Seeds and another city, part 2

 

Every front patch, alleyway, rooftop and roadside in San Francisco seems to be cultivated in some way. Even in the wonderfully named Dog Patch, a neighbourhood that is currently sitting somewhere in that post-industrial, pre-gentrification time zone, streets are tree-lined.
Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised in a city where Golden Gate Park, the biggest green space, was built out of Sand Dunes. Naysayers told its creator John McLaren that it couldn't be done. But with 100,000 tonnes of manure, and an equal volume of determination, he found the right plants and transformed a desert into the green heart of the city.
It's where San Franciscans spend their Sundays and at the Ocean Beach Chalet, the story of the big greening is told against the backdrop of some fabulous murals. But Golden Gate is not just a park. Yes, apart from all those big hippy events of the sixties, it's the location of the Botanical Gardens, Arboretum, tulip garden and the fabulous De Young Museum, which successfully brings together American Art, design and architecture, with sculpture gardens and a wonderful fern court pictured above. I love the way the collection of tree ferns splices the corten steel exterior of the building.
And the De Young offers one of the best views of the city from the roof. No better way to appreciate the greenness of the city than from on high.

That gardens vs art debate - again

It's been a good gardening week, though not in the outdoor, productive sense. The Vista lectures resumed their first Tuesday of the month slot at the Garden Museum. It's always a good chance to talk gardens with designers and writers and eat some great food. This month, Tim Richardson and Noel Kingsbury quizzed artists Kate Whiteford and Julia Barton. They discussed how they used landscape, plants and irrigation as another creative medium. But although what they do is manipulation of natural elements in the landscape, they still label themselves firmly as Artists (note capital A). I really like their work, particularly Kate's chippendale sofa set into a Capability Brown landscape like those great chalk figures on west country hillsides. But it makes me wonder at the gulf between landscape design and Art. Kate and Julia suggested that because their work is temporary and deteriorates over time, that makes it Art, not gardening. So if garden and landscape designers don't call themselves Artists is it just because their work aspires to be more permanent? Surely all gardens are ephemeral and change over time? So surely all gardeners are Artists. Just a thought.