A Not-So-Secret Garden – Experience the trendsetting garden of the future

The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek has been steadily growing in popularity in recent years. Perhaps it’s due to the drought concerns we’ve been experiencing here in California? Lush, green lawns are already becoming a thing of the past. More and more yards are starting to resemble the Ruth Bancroft Garden, which is a drought-tolerant public garden full of cacti and succulents, requiring little to no irrigation. What you’ll see when touring the grounds was cultivated by Ruth Bancroft herself. Planted in 1972, the garden has grown steadily to become much more than a garden, but an educational facility, a retail plant shop and a world-renowned tourist attraction.

Whilst perusing the garden you’ll be walking on land that was once part of a 400-acre fruit farm that produced walnuts and Bartlett pears. Over the years, much of the land was sold and eventually rezoned for residential use. The last walnut orchard was cut down in 1971 and instead of selling this section of land, descendant Philip Bancroft Jr. gave the land to his wife, Ruth, as a home for her already expansive potted succulent collection.

Born Ruth Petersson in 1908, she developed an affinity for plants early in life while growing up in Berkeley. A former economics teacher in Merced, Ruth met her husband on a blind date that changed it all. They wed in 1939 and she moved to the family farm in Walnut Creek where her garden now thrives for all to see. Ruth’s love for plants evolved over time, finding interest in bearded irises, roses, perennials and more, but it was in 1950 that she purchased her first succulent—a single potted aeonium. She became fascinated with the water conservation power of the plant and began collecting them. An avid collector in general, Ruth soon had allotted a grand collection of potted succulents, which she grew in lath-houses and greenhouses. In 1972, the Ruth Bancroft Garden we know and love today was officially born.

There was no particular science to the way Ruth planted her garden. “It wasn’t designed as a botanical garden—it was designed as a woman’s front yard,” said Sophie Vidal, Education Director for the Ruth Bancroft Garden. “Things aren’t grouped by where they are from, they’re grouped by how she liked them; she thought the looked good together, then they survived and so she left them that way,” Vidal explains. “It’s a very personal garden.”

Ruth worked in the garden into her late 90s, physically out there weeding and pruning just as before, but she finally, for the most part, retired. “Even today if she’s out in the garden and she sees a weed or something she’ll either start to reach to go get it herself or request that somebody grab it for her,” said Vidal. “So it’s still very much her garden … Our mission is to preserve the garden in her vision and have it be around for the education and enjoyment of the public.”

The most common reason to visit the garden is to simply look around and take it all in. They have self-guided tours every day the garden is open and you’re welcome to walk yourself around. You’ll also be handed a monthly insert, which highlights some of the current blooms that are in season. There’s also guided tours available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

In addition to the regular horticultural enthusiasts, tourists, families and/or students that visit the garden each year, “We also have people who are interested in ripping out their lawns (especially with the drought right now) and they’re looking for inspiration for what they can do instead of having a big green grass lawn,” said Vidal. The greatest thing about visiting a garden of cacti and succulents that’s been growing for so long is that you can see how the plants have matured over the years. “You might go to a nursery and buy a little tiny plant—the next thing you know 10-15 years down the road it’s this giant 6-foot agave that sends up a 30-foot bloom in the sky,” said Vidal. “There’s things that you might not necessarily think of when you’re buying that little one-gallon plant, so you get a chance to see what things will do as they grow and mature.”

Many of the plants you’ll find in the garden were planted by Ruth Bancroft herself and grew from one-gallon containers or smaller. She had less interest in buying big, expensive, matured plants, but rather, Ruth preferred to wait and watch it grow. “That totally worked for her,” said Vidal. Walking around you’ll probably notice a giant yucca plant on the premises. “She planted it 43 years ago. It just came in to flower for it’s first time this summer, so she had a chance to get out and see that in bloom.” Right before her 107th birthday this year on September 2nd, Ruth is still able to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

At the garden you’ll find events and classes all year long focusing on a variety of subjects including basic gardening principles, how to propagate your succulents, care and maintenance, creating arrangements and so much more. An interesting workshop to look for is called Lawn To Garden. “We’ll actually rip out a lawn and replace it with a garden all in one day,” said Vidal. Workshop participants all get to have a hand in it, and one lucky participant will have it all done to their own personal yard! “Through the end of the day we’ll have completely transformed somebody’s front yard into a more drought-tolerant landscape,” she said. “We do it at someone’s house; it’s an amazing day.” They haven’t done many of these. Their fourth one will be held on Sunday, October 4th. If you’ve missed it, or if the class was filled, keep an eye out for future workshops and events on their website.

Official members of the garden also get some special perks—membership opportunities are available and they help fund all the happenings you can enjoy at the garden. In addition to members-only classes and special events, one of these perks includes getting an invitation to the annual tasting tour. “You actually get to go around the garden and taste some of the cacti fruit,” Vidal said. “We have other palms and things that you get a chance to taste. With about 12 stations you get to sample fruit as you wander!” This only happens once a year in October. Of course, there is a limited supply and it must be restricted to only 40 people. So if you’re a member, or are planning to become one, contact the garden right away!

With about 3.5 acres of garden to roam, most people spend about an hour to an hour and a half on an average visit. If you’re trying to pick the perfect time to visit the Ruth Bancroft Garden, really any time will do. “There’s always something in bloom in the garden, no matter what month you’re here,” Vidal assures us. “There’s always something unique and interesting.” A lot of people think that spring would be the best time to visit, but even in the dead of winter a lot of their aloe plants are in bloom.

You can also find many interesting hybrids on the land. “Our curator will do a lot of experimenting,” said Vidal. “Trying to take the pollen from one aloe that maybe has a wonderful color and another aloe that’s very hearty and he’ll cross pollinate things; there’s a variety of interesting and unique hybrids that are here.”

New plants are added to the garden all the time as it is ever changing. “The garden is a living, breathing thing,” said Vidal. “Things die with the heat or with the cold, so we have to replant. We try to do so in Ruth’s vision, but she was an experimenter as well.” Ruth would take plants that might not even be able to grow in Walnut Creek and put them to the test, just trial and error all along the way, wondering which plants will work no matter where they came from. “So we continue on in that experiment to try new things.”

The garden is certainly expanding as far as their facilities are concerned. And the nursery has been growing exponentially over the last few years. “If someone hasn’t been to the nursery in the last year or so it’s actually doubled in size,” said Vidal. “If they haven’t been here in the last few years it’s actually quadrupled in size.” It’s definitely a big operation. Feel confident stopping in to look around as they have a very knowledgeable staff that is happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you’re interested in planting a drought-tolerant garden, you should definitely pay this place a visit. If you need further convincing, the Ruth Bancroft Garden is watered about once a week in the heat of summer. “Most people who have these plants in their private gardens can water even less,” said Vidal. “Once all of the plants are established they can usually go out to water once every couple of weeks.”

Whether you’re interested in plants or not, you can’t help but be inspired and intrigued by the ever-changing sights throughout the Ruth Bancroft Garden. It’s one of the most unique places around that people travel across the world to see. We’re right next door, so let’s pay our neighbor a visit.

For more information call (925) 924-9352 or visit www.ruthbancroftgarden.org.

Larson is a writer/actor/comedian native to Vallejo who travels back and forth from Los Angeles way too much. He’s desperate for attention and urges you to follow him on all social medias @MarsLegstrong. He lives for likes, please keep him healthy.

Napa Art Walk – A walk in the Park

Napa has long been known for having one of the Bay Area’s most vibrant art, music and dining scenes, save more maybe San Francisco. So it’s only fitting that, back in 2009 when we were still in the full throes of the recession and art programs were losing funding up and down the state, that Napa would still find a way to turn its city streets into an art gallery by creating the Napa Art Walk.

Now in its sixth year of existence, the Napa Art Walk gives residents and visitors a chance to experience art by some of the nation’s most gifted sculptures, without having to pay a museum entry fee. This year, the event’s organizers are stepping up their game, incorporating new interactive technology and adding a social media element to help engage folks even more.

In the years since it has started, many in Napa say they’ve seen an influx of tourism into the downtown area, even more so than there was before.

“It’s been incredible, the support that this program and others have received from the city. Even in recession times, the city still saw the value in this program,” Arts Council Napa Valley CEO Olivia Everett said. “It’s just night and day from 2009 to today, the amount of tourism and community that we’re seeing downtown, and it’s been great hearing from city officials about how much the art walk helped that along.”

Every Napa Art Walk installment stays up for two years, beginning with a reception at the Napa Inn Complex, where artists—many of whom are from out of state—attend to interact and answer questions from the public. This year’s opening was back in June, so if you haven’t seen some of the art, which is distributed around Napa’s downtown, there is still plenty of time to come on down to Napa and check it out.

In previous years, the Napa Art Walk has had a theme of some sort, even if it was something that allowed for many different interpretations like “river,” or “movement.” But this year the event’s organizers decided to keep the submission process totally theme-free and allow the artists who submitted works to take it in whatever direction they pleased. The results have been 14 vibrant, stunning pieces, each of which is completely different from the next.

“Every year it’s really interesting to see the diversity of the works that are coming,” Everett said. “There’s a lot of abstraction and different types of artwork, and that’s been really exciting to see. And also to see repeat artists who haven’t worked before with the program, but are now working with them on a long-term basis.”

On one street plaza you might find a giant, metallic, bronze-colored bull. On another, an abstract piece that resembles a giant, reddish orange peel, or a blue and green mosaic bench that’s modeled after an ocean wave. There is even a sculpture of a giant fork with pieces of sculptured macaroni and cheese on it, which is sure to get your appetite going for a nice dinner in downtown Napa.

“It’s an idea to see what sort of work would come in, and also we wanted to vary it up a bit,” Everett said. “We wanted to be able to see what submissions artists would have, and what we could get to jury. It did have some restrictions, in that it’s only open to artists in six western states.”

All told, 157 submissions came in for this year’s installment, and the Napa Art Walk committee had the difficult task of whittling that number down to 14. Since it’s installed outdoors, the work is obviously subjected to the elements, so sometimes throughout the two years that it stays up, the artists will have to travel to Napa and maintain or restore parts of their work.

“The materials used definitely have to be able to withstand weather, and to be able to withstand human interaction,” Everett said. “These are on pedestals in walkways throughout the downtown area so, kind of regardless, people are going to touch them, kids are going to climb on them; we do our best to deter that with our design and selection of the pieces, but it does happen. It’s not uncommon during a show for the artist to have to come back out and do repairs.”

If you do come out, the Napa Art Walk’s organizers have found a way for you to interact more with the piece, without actually having to touch it. That’s because they’re now using a smart phone app called Otocast, which allows folks who use it to get an audio tour of the art! If you use the app, it will give you a little background and explanation on the piece direct from the artist, helping you to understand what you’re looking at a little more.

You never know what you’re going to find out until you try the app. You might learn, for instance, that Timeless Joy, the sculpture of a hummingbird that sits near the corner of Main Street and Third Street, is made completely out of old motorcycle parts. Then later find out the idea behind Your cube, sir, the sculpture of a giant stick figure who is holding a red cube upwards, towards the sky.

“I really encourage folks that if they see a piece that seems a little odd to them or that they love, to listen to it on the app because it will enhance their experience 10 times,” Everett said. “And that’s part of the goal of the art walk, to get people to interact with something that they may not have otherwise come across.”

Of course, Everett added, each artist submitted their own statement, and some chose to talk about materials, while others talked about the meaning behind the piece. So each little blurb on every sculpture will be different, just as each and every sculpture is unique.

In recent years, the Napa Art Walk has been a collaborative effort between the city of Napa and the Arts Council Napa Valley. That’s highly unlikely to ever change, but in recent years the city government has made more of an effort to take the reins on the program, which should continue to happen in future years.

“I think we’ll always promote, market, and support it, but the goal is to work with all the cities in the counties, to help them get the word out and promote the program,” Everett said. “We would love to see the local communities grow their arts program, which a lot are already doing.”

If that weren’t enough, the Napa Art Walk is also holding its own viewers’ choice contest, and it’s having an Instagram contest as well. The Instagram contest, open to anyone who uses the social media application, offers the chance to win a dinner for two in downtown Napa and a yearlong membership to the Arts Council Napa Valley. In order to participate, upload your own original images of any of the art walk’s sculptures onto Instagram with the hashtag #NapaArtWalk. The winners will be decided in June 2016, so if you want to participate, there are plenty of chances to get out there with your smart phone and start snapping away.

“I would just encourage people to get out, explore and check out the pieces, and let the city know what they like and what they want to see more of by using the app, voting, and exploring the program,” Everett said. “And for anyone who’s a collector, these pieces are actually up for sale as well.”

The Napa Art Walk will be on display for … well, probably for a very long time. But this current installation will be up until June 2017. For more information, such as a map of Napa that tells you precisely where every piece is and explains how to use the Otocast app and participate in the Instagram contest, visit: www.NapaArtWalk.org

Nate Gartrell grew up in Benicia, studied journalism in college, and has written for a handful of media outlets since age 15. He aspires to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and to hit the trifecta at the horse track. 

O Alumni, Where Art Thou? Solano Community College’s alumni search is officially underway

Over the past 70 years, Solano Community College (SCC) has become one of the top community colleges in the state. With locations in Fairfield, Vallejo, Vacaville and Travis Air Force Base, SCC is busier than ever and the sky is the limit. With so many exciting things going on, the Solano Community College Educational Foundation has decided to create an alumni association for the school. With tens of hundreds of thousands of names to start contacting, the epic search has only just begun.

“We want to establish an alumni association,” said Curt Johnston, Executive Director for the Solano Community College Educational Foundation. “We’re going to be going out into the community, seeking out individuals who want to participate. As we roll into the fall that’s going to be one of the programs we’re putting together: a marketing program around searching for alumni.”

The SCC Educational Foundation was created in 1985 to raise funds that will support student and educational excellence at Solano Community College. Johnston hopes that by reaching out to the alumni they can begin to build an even stronger support system within the community on behalf of SCC. Last year they started the Distinguished Alumni Program, which is something they’ve never done before, as well as an Alumni of the Year program.

“Our alumni are leaders in business, education and government throughout Solano County,” said Johnston. He begins to list numerous Solano Community College alums who have attained all sorts of important positions throughout all aspects of the county. “From the president and CEO of First Northern Bank (that’s the largest employer in Dixon) to the general manager of the Valero Benicia refinery (which is one of the largest employers in the county) to very successful local business people,” he said. “One consistency of many of these people we’ve identified is they are business leaders.” Johnston also mentions Jack Anthony of 7 Flags Car Wash, Monty Hoover who is president and general manager of Gillespie’s Abbey Carpet & Floor as well as president of the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce, Andrea Garcia from Touro University, who is the current president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. There are even some elected officials as well, like Skip Thomson, the District 5 Supervisor for Solano County, and Marc Tonnesen, who is the Solano County Assessor Recorder—the list goes on an on.

“Last year we had a dozen distinguished alumni, this year we recognized an additional 10. We’ll do 10-12 a year,” said Johnston. “That’ll help build the ranks and build some affinity that people will want to associate with Solano College.” But of course, in order to find the distinguished alumni, they have to find the general alumni population first. “We probably have at least a couple hundred thousand alumni in this area,” Johnston said. “The purpose of this project is to identify them and to encourage people to pass on their contact information to reconnect to the college.”

The California Community College system is actually the largest system of higher education in the United States with roughly 2.1 million students attending the 113 different community colleges. “Community colleges dwarf the UC and CSU system in terms of undergraduates,” said Johnston. He did some research in 2012 to find that in the UC system, 28% of the undergraduates started in community college, in the CSU system 55% started at community college, and out of the STEM majors (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)—48% started at community college. “And when they get to the UC system they do every bit as well,” he said. “Community colleges are even more important than they’ve ever been.” Especially when it comes to finances.

“As higher education gets more expensive each and every day, and student loan debt gets out of control—community colleges are the wave,” said Johnston. He hopes to reach out to the alumni for financial support at Solano Community College, but stresses that they’re not looking at creating a dues-paying structure with the alumni. It’s true that most graduates will often support their 4-year university first before their community college, he explains, “But this is where they got their start.” And a donation of any size at the community college level can be impactful, especially now that SCC has earned the right to issue a 4-year bachelor’s degree in bio manufacturing…?!

That’s right. Solano College was one of 15 community colleges in California that was chosen to be part of the Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program. “Each college was only allowed to have one bachelor degree, so we can only issue a BA in one program,” said Johnston. He expects it to be quite a success and looks forward to the program expanding more and more. Until then, the current incoming freshman in this Fall 2015 semester will be the first students to graduate from Solano Community College with a 4-year degree in the school’s 70-year history, and they get to do it at a remarkably low cost. “The tuition for all four years for that BA at Solano Community College is approximately $10,000—for all four years,” said Johnston. Compared to the price of the UC and CSU systems which cost at least 10k or more per year, instead of per degree, that’s quite a feat. “That’s exactly what our mission is: To deliver high-quality, affordable education. And we’re certainly doing that.”

The Solano Promise Program is an example of how a relatively small donation can have a relatively huge impact on a student. “We’re asking for $46, because that’s the cost of one academic unit at Solano,” Johnston said. “If they wanted to help a student with tuition for a three-unit class that’d be $150; an entire year of tuition is only $1,380—so a small donation at a community college can really make a big impact in the life of a student. That’s really what we’re trying to do is help support; reach out to the past generations to support the current generation.”

There has been some major support to numerous aspects of the college as of late. Johnston says that in 2014 they were awarded a $200,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to develop curriculum for the biotech industry that is to be distributed nationwide. Last year the college also received a $600,000 grant for a 2+1 STEM program which funds a scholarship for two years at Solano Community College and another year at a 4-year university. And much more. “We’re looking at nearly 2 million dollars in the last couple years to support our STEM programs and students,” he said. The only thing missing from all this good news is the SCC alumni.

SCC Educational Foundation’s alumni program is just now getting started. They’ve invested in software to communicate with their alumni, they’re going through the college records to see who they can find, and they’re trying to create a portal on their website where alumni can go online and input their contact information. “We have a list of names but we don’t have current contact information,” said Johnston. He urges any alumni that may be reading this to reach out and reconnect with their humble beginnings.

“It’s an opportunity to connect with professors, connect with students that they may have known at the time, and to help the next generation of students,” Johnston said. Alumni are certainly encouraged to make a donation, but they can also donate to volunteer their time. “Help with our alumni search, help us connect and, quite frankly, give us suggestions. We’re going to be getting more information out to the public about our Distinguished Alumni Program so that we can recognize our graduates out in the community that are doing good works.”

If you or someone you know attended Solano Community College for any period of time, reach out and see if there’s some way you can contribute to the cause. “We need to promote the college and the impact it’s made on the local community,” said Johnston. “I think that’s really important to do, because we are a community college, and we’re a part of the community.”

Right now the alumni website is still getting put together, but by the time you read this it may very well be all up and running. If not, keep checking back at alumni.solano.edu. If you have any questions about the alumni program or anything else regarding the Solano Community College Educational Foundation, you can call them at (707) 864-7177 or visit foundation.solano.edu.

Larson is a writer/actor/comedian native to Vallejo who travels back and forth from Los Angeles way too much. He’s desperate for attention and urges you to follow him on all social medias @MarsLegstrong. He lives for likes, please keep him healthy.