Places We Go : The Ruth Bancroft Garden

If you were given three acres in which to "play in the dirt," what would you do? Back in 1971, Ruth Bancroft, in her 60s at the time, knew exactly. Having collected succulents since the 50's, she set about creating an amazing garden in Walnut Creek, CA. Yesterday morning, with friends Sue & Paul, I went to check it out.

Dinosaur size succulents

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This red flowering tree is the national flower of Argentina. We call it "Erythrina" but in Argentina, it's often called "Ceibo." Who knew?

by artist Hugh Livingston

There was also a sculpture show in the garden and I took at fancy to this fellow.

A large pond with lots of water sounds - crucial in a succulent garden.

This sculpture was described as a moon catcher but I've no idea what that means.

Nursery and shop. My main reason for visiting the garden was to get inspired for our new front flower bed but more on that later. In the meantime, I've fallen in love with succulents.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA, became the first preservation project of The Garden Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to American gardens. It has been open to the public since 1992. http://www.ruthbancroftgarden.org

Beautiful succulents and grasses in the Oregon garden of my friend, Connie. Don't you love the Oregon driftwood with pots of succulents? Thanks for the inspiration, Connie!