Gamble Garden

I made a second garden stop in Palo Alto, a short drive from the last place.



Check out the smoke bush, in full smoke (Cotinus coggygria).



I like they let the hydrangea ('Annabelle'?) grow up against the fencing like that. Artful staking.



Most public gardens in the Bay Area have some lofty purpose related to preservation, conservation, natural habitats, etc. That's nice. Unpretentious ornamental flower gardens that exist simply for human enjoyment are nice too.















Not that there isn't some water-wise gardening going on here as well.



What are the odds that both of the agaves you planted next to your greenhouse bloom at the same time?













The Gamble Garden's most remarkable specimen is perhaps a big, old Erythrina crista-galli.



You don't see these around here very often.

Eleanor Pardee Park

in Palo Alto, site of a fabulous community garden and Master Gardeners demonstration garden.



The MG demo garden has two parts, vegetable and ornamental. The latter features familiar natives and other water-wise workhorses.













I was surprised and delighted to find ripe currants on Ribes sanguineum. Usually the birds get them, first thing. They aren't very tasty to humans anyway, but aren't they pretty?





The vegetable gardens here are always padlocked which is a shame. Who steals vegetables from gardens in Palo Alto, anyway? That's so weird.





My life's dream is to move to the suburbs--where it's warm enough for vegetable gardening--and grow squash on an arbor! And corn!



The MG's have a fair amount of signage in accordance with their mission to educate. This is about growing blueberries in the Bay Area.







The MG potager is exquisitely well-maintained. Meanwhile, jubilant chaos prevails the gardens of the hoi polloi.







Asparagus can be a real mess, but I want to grow that some day too.





A lot of ornamental plants grow throughout the community garden plots too--roses, dahlias, buddleia, verbascum, this massive, 6'x6' Leonotis leonurus.









This is a fine place to pass an hour or so when you're in Palo Alto. The address is 851 Center Drive and the website is here. The entrance is dark under the shade of oaks, and the garden is obscured from the street behind thick vegetation. It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Park on the street and wander in.

Eleanor Pardee Community Gardens in Palo Alto, CA

I guess some people see this garden and think, "What a waste. How inefficient. This space could be so much more productive."



I suppose some people would have a point. After all, does the world really need more sweet peas? Sweet peas are lovely, but people can't eat them.



In an age of "global warming, depleted fossil fuels, and disease", shouldn't we be working together in the garden instead of doing our own thing?



With a comprehensive plan and division of labor, this place could be cooking with gas.



I suppose if that's what you want, it's fine for you.



I, however, will opt out.



Unless and until we're talking about an immediate and serious crisis, I'd rather do my own thing.



For starters, I'll be looking at the flowers.











One immediate and serious crisis that I'm totally down with is the drought. I'm all over the regionally appropriate ornamentation.