Discover What’s Growing in Our Garden
By Chris Butler, Garden Coordinator
Another beautiful and action-packed month is coming to an end, and we’re already looking ahead to a vibrant summer full of blooms and a fresh new display in the demonstration beds. Get ready for sunflowers, and a few Burbank Exclusives making their debut this season: Rainbow Corn, stringless green beans, Burbank Slicer tomatoes, and lemon cucumbers!
The gardeners and I have been busy with an incredible range of tasks — not least of which is keeping up with the persistent weed season. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to, complete with photo highlights. Enjoy!
Spring Plant Sale – May 3rd
The numbers are still being tallied, but early reports suggest we raised nearly $3,000 at this year’s Spring Plant Sale! The event was full of fun and featured a fantastic expansion of the kids’ activity area — complete with the ever-popular Bubble Man.
We added new elements this year, including a food vendor, The Pastry Girl, who sold soft pretzels near the gate. Guests were also treated to our traditional complementary lemonade and cookies in the Greenhouse. As always, Cottage and Garden Tours were included with admission.
A wonderful new addition to this year’s event — and one we plan to continue — was welcoming our sister site, Gold Ridge Farm, to join the sale. They brought beautifully grafted trees grown in Sebastopol, and nearly sold out their entire inventory!
Meandering Stone Pathway Project
Back in 2024, while admiring the newly cleared entrance garden, I had a wild thought: “Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a meandering stone path through here?” That idea turned into a vision, then a plan — and on May 13, 2025, it became reality!
As a 2023 graduate of the SRJC Landscape Design Program, it was my dream to work as a landscape designer. While my official roles at LBH&G focus on garden and venue coordination, this pathway was a chance to bring that dream to life — to design and create something that not only fits seamlessly into the existing landscape but also elevates the space and enhances the experience for our visitors. This project is deeply meaningful to me and a reflection of my passion for thoughtful, lasting design in a public garden setting.
This beautiful new path was truly a group effort. Gardeners collected stones from all over the property, and Carol Skold generously donated extras from a previous project. Tim and Linda Hall provided a load of sand left over from a project — and Tim even drove us all around town collecting materials! We are also deeply grateful to the Santa Rosa Home Depot, who donated 25 bags of cement and a roll of chicken wire used in the pathway’s construction — materials we absolutely could not have done without.
We are especially grateful to Bryce MacMath of Mac Landscapes (https://www.maclandscapesinc.com/), who brought his professional expertise, creativity, and generosity to this project. Bryce is an inspirational landscape designer with a very special connection to Luther Burbank Home & Gardens — he is the grandson of Leland Noel, the renowned landscape architect who designed the Luther Burbank Memorial Gardens in the late 1950s, the very gardens we cherish and enjoy today.
While Bryce is clearly blazing his own trail as a talented and successful designer, it’s a joy to witness a legacy of landscape artistry continuing through the generations. Bryce generously donated his time and talent to help us realize this vision. From meeting with me to assess the site, advising on needed supplies, hauling cement in his truck, and bringing a cement mixer, to leading the entire build day — he brought thoughtful design, leadership, and incredible energy. With his guidance, a team of volunteers and gardeners completed this project in just 3.5 hours!
We’re so thankful to be building this relationship with Bryce and Mac Landscapes — and even more thankful for the gift of this new path, which has already become a favorite feature for guests and gardeners alike. Bryce is officially the 2025 Sponsor of the Entry Garden Bed!
Sapphire Tower Blooms in 2025!
If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss our incredible Puya alpestris — commonly known as the Sapphire Tower. This striking bromeliad, native to the Chilean Andes, only blooms every other year, and this is one of those special seasons. With its dramatic bluish-green spikes and otherworldly appearance, it’s a true showstopper in the garden.
We’re lucky to have three large specimens of this rare plant here at LBH&G — now in bloom!
Roses in Full Bloom
Thanks to the early warmth this spring, our rose garden is bursting with color a bit ahead of schedule — and it’s looking better than ever! Be sure to stop by and enjoy some standouts: the ‘Sally Holmes’ rose in the Memorial Garden is particularly radiant, and the ‘Sparrieshoop’ climbing rose on the courtyard wall is a true beauty.
A heartfelt thank you to all the gardeners and volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to this special place. Your cheerful commitment makes everything we do possible — and makes the garden more beautiful with every passing season.
Luther would be proud of you. I sure am.
See you in the garden!
Chris Butler (“CB”)