Thursday, August 12, 2010

San Francisco and Napa Valley

Golden Gate
My husband and I made a split decision to load up the wagon and drive down to San Francisco to visit some friends last week. We had no real agenda except to eat good food, relax with friends and stop in Napa to visit a bicycle manufacturer friend, Curtis Inglis of Retrotec. I really didn't think about making garden tours part of the visit, but I ended up at three really cool places and the trip gave me some much needed design inspiration.

San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. The hills and views and neighborhoods could make anyone fall in love. I think it is my favorite climate for plant life (50 degree summers, I can do without though...). Palms and agaves mingle with eucalyptids and native ceanothus and wax myrtle. And Redwoods! Oh majesty!

Just like my last visit and all future visits, we stopped into Flora Grubb - my major nursery crush. This place wows everyone, even my 6 shopping companions who are not plant geeks. I love the Wooly Pockets vertical garden.
Green wall at Flora Grubb

While considering options for the day over delicious Blue Bottle Coffee, our friend suggested the California Academy of Sciences. I had forgotten that this gem had just opened and the science nerd/ex-museum employee had to take a visit. It was really a fun museum. They had all the crowd pleasers - butterflies, dino bones and an aquarium, but my favorite part was the roof. The architecture of the building was spot on and the green roof was a perfect reason to get visitors to check out the sweeping lines of the building. The museum is touted as "the greenest museum in the world" so the green roof was a shoe in I suppose. But what if this roof didn't have a reason to be viewed? Like so many city buildings now - it would have been wasted space. I hope other visitors appreciate it as much as I did.
Cal. Academy of Sciences Green Roof

After saying good bye to friends and fog, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to Napa Valley and much needed sunshine. I had remembered reading about public gardens in Sonoma called Cornerstone, and I did a quick internet search to find the place. We stopped in to the free gardens and spent a nice afternoon strolling around. The gardens were designed and installed by architects, students, designers, artists and horticulturists from around the world. These are a few of my favorites.

Cornerstone Gardens
Cornerstone Gardens
Cornerstone Gardens
Cornerstone Gardens

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