4/12/10

Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, UC Davis

Located just outside of Sacramento, UC Davis is one of the West's great agriculture schools. The campus contains many fine, interesting gardens, including a relatively new edibles garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science...

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Welcome to the Good Life Garden, a stunning organic potager that clearly illustrates the benefit of using "strong bones" in the garden. See how well this design fits in its very modern site context. One might even feel the garden beautifies the surrounding architecture. The same basic design elements would do the same thing in any setting.

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

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Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

Good Life Garden; UC Davis

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Good Life Garden; UC Davis

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Does anyone want to say that vegetable gardening can't be pretty?

14 comments:

rebecca Sweet said...

No, I don't want to say vegetable gardens can't be pretty. Especially after reading THIS! I love your field-trips...you take me places I've never been (despite living here my entire life)...thanks so much!!

Unknown said...

I want to live here! I'm not kidding! It was so beautiful, I need to bring Jason there. Of course I am totally rethinking my front yard edibles design now....

Hoover Boo said...

It's very nice, though the height and blockiness of the buildings seem to overwhelm the plantings.

However, it is good to see something besides trampled grass and lollipop shrubs in a public space.

Jenn's Cooking Garden! said...

There Gardens are awesome! I started going there last summer! There summer veggie gardens are just as fabulous! I attended a couple of their herb harvesting partys! You go and cut all the herbs you want. I made lots of pesto! Arlene who is one of the gardeners is great and is always willing to talk with you one on one about how she is doing things! She is awesome to learn new advice and ideas from! You should definitly visit in the summer time! You will not be dissapointed!
Jenn

Julie said...

Oh wow...great garden there! I would go to the party your commenter, Jenn talks about...that sounds like F-U-N!!!!! Yeah, baby!!!

Germi said...

OMIGOD that is GORGEOUS!!! I am DYING from beautiful food planting. Your eye is unerring! This is amazing.
Somebody should write a book.

Bruce said...

Are you going to go to the CA Natives Garden tour? Just curious if you know about that.

http://www.cnps.org/cnps/grownative/nurseries.php

Stacie d said...

How beautiful -- we've been trying to play with edible/ornamental in our garden. It's great to see this example. Thanks!

Entangled said...

Wow, modern is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of potagers, but they've done a great job.

I always wonder what these beautiful edible gardens look like when the food is harvested, especially the leafy crops.

lisa said...

BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm of the mindset that NO garden is ugly, but this is positively artistic. Seems to me that since the nationwide invasion of manicured lawns, folks are of two attitudes when they see a grassy wild area: some see ugly and unkempt and others see habitat. I see habitat, or in urban areas perhaps community garden/guerilla-planted wildflower area.

MAYBELLINE said...

Lush!

Anonymous said...

This is amazinly well done, Chuck! I love the geometry and want to gobble to edibles!
Frances

Commonweeder said...

What a beautiful garden. It reminded me a little of the Copia Gardens in Napa - which are sadly now gone, along with Copia.

UC Davis Good Life Garden said...

Once again, thank you so much for posting these photos. One would never know the weather you encountered that day was less than ideal. We especially enjoyed your readers comments. I will pass this along to our gardeners and landscape architects who too often don't get the credit they deserve for creating an maintaining a space like this! We look forward to reading about your past and future field trips!