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Blake Garden in the Kensington hills
Aug. 18th, 2022 06:59 pmI took myself to UC Berkeley's Blake Garden today. It was just the right amount of hilly bike ride through mostly known territory, combined with a lovely amble through a peaceful, low-key garden. Since it is set into the East Bay hills, of course there are spectacular bay views every time you get to an edge.
This being California, the other pedestrians were amiably chatty. One of them said, "Isn't it beautiful?" as we gazed out over the bay. I nodded and said, "I've been away a long time and I just moved back and ..." gesturing wordlessly with cupped hands. Look at all that! And then I about burst into tears so I wandered off to sniffle in private.
It's somewhat like Elk Rock Garden in Portland, although not as manicured. And similar in that it's only open during weekday working hours. I hadn't been there before, and realized that I could go today since I'm pretty much all packed and have the week off work.
I love the aromatic scents of the desert plants. I sat by Cerrito Creek the other day and just breathed eucalyptus for a while. Very different from the damper, earthier scents of Portland.
I've been seeing a plant around town that I used to know the name of, but couldn't bring to mind. I saw it in the garden and asked a nearby gardener. He said it's Acanthus, a Greek name, and that its leaves are what are carved on Corinthian columns. What a lovely thorough answer to my question!
This being California, the other pedestrians were amiably chatty. One of them said, "Isn't it beautiful?" as we gazed out over the bay. I nodded and said, "I've been away a long time and I just moved back and ..." gesturing wordlessly with cupped hands. Look at all that! And then I about burst into tears so I wandered off to sniffle in private.
It's somewhat like Elk Rock Garden in Portland, although not as manicured. And similar in that it's only open during weekday working hours. I hadn't been there before, and realized that I could go today since I'm pretty much all packed and have the week off work.
I love the aromatic scents of the desert plants. I sat by Cerrito Creek the other day and just breathed eucalyptus for a while. Very different from the damper, earthier scents of Portland.
I've been seeing a plant around town that I used to know the name of, but couldn't bring to mind. I saw it in the garden and asked a nearby gardener. He said it's Acanthus, a Greek name, and that its leaves are what are carved on Corinthian columns. What a lovely thorough answer to my question!
