Volunteer efforts enliven the Gardens of Alcatraz Island
...in countless ways.
Photos © Copyright Alice Joyce - Alice's Garden Travel Buzz
Recently...
these delightful beds and paths have taken shape,
...not to mention a beautiful new greenhouse on the Rose Terrace.
these delightful beds and paths have taken shape,
The structure is dedicated to Carola Ashford, The Garden Conservancy's first project manager for restoration of the Alcatraz gardens. The greenhouse fits inside the foundation of the original. In November 2009 volunteers started work, and by mid-February they had completed the task!
Link to:
So lovely! I love the stable-style doors! I so admire the efforts of the gardeners there planting literally on a rock.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I have greenhouse envy, it's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh Alice! It's beautiful, truly stunning. Did the inmates do gardening then?? I am assuming here that Alcatraz is the prison island and not somewhere else! - I am but an Northen Irish girl.
ReplyDeleteI love this place. I think you must have posted photos of the Alcatraz garden before b/c I remember being surprised at how lovely it is.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't we have fun touring the island as a garden bloggers group!!
ReplyDeleteCarrie: there are no inmates at Alcatraz anymore. But I wouldn't expect an Irish gal to know that :P It shut down in 1963 and the last 27 prisoners were moved elsewhere. It's mostly a tourist trap now.
ReplyDeleteKimberly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding some history to the comments: I wrote Carrie directly in answer to her question. Tourists seem to love visiting Alcatraz. I know it's the case with my own family. The place has a je ne sais quoi that draws people to the island. Certainly those drawn to see the gardens are taken by their beauty, and the in-depth historical research that has gone into their renovation,
I never tend to visit the top tourist attractions of any city, including my own, but in this case, I'm very glad to have made the trip to Alcatraz. Once with my son, who still talks about it like it was yesterday,
and now, to see what's happening year by year in the gardens.
I visited Alcatraz many years ago for the NPS tour of the buildings, history but don't recall seeing any gardens to speak of... this was late 80's, early 90's era. So great to see this amazing site used for creating/restoring gardens, imagine what an estate garden this size would cost in SF!
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