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	Photo: photography by Jan Stürman

Urban gardens are not a new concept. Ancient Babylon had its famed Hanging Gardens. Japanese gardens, like the one at Shugakuin Imperial Villa, are known worldwide. There are the gardens at Versailles, gated gardens that dot London city blocks and, of course, the famous Brooklyn Botanical Garden. But few cities do urban gardening more creatively than Oakland. Our gardens may not be as grand, but they are unique. Oakland has elementary school gardens, community organic gardens and exotic sanctuaries reminiscent of their owners' homeland roots. From sophisticated to downright earthy, here are just a few examples of Oakland's many urban gardens.

Marmalade Skies and Madame Butterfly

They are colorful names for two of the hundreds of different types of roses at the Morcom Rose Garden. This small Oakland public garden has a rich history-it was created as a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s. Workers built the original rose beds and fountains that are now the centerpieces of the garden. More than 70 years ago, the rose garden offered much-needed work. Today it provides an oasis from the bustling Grand Street shopping area. With more than 7,000 plants and 300 different varieties of roses, the Oakland rose garden is a beautiful blend of old and new. The old are the heritage roses. They are easy to pinpoint; just follow your nose. These plants, numbering about 1,000, are dotted throughout the garden. They are the only heritage roses that have the seductive trademark fragrance. Madame Butterfly is an octogenarian, first bred in 1919. But the real antique in the garden is La France, a delicate pink bloom with a heady perfume. La France is tucked away in a bed towards the back of the garden where many of the older residents live. Other heritage roses are found surrounding the wedding area. René Batoon, who has cared for the garden for the last 19 years, is responsible for establishing the secluded outdoor "chapel." "The garden was a bit neglected when I started," says Batoon. "The wedding area was nothing but a forest."
From a forest to an Eden, it is now where more than 100 couples a year take their vows. Mother's Day is also a big day here. The entrance of the garden has a long walkway, known as the Mother's Walk. Since 1954, Oakland's Mother of the Year is honored here. Plaques along the walkway list all the previous winners, who receive two dozen Morcom's roses six times a year.
"It's paradise here," says Christian Boyle, Batoon's protégé. But, replies Batoon, "to maintain paradise is a challenge."
Morcom Rose Garden, 700 Jean St., is open daily. Volunteers are encouraged to visit during the week. Wedding information can be obtained by calling Oakland's Office of Parks and Recreation, (510) 238-3187.
The roses are usually in bloom from May through October.

for more, pick up a copy of Oakland Magazine today

A Helping Hand

In West Oakland, City Slicker Farms turns unused lots on loan from landlords into burgeoning organic vegetable gardens. These gardens provide much more than greenery; they provide sustenance-and a lot of it, almost 20,000 pounds of fresh produce this year alone. "We provide access to healthy, organic fruits and vegetables to low-income residents," says Willow Rosenthal, City Slicker's founding director. Currently there are seven different sites in West Oakland, a greenhouse project with Ralph Bunche Academy (1240 18th St.) and a three-quarter acre farm in Orinda. The gardens are innovative growing spaces-utilizing vertical growing, irrigation and even seedlings grown out of PVC pipes hung above garden beds.
"Most Oakland yards are limited in terms of space," says Rosenthal. "Volunteering at one of our gardens is a great way to get ideas for your own edible landscape."
From preparing beds to making compost and pruning, Rosenthal and her cadre of volunteers work all the gardens, which astonishingly only cover a total of one acre of land. In the garden on Center Street at 14th Street, there are many heirloom fruits and vegetables, though not commercially grown, sheltered among loquat trees and beautiful red-bloomed scarlet runner beans trellised above strawberry plants in vertical planters. The gardens use every inch of space by incorporating special gardening techniques such as espalier (pruning that forces a tree or shrub to grow flat, usually against a wall) and pairing plants to form "symbiotic" growing so that one provides soil nutrients that the other can use while saving space. Each of the gardens is unique. The Center Street garden is also a working farm with chickens, ducks and a beehive. The WOW Garden (357 Lewis St.) is bordered by California natives like Oregon grapes, Matilija poppies and Mexican sage-all of which provide a great habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. The Annex Farm (1167 Fifth St.) is the smallest garden yet produces more food than any of the others. "It's a great example of intensive-gardening techniques in small spaces," says Rosenthal.
For more information on visiting a City Slicker garden as well as heirloom vegetable plant sales, visit www.cityslickerfarms.org. To volunteer, contact Willow Rosenthal, (510) 763-4241. The gardens are open Tuesday through Saturday.

The Magic Garden

North Oakland's Peralta Elementary School (460 63rd St.) is a veritable jungle of gardens. The school, which less than a decade ago had virtually no green space for children to play in, is now home to six gardens and growing. The main entrance, which first-grade teacher Calvert Hand had dubbed "early prison" in style, now has a proliferation of plants and artwork-ivy hides a chain link fence while beautiful yellow, red and purple blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Walk past the entrance and into the courtyard to get a true sense of the magic happening at this school. The courtyard, previously a barren cement block, is now a container-garden forest. Hibiscus and irises are nestled between trees with dozens of student-made birdhouses hanging from branches all over the garden. In other gardens, strawberry plants are protected by a friendly scarecrow, and nasturtiums peek through a wooden appliqué sunflower picket fence designed by local artist Lauren Elder.
"The children see they can materially affect their environment," says Elder, "and it gives them a sense of ownership." The raised beds surrounding the school are a cacophony of colors from blues and pinks to yellows and reds-it's an equal opportunity garden. Every garden has fantastic art, from a functioning amphitheater lined with student-made tiles to a colorful, totem-like flagpole. Most of the school's gardens are framed by beautiful murals designed by Jamie Morgan, and colorful banners that Ellen Oppenheimer created with the students flutter overhead.
The most recent addition is a native plants garden that reclaimed a large unused cement slab. The garden has been graded and irrigated by volunteer parents and will be planted with drought-resistant native plants this fall.
"This is an awesome community," says first-grade parent and garden coordinator Jean Parker. "There's a real sense of family here." Parker isn't the only one who thinks so, either. One Saturday a month, students, along with their parents and teachers, come together to tend the gardens. "We get 20 families here on a busy Saturday," says Parker.
Their commitment and hard work have paid off: In the spring, Peralta Elementary School was a popular stop on the Bay Friendly Garden Tour. "Every time I go there, I get happy," says Elder. It's easy to see why.
View the Peralta school gardens from outside the school grounds anytime. For information on visiting or volunteering, contact the school, (510) 849-1450.  _

Beyond Our Borders

For day trips beyond Oakland, consider visiting these beautiful California gardens:

FILOLI ESTATE

A 16-acre estate in Woodside, Filoli is almost a century old and is considered one of the finest examples of early 20th-century estates. It is open from Valentine's Day through October.

86 Cañada Road, Woodside, 94062,
(650) 364-8300, www.filoli.org.

GREEN GULCH FARM

In a spectacular valley on the Marin County coastline, Green Gulch Farm has an organic farm and garden. The farm is part of the San Francisco Zen Center and offers Zen practice and gardening workshops. The gardens are open daily.

1601 Shoreline Highway, Muir Beach,
(415) 383-3134, www.sfzc.org/ggfindex.htm.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BOTANICAL GARDEN

Part of the Berkeley campus since 1890, this 34-acre garden has more than 12,000 plants from all over the world. Collections include the Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden, almost 3,000 California native plants and a garden with crops of the world. The gardens are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

200 Centennial Drive, No. 5045, Berkeley
 (510) 643-2755, botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu.