Sally's garden in Bolinas

The morning was foggy, but the light was beautiful. We drove from SF to Bolinas to visit Sally Robertson's garden, a place she has created and from which she draws her inspiration as an artist in watercolor.

We had a private lesson from her, in observation and in painting.

This rose was our subject.

The palette of colors in the foliage here is fascinating. I had not picked up a paintbrush for decades, but two of our party were dedicated watercolor painters, and another is a budding artist. Sally was able to speak to all of us clearly, gently, and with tremendous insight. She told us stories, and recommended books, especially The Art of Watercolor by Charles LeClair.

We ate lunch in her garden, and gradually the sun came out.

Urban gardening dreams

Sunday morning is for lazy reading and coffee, and adding ideas to the "Maybe/Someday" project list, like "start a vegetable garden....next year."

This morning I read all the posts in "The Starter Garden", a blog in the NYTimes Gardening section by Minnesota novice gardner (and professional writer whose work I've enjoyed in City Pages) Michael Tortorello, in which he has been chronicling his adventures this summer creating a vegetable garden in the city. I've always enjoyed his writing, and he started some great conversations among newbie and experienced gardeners all over the country with his posts about about how to get started, germinate seeds indoors, get rid of the lawn, use manure or not, deal with rabbits and deer, face the triumphs and disappointments of gardening. It looks as if there are many other stories in that section that I'll enjoy ("Peter Rabbit Must Die" sounds like the response of many a gardener who has discovered how fast rabbits can raze your garden to the ground.)

I had given some thought to doing something like that this summer, but remembered how back-breaking the work to start a garden is (I've done it with others twice; once in Berkeley and once in Minneapolis), and I ended up buying a share with a CSA instead for my veggies, and trying to grow some herbs on my back porch (with mixed success--I am a lousy gardener by myself, but an enthusiastic helper with others).

I'm going to take it in small steps. First step is to read other people's stories! I thoroughly enjoyed this book: Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter. And she has a blog! and it's just as awesome as her book, which I loved, loved, loved and am willing to lend to anyone who promises to give it back eventually.

March in northern California

Tulips by the pool at Filoli.

The gardens are full of blossoming trees.

A field of daffodils.

Forsythia at Filoli.

Magnolias in Half Moon Bay.

corazon

A few San Francisco souvenirs

On the sidewalk by Dolores Park.

Frida on Valencia St.

Browsing at the Ferry building market.


a garden gate at Filoli.

Filoli

On my next trip to the Bay Area, I hope to visit the Filoli Estates