These are extraordinary gardens, made even more extraordinary by their location--perched high on a headland along the Mendocino coast. A visit to Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens takes you from meticulously cared-for plantings near the main entrance, through a forest of rhododendrons, ferns, and pine trees, and then out to a stunning coastal bluff. California gray whales migrate offshore, Steller sea lions bask on rocks, and waves pound the rocky shore. It's an interesting contrast--nature has been tamed at the front gate, and gets wilder the farther into the gardens you go.
Garden highlights
Nearest the main entrance are the more civilized areas of the
gardens, where specialized sections are devoted to perennials,
roses, ivy, camellias, heathers, succulents, Mediterranean plants
and dwarf conifers. These individual garden beds and mounds, like
islands in a sea of green grass, break up a lawn area, inviting
you to explore and photograph, twisting you and turning you and
doubling you back. The perennial garden reaches its peak in
mid-summer as Matilija poppies, reddish-purple liatris, dahlias,
agapanthus, penstemons (in shades ranging from pale pink to
rosy-purple), all come into full bloom.
The small Heritage Rose Garden features old roses that climb and ramble, while the nearby Mediterranean Climate Garden features wild roses, native California ceanothus, manzanita, and various forms of lavender. Heathers bloom in the Heather Garden from July to December, in cool shades of green turning to rust in the fall.
Rhododendrons are the gardens' star performers in April and May, when you're never far from large tree-like bushes, laden with flowers in shades of pure white to dark purple. Basking in dappled sunlight that filters down through tanbark oaks, they surprise you with color wherever you look.
Trails lead you out of the more formal gardens to the less tended Pine Forest Trail, Canyon Rim Trail, and Fern Canyon Trail. Bishop pines, Pacific wax myrtles, tanbark oaks, Monterey cypress, alders and redwoods shade and shelter the gardens from sun and wind. The trees also act as a natural drip irrigation system, catching the fog as it moves through. The fog condenses on the leaves and then slowly drips onto the ferns, lilies and fuchsias below. Paths wind over bridges, beside Digger Creek and Schoefer Creek, taking you past wild ginger, wild mushrooms (in fall), daylilies, Japanese iris, and sword ferns. The creeks are shaded, giving you ample opportunity to take long exposures of flowing water.
As you continue along the trail, you suddenly find yourself out on a headland, where you can photograph up and down the Mendocino coast, its rocky shoreline being pounded constantly by crashing waves. California poppies dot this flat, grassy meadow in spring, along with iceplant and red hot poker. Look for the endangered Mendocino coast paintbrush, a wildflower found only in Mendocino County.
Recommended equipment
You'll want the standard stuff--macro or closeup lenses, a tripod
and a cable release. A polarizing filter will give you more
saturated colors of bright red rhododendrons against a dark blue
sky, and will help make the ocean and sky bluer out at the
bluffs. A long lens (100mm-400mm) is handy for photographing
birds out on the rocks and for capturing a pelican or cormorant
that may fly past.
For more information
The gardens are open daily from 9-5 March through October and
daily 10-4 the rest of the year. An admission fee is charged.
Contact Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden, 18220 N. Highway 1,
P.O. Box 1143, Fort Bragg, CA 95437. Call (707) 964-4352.
Copyright 1996 by Carol Leigh