San Francisco

Blake Garden

Anson and Anita Blake started their garden back in the 1920s with a little help from Mrs. Blake's sister, a landscape architect. The house was built with the welfare of the garden in mind--it acts as a windbreaker and protects the garden from the elements. The 11-acre property--now part of the University of California--includes an arid garden with native and exotic flowers and a formal parterre garden.

DiFrancesco Garden

This garden will take a visitor's breath away--literally. To find Bill DiFrancesco's garden, guests have to climb 100 stairs above San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood. DiFrancesco is very familiar with the climb. He hauled stones, soil and sand up those stairs numerous times. Perhaps that's why he is fond of restful colors like the blues and whites of his San Francisco sanctuary.

Bancroft Garden

Some find it hard to believe, but Ruth Bancroft didn't start gardening until the age of 60. The Walnut Creek resident began tending her garden nearly 30 years ago when diseased walnut trees on her property had to be removed. Now 91-year-old Bancroft's two acres are an unexpected display of desert cacti, succulents, California poppies and exotic plants.

Bancroft Garden

Golden Gate Memorial Garden

Golden Gate Memorial Garden

On a clear day in San Francisco, visitors can see the Bay Bridge, but they probably won't notice the gardens at the base of the bridge's south tower. The garden began in the 1960s with the aid of a city gardener. Today, its floral specimens thrive on the attention they receive from visitors who take the time to find this very secret garden.

Resources
Golden Gate Bridge
www.goldengatebridge.org


Information on Noe Valley Neighborhood
www.sanfranciscomerchants.com

Blake Garden
Blake Garden
70 Rincon Rd.
Kensington, CA 94707
Phone: 510-524-2449

Brancroft Garden Reservations
925-210-9663

Also in this Episode

Secret Gardens Of... : Episode SGO-109
•	San Francisco