UC Master Gardeners of Fresno County 

On the Road to Paradise!

The day started at 6:00 with a beautiful sunrise and a bunch of happy faces!



We no sooner left the parking lot from Fresno to the announcement that our lovely 'serving maids' would be at our beck and call during the entire trip!

Wow, this sounded interesting. The serving maids, Joanie, Gail, Rita and Darlene showed up decked out in French maid outfits! The fruit salad and muffins were dazzling! The first stop was the Berkeley Botanic Garden nestled in the Berkley Hills. Our bus driver deserved an award for getting us there! After stuffing ourselves, it was time to walk over and explore the 34 acres of UC Botanical Garden that was established in 1890. Plants that thrive in Mediterranean climates are featured here. The garden is broken up into collections. The Asian area features a Japanese Pool creating a moist microclimate along Strawberry Creek that shelters an outstanding collection of rhodies. The stones around the pool came from Japan as part of a display for the 1939 Worlds' Fair on Treasure Island.

The Australasian section features southern beeches and other plant groups of the southern hemisphere. The California Native area occupies approximately 1/3 of the area and are grouped by plant communities featuring manzanita, Ceanothus, California bulbous monocots in the Lily and Amaryllis families. There are 174 taxa on the California Native Plant Society's list of rare and endangered species.

The Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden was very interesting. The Garden of Old Roses had a few Rugosas in bloom.

The Mediterranean/European area is located on a steep slope and features a rock garden with aromatic Mediterranean herbs and an alpine-like meadow. The New World Desert area is one of the oldest and best-known collections in the garden with some of the plants dating back to the 1930s The North American section features Liriodendron, bald cypress, and Cornus and other plants found in temperate Asia and western North America The climate of South America is similar to that of California. This area features a young grove of monkey puzzle trees and has an outstanding collection of fuchsias. The New World Desert and indoor cactus collections include many specimens collected from the Andes during six expeditions between 1935 and 1958. Special collections of succulents, epiphytes, ferns, carnivorous, and tropical plants are housed in greenhouses. The next stop was the Tilden Botanic Garden in Berkeley. Upon arrival, it was time to eat again. Our serving maids had changed into their Spring Easter Bunny outfits - complete with ears! The box lunches were stellar. This garden is also organized by collections. The Desert Section is fairly high maintenance due to the mostly clay soil in the area. The Channel Island Section features different subspecies of ironwoods and that most unusual species of coreopsis that is so huge. Other sections include Native California Meadow, Rainforest, Sierran, Redwood and Coastal Sections. The Santa Lucia Section features the Santa Lucia fir that is among the rarest firs in the world. Their stiff pointed needles were used for tattooing by native people. After all this oohing and ahhing at the beautiful and unusual plants, everyone was ready to spend money!!! Our first nursery stop was at the Magic Gardens Nursery. The nursery propagates many of their own perennials. Some of the plants currently under propagation are mite resistant varieties of fuchsia, winter-blooming Helleborus orientalis, true geraniums (cranesbills), and a wide variety of shade loving groundcovers. We are tired now! Next stop is the Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa in Santa Rosa. No words could have prepared us for this rest stop! Their website describes the Vineyard as "richly detailed Mediterranean architecture, which conveys a sense of privacy, romance and charm." Wow, what a treat! A "Sculpture Garden" was located on the Vineyard's grounds. In addition to large sculptures, there were ornamental and kitchen gardens scattered between the Vineyard and the Santa Rosa River. We admired the Water Wall which is a "fountain" of cascading water over 12' tall and 100' in length. There were also metal and ceramic sculptures on the grounds. In the morning, we went to visit the Luther Burbank Garden where the famed horticulturist experimented with plants for most of his 50-year career. This garden meanders over one acre and include many of Burbank's unique horticultural contributions including cactus, walnuts, fruit trees and of course, the Shasta Daisy which he introduced in 1901 after 17 years of experimentation. Special garden areas focus on medicinal herbs, cutting flowers, roses, wildlife habitats and ornamental grasses. In between the stops, the Serving Maids continued to take extremely good care of everyone. Not only with food but with hilarious and timely entertainment and constant door prize drawings. Fearless Maiden leader, Rita, wrote a song to the tune of "Hey, Big Spender " which the ladies sang for us - Joanie missed her calling - she would have made Gypsy Rose Lee look bad. Oh, we did have so much fun on that bus! By this time we were once again in the mood to spend money! We all piled out of the bus at Harmony Farm Supply in Sebastopol. This nursery features organic fertilizers, beneficial insects, ecological pest controls, tools, hort supplies / books and plants too!!! Western Hills Nursery in Occidental was a real treat to the eyes and spirit. They are famous throughout the U.S. for their collection of rare and unusual plants. In the midst of towering old redwoods, a 3-acre garden was started almost 40 years ago, so there are many mature specimens along the winding streambed and cool pathways. Perennials are arranged alphabetically, so it helps to know what you want. At one point, they carried between 80 and 100 different salvias suitable for sun or shade. After a wonderful and relaxing lunch in Occidental, our last stop was Quarry Hills Botanic Garden in Glenn Ellen. Quarry Hill is dedicated to the conservation, study and cultivation of the temperate flora of Asia. The Botanical Garden includes 61 acres of rolling hills above the pastoral vineyards of Sonoma Valley. In 1968, Jane Davenport Jansen purchased the land. In 1987 she began to create a garden on twenty acres of the rocky steep hillsides above the vineyards. The remains of several old quarries left many small and large depressions with interesting rock formations. A winter stream winds its way through the rough terrain and has evolved into a group of ponds and waterfalls. In 1987, representatives from Quarry Hill went on their first seed collecting expedition to Asia. A nursery was established the following year. By spring of 1990, young plants were ready to plant in the ground. Plaint has continued as new seedlings germinate from seeds gathered on the yearly expeditions. Oaks, maples, dogwoods, roses and lilies are particularly well represented in the garden. Today, Quarry Hill is home to one of the largest collections of scientifically documented wild source Asian plants in North America. Many thanks to Pam Geisel for planning the trip, to the Serving Maids for their great service and entertainment, to our bus driver for his patience and excellent driving skills, and last but not least, to the Master Gardeners who shared their knowledge and humor during the trip!