DryStoneGarden

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Berkeley Rose Garden Watercolors

I’ve stopped at the Berkeley Rose Garden several times this year, first in February while everything was dormant, then a couple of times as the roses were starting to wake up, and once recently with everything in full bloom. The Rose Garden is a WPA project from 1937, a terraced amphitheatre with a 220 foot long pergola topped by climbing roses. A gardener friend recently said she’d never checked it out because she’s not a rose person, but the roses are only part of the appeal. I’m not a rose person either, but the pergola and the stonework and even the sadly culverted creek running beneath the terraces all have a classic 1930’s Berkeley style. One of the iconic Berkeley places.

The city says that the pergola was suggested by Bernard Maybeck, though someone else executed the actual design. It’s one of my favorites, and probably the one I would see in my head if I ever looked up the word pergola in my private mental dictionary.

2 Responses to “Berkeley Rose Garden Watercolors”

  1. July 4th, 2013 at 7:39 am

    Donna says:

    Beautiful sketches. This was a garden I did not see when in SF. Thanks for doing the art.

  2. July 4th, 2013 at 9:06 am

    ryan says:

    Thanks. It’s much more narrow in focus than the gardens on the tour, but maybe worth a visit on a return trip.

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