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Underground Garden

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Forestiere never became the farmer he'd envisioned, but his subterranean garden lives on.
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A courtyard and portals give even light-hungry citrus trees enough sunshine to bear fruit.
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Figure A
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Figure B
Some folks always look for the silver lining. That's just what Baldasare Forestiere did in 1907 after he moved from New York City and bought four acres of land--sight unseen--in Fresno, California. When he discovered that his new property was rife with impenetrable, sunbaked hardpan, the Sicilian immigrant decided to dig. The project wasn't much of a stretch. In New York City, he had helped to dig tunnels for the city's subway system. In California, he built an underground home and garden that's a work of art and architectural engineering.

Forestiere apparently figured that if he couldn't farm, he could at least beat the heat. It took him 40 years to build the 800-foot-long, 22-foot-deep wonder.

Above ground, the tops of trees emerge from large, round openings in the ground. Down a set of steps, visitors find the home's entrance (figure A).

Below, visitors find the roots of those vigorous trees. There's the Chinese date tree (Ziziphus jujuba) and a strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). The carob tree Forestiere planted is still alive and producing edible pods (figure B). But what amazes visitors the most is the citrus tree that was grafted to produce seven different fruits. It yields only two types of fruit these days, but the grafts are still evident (figure C).

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Figure C
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Figure D
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Figure E
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Figure F
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Take a tour of this underground marvel.

How did Forestiere manage to grow all these things underground? He created portals (figure D), or skylights, to let in the sun, and planted some trees in containers. The trees grow through the portals toward the light, resulting in super-straight trunks and fruit crops that can be harvested above ground by bending down (figure E). Forestiere even went to the trouble of creating a square portal in order to more effectively water the square planter below it (figure F). His attention to detail makes the gardens that much more interesting. His home, too, is an underground marvel.
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Forestiere Underground Gardens
Forestiere Underground Gardens
5021 W. Shaw Ave.
Fresno, CA 93722
Phone: 559-271-0734 (reservations)
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