The Ruth Bancroft Garden
The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek was the first garden we visited on the third day of the Fling. I found it exciting, surprising, and sometimes entertaining (largely due to the sculptures). I don’t see gardens built around succulents as beautiful, though, and this was not an exception to that rule. I realize there are others who feel strongly otherwise.
For me, a beautiful garden is lush, warm, exuberant, colorful. I find succulent gardens to be rather cold, ironically enough. And succulent gardens in arid, forbidding settings even more so. It’s kind of like the difference between a pet cat and a pet lizard. I find cats far more appealing and cuddly. However, I would fight to the death for your right to have a pet lizard.
Even so, I enjoyed our visit to this garden, and I’m very glad I got to see it.
The visit was enhanced because it occurred during their annual sculpture exhibit and sale. And speaking of cats, we were tempted to take these home with us, but they were out of our price range.
At this point I had pretty much given up on trying to remember plant names. I do know that’s a barrel cactus below. If they had given all the plants names this obvious, I might have had a better chance to remember them.
I appreciated the many big, dramatic plants. I’m a sucker for big plants.
The mix of plant textures we found was very intriguing.
There were some things that were just a bit odd looking.
You can see we weren’t the only ones taken aback.
It’s a good thing we did the Ruth Bancroft garden first thing in the morning – it was already hot when we got there. An odd thing about the Bay Area is the vast differences in climate in such a small area. That day it was 105F in Walnut Creek. In San Francisco, less than an hour’s drive away, it was 75F.
Fortunately, this cow was able to stay cool by hitting the surf. Springs made her look like she was rolling with the waves.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden was once farmland where the owners grew apples and walnuts. Ms. Bancroft took a part of the land for her very extensive collection of succulent plants. The farm was eventually rezoned for residential development, but a non-profit organization was given the garden to be maintained and kept open to the public.
This is not a native plant garden. Ms. Bancroft travelled far and wide to arid and desert regions in order to obtain specimen plants. A number of plants require protection from the occasional frosts that occur in Walnut Creek.
gardeninacity 
It’s always fun to open your mind and explore something new, isn’t it? This looks very similar to some of the gardens explored by GWA members in Tucson last year. I have great respect and admiration for those who can deal with such challenging conditions. Easy to see the universal truth “right plant, right spot” at work here!
Yes, I admire those who can handle these conditions, and I am very happy I don’t have to.
Not my cup of tea, either, but it is interesting to see what people do with the conditions they’re given! Fun sculptures, though! Thanks for sharing these pictures!
The sculptures definitely added a sense of fun.
Cacti and succulents are interesting plants and I’ve always liked them but I don’t think I could live with a yard full of them.
I agree. Definitely interesting but I don’t feel at home with them.
I agree with you about the succulents. I’m really enjoying this Fling series!
Glad to share it with you. This was my first Fling, I’m very happy I went.
It was other-worldly, though I think we must have been on the other bus — it was all a-swealter when we arrived. Nice shots.
There were definitely some sweltering moments at this Fling.
RBG was certainly an interesting change from the other gardens we saw! I loved seeing how huge some of the plants that we grow as potted specimens grow when they’re given favorable conditions! Don’t think I’d want a garden made exclusively of succulents/cacti but enjoy them used as sculptural elements among other plants.
It was hard not to think of some of them as houseplants grown to monstrous size in some scientific experiment gone awry.
Hello Jason, very interesting and some particularly quirky sculptures, but a dry garden full of succulents is too alien and far from my style comfort zone to fully appreciate. This is from being cosseted by a wet temperate climate that allows for full-on lush green profusion (in a good year!).
Ah, that green and pleasant land …
I liked this garden because I thought of the whole thing as sculptures and not a garden in any traditional sense of the word. It was awfully hot there though, not my type of climate. Nice to meet you there.
It was sort of a massive collection of specimen plants.
I always want more sculpture in the garden but my climate would destroy it in no time…so an ornamentation I have to take up for winter…but it is fun putting it out again…love this garden.
I would also like more artwork but the climate is a problem.
I like those colorful cats too and I am not even a cat person. Oh, but she had dogs as well for us dog lovers. I thought this garden was art. As different as it was, it was that much more intriguing. The heat was too much on this visit. Those plants seemed pretty happy in it.
Definitely a fascinating garden but the heat was a challenge.
What an interesting place. I love the sculptures. I would have been tempted by those cats, too!
I think they would have been quite happy in my garden. Plus they would pose no threat to the birds.
I agree completely with your assessment of succulent gardens. My family has had both cats and pet lizards. Lizards are interesting creatures, but one is unlikely to curl up in your lap and let you pet it! This garden is certainly fascinating, and I think it is the perfect backdrop for some of the wacky sculptures. It is a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there, though I might want to take just a touch of it home to my own garden.
Some of the plants had a Dr. Seuss quality. I had a pet box turtle, as did my own kids. Interesting to watch, but not affectionate.
Funny. I agree with you regarding succulent gardens. The lizard/ cat analogy it’s very clever !
Not that I have anything against lizards! It’s just a matter of personal taste.
Fascinating. I think the succulent gardens are interesting – kind of like visiting another planet (or at least that’s how it seems to an East Coaster). Like you, I wouldn’t want an entire garden of succulents, but I’d happily take the cow on the surfboard.
It’s a very popular cow.
Everything looks so great!!!
It was an amazing garden.
I need that surfing cow in my garden, I definitely do.
I needed it too, but it cost something like $5,000, so I guess I’ll have to learn to live without.
Oh. Well on second thought I’m not so sure I need it that much…
I like all-succulent gardens, but only if they make sense for the geographic area they are in, and at 105, this looks like it should fit.
Very true, not sure what else would have survived.