The vertical hillside garden of Matt Gil: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 14, 2013


As the Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco officially kicked off on June 28, two buses full of about 75 bloggers split up, navigating the city’s challenging hills separately so that the small gardens we visited could better accommodate us. My bus headed for sculptor Matt Gil‘s garden, which is improbably tucked under an elevated highway and whose planting area is largely composed of a nearly vertical, rubbly hillside.


Despite such obstacles Gil and his wife, with the help of designer Dan Carlson of Wigglestem Gardens, now enjoy a dual-level garden that allows the sculptor space to display several large pieces. We entered the garden through his contemporary-styled home, stepping onto an elevated back deck — actually a roof deck atop his ground-level workshop. Pots of tough, xeric plants liven up the deck, but my eyes were drawn immediately to the imposingly steep hillside that essentially forms the back wall of the garden.


The designer told us that this hillside is composed largely of crumbly, unstable “earthquake rock.” Transforming it from an eyesore into a garden involved some delicate rock-climbing, tethered by a rope, to remove invasive weeds and grasses and tucking plants into small pockets of soil across the hill’s nearly vertical face. You can see a bit of the highway that looms overhead in the upper right corner of the photo.


Looking over the rail, you see that the hillside is more intensively gardened at the base, where it was possible to bring in some good soil. The decomposed-granite floor of the garden was excavated several inches and regraded, the designer explained, to help with drainage issues from rainwater cascading down the hillside.


A closer look — this is a dryland garden that would look at home in Austin.


A brilliant, tomato-red passionflower to my left caught my eye. It’s clambering atop an industrial-style, galvanized metal fence that encloses the lower garden.


Defying our expectations of cool, foggy weather, San Francisco was experiencing a heat wave during the Fling, and even in the morning temperatures were warm and sunlight was intense. It only added to the beauty of these potted plants, however.


Gorgeous texture. Does anyone know what those feathery leaves belong to? Update: Max believes it’s Australian native Calothamnus villosus. Thanks, Max!


A pretty collection united by terracotta pots greens up one corner of the deck.


A stair leads directly to the base of the hillside. At your right as you descend…


…a circular concrete container pond admires its reflection in a mirror. A sturdy metal grid (cattle panel, perhaps?) has been cut to fit the pond, keeping out marauding raccoons while allowing plants to grow up through the holes and fish to swim in safety.


Turning left toward the main part of the garden, you’re greeted by a beautiful assemblage of Mediterranean-climate-loving plants. Little succulents nestle up to an Agave ‘Blue Glow’, with prehistoric-seeming Proteus flowering above.


Silvery blue Agave ‘Blue Glow’ is not winter hardy in Austin, but I may have to get one anyway and resign myself to carrying yet another plant indoors during freezes.


Another mild-winter plant I adore, this butter-yellow kangaroo paws pairs perfectly with a creamy striped agave.


Yum!


Another fetching combination features California poppies and blue fescue.


I believe this is a bronze cordyline. It was gigantic, towering tree-like over the patio below — one of Mother Nature’s sculptures next to those of the homeowner.


From the far corner of the garden, here’s a look back at the elevated deck. You can see what a key role verticality plays in this small garden. Much of the planting space has been achieved by planting up — up trellises, up on the deck, up the sheer cliff wall. Necessity is the mother of invention, and of creatively planted gardens too, it seems.

Up next: A hidden garden in the courtyard of a city apartment building, known as the Organic Mechanics Garden. For a look back at the uniquely literary garden of artist and designer Shirley Watts, click here.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

9 responses to “The vertical hillside garden of Matt Gil: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling”

  1. Max Parker says:

    I believe the potted backlit plant is a Calothamnus villosus, in the Myrtle family, it is hardy to about 25 degrees (maybe lower), and gets blood-red half bottlebrush type blooms in the spring on the undersides of the branches.

    Thanks for the ID, Max. It’s a beauty. —Pam

  2. I always admire people that take these seemingly impossible gardening spots and make them so agreeable. Here it seems you need to be part mountain goat to garden.

    I think you’re right, Lisa. With maybe a little acrobat thrown in. —Pam

  3. WOWZERS! They sure created an INCREDIBLE garden on what looks to be a very hard to garden location. LOVE IT!

    Isn’t it amazing to see what determined gardeners can accomplish? —Pam

  4. Jean says:

    Pam, I have two pots of ‘Blue Glow’ agave. I bought them because the tag said hardy down to 5 F degrees. This past winter I never moved them or covered them and they did just fine. And I think we had colder weather than you. So I would give it a try. I LOVE how they look.

    Awesome to hear, Jean. Thanks! —Pam

  5. Greggo says:

    Great tour.

    Thanks, Greggo. —Pam

  6. Are you sure Blue Glow isn’t winter hardy in Austin? Monrovia says it’s cold-hardy in zones 8-10, and the one I planted last fall made it through the winter without any trouble.

    I’m starting to believe I must be wrong about its winter hardiness, Devon. And I’m definitely going to give it a try! —Pam

  7. Wow….incredible trip! I hope to join your group some day! Thanks for all the wonderful photos! Pamie G. Canyon Lake area

    I hope you’re able to join us next year in Portland, Pamie! —Pam

  8. Hoov says:

    You got great photos. I thought that was a terrific garden.

    My ‘Blue Glow’s sunburns when temps get to 100F in full sun, so some shade for a few hours, or more water than mine gets (zero) might be in order when the temps get high. It stays smaller in a pot, is much happier in the ground. One of the parents, A. ocahui, is tougher, cold-hardier, and nearly as beautiful.

    Luckily I have a lot of tree cover, so the agaves and succulents that like part shade or dappled shade stay pretty happy. It’s surprising how many desert/xeric plants actually prefer some shade in our hot, sunny climate. —Pam

  9. Earthquake rocks…yikes, I hadn’t thought of that. I am a big fan of Kangaroo Paws, what a cool plant. So, how did you get some photos with no bloggers in view?? Incredible.

    My secret for shooting during crowded garden tours, Janet, is to charge straight into the garden if everyone is hung up on the house (as in this case). Or, in other gardens, I hang back and photograph the front or side garden while everyone is looking at the back, and then when everyone stops for refreshments I move to the back. It helps. —Pam