Gardening Tips:
- Water-wise plants: succulents and cacti. You can find both at your local nursery.
- Winter is the best time to start planting for spring and summer.
- Make sure you dig deep to get the roots well into the ground.
- Talk to your local nursery about what plants will work best in your yard. Let them know if you have a vision in mind.
Ruth Bancroft, who just turned 100 earlier this month, is a long-time proponent of low-water gardening. A visit to the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek will show your viewers a great place to visit, as well as examples of succulents and cacti that look beautiful and thrive in Bay Area gardens. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is also an exceptional demonstration of the art of garden design. Working primarily with the dramatic forms of her beloved succulents, Ruth Bancroft has created bold and varied compositions in which the colors, textures, and patterns of foliage provide a setting for the sparkle of floral color. The three-acre garden was begun in 1972 in Walnut Creek, yet has garnered international acclaim from the horticultural community as an example of dry gardening appropriate for California's Mediterranean climate. The Garden was the inspiration for the founding of The Garden Conservancy, the nation's leading non-profit dedicated to the preservation of historic private gardens and has been open to the public for many years.
Ruth Bancroft Garden
1552 Bancroft Road
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
925-944-9352
Website: www.ruthbancroftgarden.org
About Becky Rice:
She is the Executive Director of The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. She grew up gardening alongside her parents in Georgia and studied horticulture and historic preservation at the University of Georgia before moving to California to work at the garden. She enjoys tending to her own growing collection of succulents plants.
