My better half had to go to a seminar in San Francisco last weekend so Alex and I decided to hitch a ride and enjoy a beautiful weekend in the city. I had heard about
Yerba Buena Gardens, but somehow missed it every time we were in the Union Square area. Yerba Buena Gardens is a public facility located around 4th and Mission Streets, and happened to be only a block away from the hotel we were staying at this weekend, so this is where Alex and I spent most of our time.
I'll admit that in some ways I was disappointed with it, but in other ways I was completely overwhelmed, and almost jealous that we don't have something like this in Sacramento. The sunny weather brought out lots of people to the park, and we managed to see a few impromptu performances by local actors in the Esplanade as well.
The gardens have been around for about 17 years, and they added the Children's Garden in 1998. An interesting factoid: Mayor Willie Brown took the first ride on the children's carousel when the children's garden opened. Mayor Willie Brown also declared April 13th 2003 (my wedding day) as Jason & Carri Stokes day in San Francisco. Yeah, we're like famous. Okay, no we're not, he was a Board Member where I work and a super cool guy, and we got the "declaration" certificate the day we got married. Realizing I am now totally off subject (sorry), I'll move on with my little picture tour....
The plant selection at the gardens could be much better. I know it makes me sound like a plant snob (which I'm not), but perhaps I should blame my visit to
Annie's Annuals the day before for making me feel like they could have done a lot better. In San Francisco they can grow SO many more cool plants, and yet they didn't. But, for a public facility I would say it's better than most!
Moving on to my tour of the Butterfly Garden, yeah, that little picture of the "Butterflies Only" sign is the only picture I took of their butterfly garden. Seriously, it was horrible. First off, it was almost all shade. And second, the plant selection was horrible (a bunch of overgrown buddleias, a dill plant, a bunch of violas, and some mondo grass) . I didn't see a single butterfly when we were there, and for obvious reasons. I'm also disappointed that they kept it really small. I have a larger butterfly garden in my own yard, and they have a million times more space to work with- I guess I expected more. Still, at least they have a butterfly garden.
Moving on to the children's garden, this is one area that they did right. They have a maze for the kids to get lost in (in a good way). They have a huge playground with really awesome slides for the kids. They have a children's museum called
Zeum, which Alex was a little young for but she still enjoyed. They also have the lovely carousel, which we took quite a few spins on last weekend.
Of course one of my favorite things about the children's garden is their Learning Garden. It was a small garden full of edibles, but easily showed parents that you don't need a lot of space to have a vegetable garden. We saw an apple tree, citrus trees, artichokes, potatoes, raspberries, and a lot of herbs. And I was a proud mom as my daughter told some other kids what everything was (without me even telling her- yay! I'm doing something right!).
As a gardener, Yerba Buena Gardens left a lot to be desired. But as a parent, they did an amazing job making it a fun environment for little ones. Throw in the fact that there is a movie theater, ice skating rink, bowling alley, and several restaurants, and they've made it a nice playground for adults too. We were able to spend two full days in this area without ever getting bored- and we never even ventured off to MOMA as we had planned. All in all, consider it a must see next time you're in San Francisco.
I'll admit that in some ways I was disappointed with it, but in other ways I was completely overwhelmed, and almost jealous that we don't have something like this in Sacramento. The sunny weather brought out lots of people to the park, and we managed to see a few impromptu performances by local actors in the Esplanade as well.
The plant selection at the gardens could be much better. I know it makes me sound like a plant snob (which I'm not), but perhaps I should blame my visit to Annie's Annuals the day before for making me feel like they could have done a lot better. In San Francisco they can grow SO many more cool plants, and yet they didn't. But, for a public facility I would say it's better than most!
Of course one of my favorite things about the children's garden is their Learning Garden. It was a small garden full of edibles, but easily showed parents that you don't need a lot of space to have a vegetable garden. We saw an apple tree, citrus trees, artichokes, potatoes, raspberries, and a lot of herbs. And I was a proud mom as my daughter told some other kids what everything was (without me even telling her- yay! I'm doing something right!).
As a gardener, Yerba Buena Gardens left a lot to be desired. But as a parent, they did an amazing job making it a fun environment for little ones. Throw in the fact that there is a movie theater, ice skating rink, bowling alley, and several restaurants, and they've made it a nice playground for adults too. We were able to spend two full days in this area without ever getting bored- and we never even ventured off to MOMA as we had planned. All in all, consider it a must see next time you're in San Francisco.
Venus and I have walked by the place a couple of times while stumbling to the nearest dive bar. I know you find that shocking - but it's so "us." There's also a particular bus line that we hook up with at Fisherman's Wharf that cuts through the center of The City -- taking you through Chinatown -- then downtown through the gardens -- and eventually dumps you off a block away from AT&T Park (which is within walking distance of several dive bars). Getting off the beaten path -- however -- leads to some interesting garden discoveries...
ReplyDeleteCarri,
ReplyDeleteButterfly gardens are supposed to have weeds. Out garden has so many 'weeds' that the butterflies host on. More nectar plants would be a good thing and one dill plant should have been a dozen dill plants.
I agree Randy, weeds have their place. I wasn't complaining about the weeds (I have plenty in my own yard!), I was mostly complaining about the lack of planning and education opportunities that could go along with this demonstration garden. I guess I just feel that whenever you have a public garden that you're claiming is a butterfly garden- you should be trying to convince passerby's as to why they should put one in their own garden- have signage explaining why it's important, make it beautiful so that they know they can enjoy even if the butterflies don't come, and emphasize proper plants that can serve as host/larvae plants- not just nectar plants. It would be a great opportunity to showcase some native plants as well.
ReplyDeleteHow nice it is to listen to our kids and realize that we are growing gardeners! Mine in a nursery recently pointed to a plant the cashier had at the till and said ' what a beautiful succulent' (she's five) I was brimming with pride, they are growing up so fast!
ReplyDelete