Fall Outing to Lafayette Park

Lafayette Park is perched high on a hill in the Pacific Heights neighborhood in San Francisco, and commands views of the Mariana district to the north and city views all around. While my husband attended a conference on Schema Therapy at a nearby hotel, I gasped my way up the hill to explore the park. It was the Friday before Fleet Week, on a warm fall day, and perfect for exploring, and catching glimpses of the Blue Angels roaring overhead in tight formation.

Grand entrance to Lafayette Park in Pacific Heights

Land for the 11 acre park was set aside in 1855, and has been used for a private residence by a wealthy squatter (until disputed, and torn down in 1936), an astronomical observatory in 1879, and a refugee camp after the 1906 earthquake. Now it is a wonderfully maintained park with green lawns, an amphitheater, a playground with cool equipment, a forest of mature trees, park benches for enjoying the view, a picnic area, tennis courts, a dog play area, and clean rest rooms.

Accessible pathways through the forest

I especially enjoyed the 360 degree view, the cool shade of the forest, and the scattered company of folks enjoying the park. Several people practiced Thai Chi at the top of the hill, and a number of dogs explored with their human companions. Many of the mature trees are non-native, reminiscent of the Victorian era when folks collected plants from all over the world. In contrast, several newer areas are planted with Mediterranean and California native plants. I recommend this park for its views and ideal location – it is definitely worth the hike up the hill.

View north to the Marina district

California Landscapes

I learned about California landscape painter, William Keith (1838 – 1911), while on the Artists and Architects tour at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. According to Michael Colbruno, in his blog post “William Keith, Painter & Mary McHenry Keith, Suffragette & Legal Pioneer”, Keith was born in Scotland and moved to San Francisco in 1859. He became a leading and prosperous landscape artist, and lifelong friend of John Muir, who shared his love of the California landscape. He married Mary McHenry Keith (1855-1947), who was the first female graduate of Hastings Law School and a prominent suffragette.

William Keith Gallery

About two thousand of Keith’s paintings were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire, but a good collection is now housed in the Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art. A small collection of paintings is displayed on a rotating basis, and the complete collection is posted online. Keith painted people and places all over California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and even painted a couple of landscapes in Southeast Alaska (see 1886 - 1892).

William Keith, Oak Forest With Three Figures, 1906-1911

My husband and I spent a pleasant afternoon earlier this year, driving out to Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, and viewing the current pieces on display. They reminded me of the Italian landscape paintings that inspired the Landscape Movement in the 1600s and 1700s, but with California vegetation and geology. The paintings capture the California landscape of a bygone era, before so much growth and development. Afterward we stopped at Bianca’s Deli for sandwiches and conversation, surrounded by students from Saint Mary’s College.



William Keith, Glacial Meadow and Lake, High Sierra (Tuolumne Meadows), 1870s or early 1880s

Botanical Gardens: University of California, Berkeley

The UC Botanical Garden, which is associated with University of California at Berkeley, has over 13,000 plants from around the world installed in naturalistic settings on 34 acres. The plants are arranged in nine major geographic regions (such as Mediterranean, South Africa, Australasia, the Americas, and California); and in special collections (such as Chinese Medicinal Herb, old roses, cycads and palms, crops of the world, tropical, and carnivorous plants).




Printable version: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/GardenMapPoster.pdf

My first visit was on a class tour that was led by Dr. Lawrence Lee, one of my professors at Merritt College. Lee had worked at the UC Botanical Garden early in his career, so knew many interesting facts about the plants and history of the garden. The setting is spectacular—high in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay. I have visited the garden multiple times, in different seasons, and there is always something new and interesting to see.
 

Entrance to UC Botanical Garden, at Berkeley

Palm Collection

I always seem to gravitate to the trees and palms; to the desert plants in Arid House; and to the carnivorous plant collection. The California native plant collection is extensive, and a valuable asset as we all try to learn more about drought tolerant, and low water usage plants for our gardens.

Arid House

One of the many interesting specialty collections

The education program hosts lectures, such as iPhone plant photography, botanical painting, dyeing with plant materials, and native plants. Check their calendar regularly for interesting offerings.

Carnivorous plants	Needle grass
Yucca rostrata	Blueberries from New Zealand

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Docent-led tours are available, or you can explore the garden on your own. The gift store has a great collection of books and garden-related items (gift worthy, if you want to do a little holiday shopping while enjoying a beautiful garden). Their nursery offers many California native plants, and their fall and spring plant sales are legendary.

 

Address: 200 Centennial Drive; Berkeley, CA 94720-5045 Web Site: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu Directions: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/directions/ For other botanical collections in the San Francisco Bay Area see: http://www.edenbythebay.blogspot.com/2015/02/botanical-collections-of-bay-area.html

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