If you've not yet had the opportunity to visit the Rock, I hope that you gardeners out there will want to see it soon. Its many restored gardens are unlike any others you've ever seen and the atmosphere is incredible. Free docent led garden tours are offered at 9:30am on Fridays and Sundays, but you have to be on the first boat out to the island. Purchase tickets in advance online though because they almost always sell out ahead of time.
Visits to the Rock are not always quite this warm and sunny but when they are, it makes the trip even more enjoyable. Don't forget to pack some extra clothing too because the area can become windy.The first plants you'll see while you are still on the boat are the Century Plants, or Agave parryi.
During the garden tour our guide told us these were planted as a barrier by the early military posted on the island.
The trail that grants access to this area of the island is closed during most of the tourist season because of nesting birds. If you'd like to get up close and personal with these gentle giants you'll have to plan a visit during the fall or winter months. That's the only time during the year when the trail is open.
Aeonium species and hybrids as well as Jade Plants (Crassula argentea) can be seen all over the island. |
As you leave the dock and begin to walk up the Rock you are passing through the area with the oldest gardens on the island.
Australian Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia). |
The oldest Fuchsia on the Rock, this specimen is 70 years old. |
A Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) near the cellhouse. |
This compost has even won some ribbons at the Marin County Fair! What's not to love about that right?
With the help of the The Garden Conservancy the program here has truly flourished.
Limited to using historically accurate plant materials what's wonderful is that after all of the overgrowth was removed from many of the gardens long overshadowed plants and bulbs started to return. With each new discovery we're all learning more and more about how the island's occupants once gardened. It is also a testament to the hardiness of many of these plants.
This rose was one of the amazing plants to be rediscovered on the island. Actually, it is probably the most important rediscovery. It is what's called the Welsh Rose and up until 2003 it was thought extinct. That's when this specimen was discovered on the island! Since then propagation work has been done and work has continued.
Aeonium arboreum gone wild. |
The plants in these little alcoves are very much the plants of gardeners who wanted to cheer up their isolated little spot in the bay. They were the first gardens of Alcatraz, but certainly not the last.
Just beyond the terraced area is the last portion of the earliest gardens and it is a bit more windswept and wild since it is at the top. Like the area below it, the housing structure has lost its wood to fire of uncertain cause and all that remains is the concrete skeleton.
I was left with some great pictures from the top of the Rock.
Kenilworth Ivy (Cymbalaria muralis) hugging the warm wall. |
The spent flower stalks of Century Plants (Agave americana). |
Note how the Jade plant (Crassula ovata) has its trunk partially in the shade. This adaptation also allows the plant to remain protected from the wind. |
The hummingbirds of Alcatraz. |
To be continued...
Absolutely fascinating, Ann. I've always been intrigued with Alcatraz but never been there. Your photos make me feel like I'm right there with you. Looking forward to the next installment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this trip. I like the part about the Welsh rose being "extinct" then rediscovered. I wonder who it was that figured it out and how long it had been declared extinct.
ReplyDeleteGreat picturs of an incredible location. Those are the plants I love. Now I have to put this on my list....near the top.
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