I’ve spent some happy moments in my own small garden, down on my knees, gently pressing the earth over a handful of seeds or nurturing a young plum tree to bear fruit. I’ve known for a long time that whatever effort I give to my garden, the gifts that I get back are nothing short of miraculous: food for body and soul.
But today, as I tour the 55-acre San Francisco Botanical Garden with master landscaper Peter Good, I discover the gifts of gardening on a completely different scale.
Soft-spoken and handsomely weathered, Good regards this urban oasis in the midst of Golden Gate Park as his spiritual home. “This garden is my touchstone,” says Good, who has spent decades working here. And no wonder. The botanical garden houses 8,500 kinds of plants from around the world, and everywhere I look, there is something spectacular to see: rich purple blooms on the rhododendrons, pastel azaleas, and golden South African lilies.
On Garden TimeGood and I start by strolling along slowly, stopping to finger a branch, sniff a flower, or gaze high up into a tree.…
