Keep them coming!

It has been a great year. I plan to keep going and hope you’ll continue joining me on the wonderful journey of gardening, whether in the San Francisco Bay Area, or in the wide world of gardening!

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