Are you all ready for another San Francisco garden...I hope so...'cause here it is! This garden was created in the space between brick apartment buildings in the Tenderloin district of downtown San Francisco. Designed and maintained by James Pettigrew (isn't that a character from Harry Potter?) and Sean Stout. The two run a design business under the name Organic Mechanics.
I have to say that THIS is the garden that I imagined when I envisioned what a "San Francisco Garden" would look like. Seriously, can't you just imagine Anna Madrigal lounging out here?
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...as was creative re-use of materials...LOVE this gate!
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They even had a parrot...which was super-friendly and very curious. He seemed intrigued by all the silly creatures swarming around him.
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While no one plant really captured my imagination, it was the sense of enclosure and being in an oasis that I took away from this garden...it was almost like being transported to another world, for a brief moment. I tip my hat to the Organic Mechanics for creating such a delightful space in an unlikely place!
OMG! I so thought of 28 Barbary Lane & now we're re watching the mini series! You got some great shots!
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha, glad I'm not the only one, Peter ;-)
DeleteOxalis DOES fix nitrogen, right? Nah, I still don't like it.
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha, I know, right!
DeleteFabulous photos, Scott. You really captured the place. Terrific sharpness where it wasn't always so easy.
ReplyDeleteThat lighting was BRUTAL, wasn't it!
DeleteI love the way you got overall pictures without the total hordes of us that were in there as well. I think I'm seeing this garden better than I did in person, somehow. As for the oxalis, I keep thinking it was some choice California sterile hybrid, but I'd still be deathly afraid to put it in my garden.
ReplyDeletePut it in your garden? You mean it isn't there already? Lucky you!!!
DeleteHahahaha...I wonder about that Oxalis too...I was just pulling it out of some grasses this morning...grrrrr.
DeleteGreat photos of a lovely garden. Nice to see such a lush hideaway in such a small amount of space.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful use of the space, Deanne :-)
DeleteI think a garden in which you don't really notice the individual plants is one done right -- don't you agree? I'd love to see a shot from above.
ReplyDeleteI agree Alan, see my comment below which I wrotebefore reading yours.
DeleteOh drat, Alan & Christina...I wish I had thought to ask...a few people DID actually go upstairs and get shots...I bet it's an amazing view!
DeleteThis garden exudes that mysterious California atmosphere I always sense when I arrive there, you captured all the lush greens and transported me there. Heart be still. The parrot really sets off the garden, and the magnificent arch. I left a little row of the really dark burgundy oxalis this year, it mounded up and looks really beautiful. The nurseries are selling a new pinkish bright- colored one lately. I'm not so tolerant of the green one, though it is the one of which I used to eat the little fruits that look like bananas as a child, taste like a pickle.;-P
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, Hannah...it sort of matched my own idea of what a San Francisco garden would be too. I actually like some Oxalis...maybe I've been too short-sighted about those...maybe ;-)
DeleteGreat post, this garden was one of my favorites. I didn't actually notice the Oxalis, but that may be because it's not one of the weeds I'm currently fighting.
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha...I bet that's why, Alison...I remember all of us kind of whispering about it at one of the other gardens!
DeleteNice 'Tales of the City' reference there Scott ! I was not happy with the photos I took here ( I think I was in Fling overload) and so I love seeing yours --so well done.
ReplyDeleteHahaha...I'm glad a few people got that reference...I was afraid it was too esoteric :-) It was a really hard garden to photograph...well, they were all tricky with the bright sun...but this one, especially so, with the harsh contrast of dep shade and bright sun.
DeleteThanks for sharing your view of this garden. Very interesting, and it looked like it was shady and not as hot as the other gardens! Love the parrot!
ReplyDeleteIt absolutely was shady there...and quite refreshing after being in the hot sun! I could well imagine lounging in that garden for a lazy afternoon :-)
DeleteThat yellow oxalis is a pest in my New Zealand garden as well. Looking at those photos I wonder if I just left it, would it make a good ground cover? (It's pretty with that fern.) But I don't think I could bring myself to.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I think we all had that same thought, Ruth...it was so pretty in that situation...but it's hard to let it go crazy in our own gardens.
DeleteDid we visit this garden at the same time? Your visit looks so much brighter and less crowded. Or maybe that's just your photographic skill.
ReplyDeleteI think we were on the other bus, Loree...so our visit was a little later in the day (hence brighter light). It was pretty crowded, I was just stubbornly patient and waited for people to move before I took a picture ;-)
DeleteLove the plants in a pipe theme. And that gate is perfect. Thanks to your post, I am not pulling any more oxalis! I've always thought it was pretty, and I think I just needed "permission" to let it go! (I hope I don't regret that decision.)
ReplyDeleteI liked all the planted up pipes as well...it really fit with the urban, industrial nature of the garden. You enjoy your Oxalis! You know what they say, a weed is just a plant in the wrong place...so if you like it, go for it!
DeleteI saw this garden a couple of years ago. Totally unique. Kind of like you, I would have a hard time naming any particular plant in the garden, but I have a really clear memory of what it was like to be in that garden.
ReplyDeleteExactly, it's more about atmosphere and enclosure...separation from the hustle and bustle...almost like a modern cloister.
DeleteI'm really enjoying your take on the gardens included in the 'fling'. I'd love to join in sometime although this is not a good time for me to travel. I think the fact you couldn't remember one or two particular plants is good as for me a garden is beautiful because of the feelings it arouses in you not just having a special plant growing. The whole is more important than the part of its parts.
ReplyDeleteThat's so very true of some gardens, Christina...it's the ambiance and atmosphere that really can make an impact. I hope you'll be able to come to Portland for our Fling next year :-)
DeleteSo beautiful and such a delight to "tour".
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Lisa...I hope you can join me for the rest of the gardens...I'll be posting on at least one each week!
DeleteLOVE this! An urban oasis. Beautiful. Love all the creative upcycling and mix of plant and material. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, it was a great use of the space and materials...I wish I was that imaginative!
DeleteA truly urban garden always comes as a pleasant surprise. When I gardened in the "industrial sanctuary" I got more credit than was due because it was so unexpected. Kudos for capturing this one so masterfully.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, Ricki...sometimes it's the fact that it flies in the face of what you expect that makes such a garden so delightful...but I bet yours was also beautiful :-)
DeleteHi Scott. Sorry I've been away so long. I really like the tree ferns. I've got a small one. Wouldn't it be great if global warming would bump us Zone 8-ers up a notch or two so it could survive and look like these stunners?
ReplyDeleteWhile I like tree ferns (who doesn't!) I don't know how I'd feel about being warmer...I'm kind of a wimp!
DeleteLucky you being able to go to the Fling, Scott. Looks like a great experience. I love this garden!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fabulous experience...I do hope you'll be able to "fling" next year here in Portland!
DeleteI always love seeing a small, potentially barren space transformed into an oasis. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMe too...isn't it fabulous...and so much work!
DeleteNice pics -- like Loree said above, you managed to capture brighter images, less shadowy, than many I've seen, including my own. As for the oxalis, I'd LOVE to have that as a flowering groundcover in my garden. We do have oxalis here in Austin, but it's never invasive because it melts away in summer.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how one person's weed is another one's coveted treasure! If you ever find a spot where it thrives, I'll hook you up with a never-ending supply ;-)
DeleteBeautiful gardens, Scott. Maybe I'll make the Portland Fling... it would be nice to go back home again. As for the oxalis... if you can't beat it, LOVE it? I am constantly battling it in our gardens. It comes in from nursery plants. Your photos makes it look quite enchanting.
ReplyDeleteYes...I hope you can make it to the Portland Fling, Carolyn! That's so funny, that's exactly where mine come from too...nursery pots!
DeleteYou really did get wonderful shots in this garden. The tight spaces and the lighting worked against good photos, yet you managed to pull them out well. I noticed so many small plants popping out of everywhere. The had some unique art too.
ReplyDeleteIt really was a garden that invited closer investigation...I know I missed a lot, especially having seen other blogger's post on it!
DeleteScott, I can picture Maupin sitting on a bench in that oasis writing! Perfect hideaway. All the postings I'm reading about the Fling are making me wish I had been there. P. x
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Pam...and we wish you'd been there too! Maybe you'll make it to the Portland Fling next year...hint, hint ;-)
DeleteWhat a perfect urban garden! I love the tight spaces and intensity of plantings. And the parrot.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree...the space was what made it truly special...that it was so unexpected!
DeleteI have already seen a lot of the SF Fling posts, but I have looked forward to your take on it, more specifically your photographic eye's take on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Les...I hope they don't disappoint :-)
DeleteThe blog was absolutely fantastic! Lot of great information which can be helpful in some or the other way. Keep updating the blog,
ReplyDeletelooking forward for more contents...Great job, keep it up.
stream host.
You all needed someone with zone 9/10 gardening experience to set you straight about that Oxalis! This one is not weedy, in fact it does not self-sow at all here in California. This is one form of Oxalis spiralis volcanicola, and comes from Costa Rica, and has selected forms such as Burgundy and a sweet chartreuse form that is a personal favorite. The weedy one so many of those on this Fling trip seem to think this is, is the South African Oxalis pes-capre, and beyond also having yellow flowers, doesn't look or grow like this one in the least, not even observing that Oxalis pes-capre is summer deciduous and completely absent this time of year.
ReplyDeleteDavid in Berkeley