Reference Gardens - American Conifer Society

Reference Gardens

American Conifer Society Reference Gardens

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Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Posted By Admin, Thursday, May 4, 2023

Mendocino County, CA is a favorite spot for tourists, with its dramatic coastline, the sweeping vistas and thundering waves of the Pacific Ocean and the iconic stands of ancient redwoods. It is also a great spot for plant lovers, as its climate is exceptionally mild and moister in summer than most of the state. The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, which Sunset Magazine ranked #2 in 2013 of public gardens in the Western States is perched on the coastal headlines and is the perfect destination for visitors of all interests. The MCBG also has an extensive conifer collection, and in late 2013 became a Western Region Reference Garden.

The Gardens’ first notable collection was rhododendron, reflecting both the unique growing conditions and a resident population of horticulturalists engaged in hybridizing many of the most popular early introductions. Today the MCBG is still known for these beautiful shrubs and it is one of the few places in the world where every kind of rhododendron can be grown, including many tender species from the cloud forests of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. Every May the MCBG and the Noyo Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society host the largest Rhododendron show in California, when the majority of these shrubs are in glorious bloom.

Conifers were also part of the MCBG from its beginnings, as the native stands of Pinus contorta(shore pine) provide a crucial windbreak to the Gardens from the prevailing westerlies off the ocean. The first efforts involved replenishing and adding to those trees along the shoreline.

Today, the Gardens total 47 acres and the conifer collection includes natives, rare and unusual species from the world’s temperate regions, and also interesting dwarf and miniature cultivars that are planted both in conifer-centric beds and interplanted with perennials and other woody plants. about 50% of the Gardens are maintained in their natural state, which affords visitors the opportunity to experience both carefully cultivated plantings and the scenic woodland with towering native trees and lush undergrowth. These ‘wild’ areas are managed to protect both native flora and fauna.

There are plans for expanding and enhancing the Gardens’ conifer collection. Director Molly Barker is a fan, ‘Conifers provide winter interest in our perennial beds and year-round curb appeal in our problem entry area, which is open to deer, exposed to the reflected heat of the parking lot and is extremely windy. The conifers take the abuse and still look great!’ She notes that the entry beds are currently being renovated, ‘Our goal is to make the entry garden reflect the Gardens’ overall collection, as this is the first bed that our visitors see when they arrive, and it’s a great introduction to these wonderful plants.’ There are also plans to add pathways and conifer cultivars to the Woodland Garden. The Nursery at the MCBG sells a large diverse selection of dwarf and miniature cultivars, many of which can be seen planted in the various gardens.

In addition to the rhododendron and conifers, the Gardens have significant collections of heaths and heathers, camellias and magnolias and native upland and riparian plants of the North coast. The heaths and heathers collection is recognized by the American Public Gardens Association. There is also an astoundingly colorful dahlia display in autumn.

The Gardens were part of the September 2015 ACS annual meeting post-conference tour. Read more about the MCBG on the Gardens’ website.

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Tags: California Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

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San Francisco Botanical Garden

Posted By Admin, Wednesday, May 3, 2023

San Francisco Botanical Garden became an ACS Reference Garden in 2014. In the Garden’s own words, ‘conifers are among [our] cornerstone plants…framing our vistas and truly setting the tone for our 55 acres of plant life’.

SFBG has a mild, maritime climate that allows a wide range of species to flourish. The native Pinus, Sequoia and Cupressus grow side by side with a large and diverse collection of Podocarpaceae and Araucariaceae; there is a lush and extensive redwood grove, a dwarf conifer collection and a grouping of Metasequoia glyptostroboides that was planted from seed in 1950, making them some of the earliest plantings of this species in the U.S. All told, the collection includes over 250 conifer species.

The Garden started as an arboretum, and the conifer collection began in the mid-1800’s with the planting of over 450,000 canopy trees to provide shade and protection from the wind. Two of the three species (the third was Eucalyptus globulus) were conifers: Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey cypress) and Pinus radiata (Monterey pine). While the size and stature of many of the remaining specimens is impressive, due to their age they frequently fall prey to high winds and winter storms. Large limbs and indeed even entire trees are lost with increasing frequency. In 2009, the Garden created a canopy succession plan to coordinate the replacement of the three main species. Several hundred new taxa have been identified as appropriate. Some of the conifers in the plan include Abies bracteata, Agathis australis and Pinus torreyana ssp. insularis.

SFBG recognizes four key conifer collections in addition to the canopy: the Nobel Dwarf Conifer Garden, the Dawn Redwood Grove, the Conifer Lawn and the Redwood Grove. Many of the trees in the collection have grown to significant size. Among some of the oldest specimens (in addition to the canopy) are the Sequoia sempervirensin the Redwood Grove, which were planted around the turn of the 20th Century and the enormous Monterey cypress in the middle of the conifer lawn, which stands over 100 feet tall. The Redwood Grove is the only place to view a redwood forest in San Francisco and it includes a rare albino form of the species. The Conifer Lawn includes over 30 species of conifers, including Abiesand Piceaspecies as well as a stately Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia). The oldest Sequoiadendronspecimen has developed a spreading windswept appearance as it grew in strong ocean winds for the first 50 years of its life. Later planted specimens, more protected by the more mature canopy, are very upright.

SFBG also has one of the oldest collections of dwarf conifers in a large US botanical garden. The James Nobel Dwarf Conifer Collection was created in 1960 with the gift of 372 dwarf conifer species by Effie V. Nobel. Mrs Nobel’s late husband, James, had amassed this collection over many years and at the time this was one of the most important collections of dwarf conifers in the country. Currently there are over 100 species remaining and ACS members accustomed to the very latest and most unusual cultivars will find many here that no longer are considered rare. However, it represents a good opportunity to observe much older specimens that most of us have in our gardens!

Although not recognized as a separate conifer collection by the Garden, one of the most interesting places to view key specimens is in the SFBG’s Ancient Plant Garden. This Garden is laid out so that visitors move chronologically through five periods: Early Devonian, Pennsylvanian, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene. The Jurassic epoch is of the most interest to conifer lovers, as this was when seed plants began to dominate and before Angiosperms evolved and ‘stole the show’. Here we can see Podocarpus, Araucaria and Agathis. There are wonderful specimens of Araucaria heterophylla,numerous Ginkgo biloba, a Retrophyllum rospigliosiiand lovely Wollemia nobilis, the Australian conifer that was thought to be extinct until a small grove was found in a remote area in 1994. When wandering in this area, without too much imagination, it is possible to travel back to a time before flowering plants existed!San Francisco Botanical Garden

Golden Gate Park
1199 9th Avenue
San Francisco CA

Open all year from 7:30 am – 4/5 pm depending on season

See website for admission fees, directions, maps, etc.