San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum
Eastern Australia Garden
A fusion of horticulture and hardscape becomes a gateway to another realm in the Eastern Australia Garden at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way.
Designed by Bernard Trainor, the garden takes its character from "materials both hard and soft," as Trainor articulates in his original concept for the space. A stroll through the garden reveals how fully Trainor succeeds in his aim to inspire garden visitors with an exciting collection of plant material from Eastern Australia, laid out to create "a sense of place."
An overall framework of flowing, decomposed granite pathways center upon a rock circle, where the artistry of Jennifer Madden and Jeffrey Reed of Reed Madden Designs emerges in a refined sculptural setting. The circle focuses attention on distinctive wall forms, poured in place. These concrete walls exhibit a warm-hued palette, and the gently curving, fluid striations of rock formations, which outline a distinctive, contemplative area surrounded by unusual flora: the Reed Madden vision, "echoing the ancient geology of Australia."
Distinctive scenes unfold in Trainor's design, with a dry stream bed, akin to an arroyo, serving as a sinuous link in the garden plan.
Visitors encounter the twisting trunk and peeling bark of a venerable Malaleuca linariifolia, and an aging bracelet honeymyrtle, Malaleuca armillaris, set apart by a reclining trunk that sprawls along the ground; its angular limbs gesturing unrestrained. And the craggy bark, a conspicuous contrast to feathery foliage.
Wall by Reed Madden Designs
Alice~~ Looks and sounds like a wonderful place, perhaps where one can intentionally get lost.
ReplyDeleteWish I could visit this place! It sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAlice: do you have more pics? You wrote about hardscape and gave us a kangaroo paw. More, please!
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing back fond memories of my visit to Strybing. I esp. loved the Oz garden!
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite time of year to visit California. Thank you for sharing their wonderful blooms. It means so much to me because I won't be able to make it out that way until maybe fall.
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring to you dear garden friend .
You are reminding me I must visit Strybing again next time I'm in the Bay Area...now that I've been reading some Australian blogs, I'll be in a better position to understand a bit about Australian plants. But all of the sections I've seen there are amazing (I don't think it's a place you can do in one day, unless you camp there. I did think about it, last time I was there.)
ReplyDeleteHello Alyce,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these wonderful gardens and your visit!
Beautiful post!
I love this space, but most of all I love that wall. That sinuous curve and the seeming geological layering going all through it add up to hardscape detailing at its best.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting hardscape in the first pic. A little to cool and wet here for most australian plants, we do better with those hardy new Zealanders'.
ReplyDelete