As fortunate as we are to have mild winters here in the Bay Area, things do quiet down in the gardens between December and March. Bare branches are revealed as the oaks lose their leaves, and the brown fronds on our stately Dawn Redwood often lead to worried inquiries as to its health. Never fear, this is an example of a unique (and long thought extinct) species of deciduous redwood, so its foliage will return in the spring. Our garden team is hard at work clearing out the old growth and trimming back grasses, pruning roses and pulling weeds
Early in February, the Marin Garden Club organized a volunteer work party to get the Memory Garden in ideal shape for the season ahead. The Memory Garden has been in the care of the Garden Club since it was planted early in the history of MAGC. Today it is a lovely place to sit on a warm day, shaded by a bay tree and a strawberry tree and edged by azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, boxwood, and holly. More azaleas and rhododendrons provide the backdrop to the elegant arbor and bench at the Fountain Pond, just below the Memory Garden. These hardy plants are among the first to bloom, and we have washed and re-stained the arbor, just in time to show off the early spring flowers. We hope you’ll enjoy these tranquil spots as the days grow longer.