A couple of weeks ago, my great friend Mary organized a small group of us for a fabulous tour of Quarryhill Botanical Garden located northeast of Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, which was led by President and Executive Director Bill McNamara. Mary’s husband was this garden’s legal counsel for many years, formed the initial board of directors, and served as Quarryhill’s very first board member. So this botanical garden has been a very special place to Mary and her husband for many years. How lucky we were to visit this garden with her!
Bill McNamara, President & Executive Director
A little history about Quarryhill…
In 1964, Jane Davenport Jansen purchased the 40 acres in Glen Ellen where Quarryhill lives today. The property is a rocky and steep hillside with remnants of several abandoned quarries, which is where the name of this botanical garden originated. (Rumor has it that local landscape designer Roger Warner may have been responsible for coming up with this name). Jane initially planted grapes on a portion of the property, but her interest eventually pivoted to creating a home for Asian plants in a natural setting, and hired Bill McNamara early on.
I am told that local landscape designer Roger Warner viewed this property in its early years and is credited with siting the future garden and coming up with the idea of creating a home for Asian plants. Perhaps Jane was also inspired in meeting Lord Charles Howick, an avid arboriculturalist and plant collector who was building an arboretum at his family estate in England around that time. Whatever the inspiration, the seed was planted for what would become Quarryhill Botanical Garden.
In 1987, a Quarryhill team embarked on their first expedition to Asia to collect seeds of plants that ultimately became the foundation of the botanical garden.
Over the years, Bill McNamara led the Quarryhill team on 15 trips to collect seeds throughout Asia (China, Japan, India, Nepal, Taiwan, Vietnam and Myanmar), all of which was personally funded by Jane. Their focus over the years evolved into collecting seeds from endangered Asian plants.
“Today, Quarryhill is internationally recognized as home to one of the largest collections of scientifically documented, wild-sourced Asian plants in the Western World.” Throughout the property are approximately 25,000 plants, including more than 1,500 individual species, all grown from wild-collected seeds! Visiting the garden, you will see ancestors of garden favorites like roses, camellias and rhododendrons, magnolias, maples, dogwoods, lilies and so much more, none of which were planted in the ground before 1990.
We saw so many wonderful and usual plants, flowers and trees – there was no way to remember them all without writing them down. Most special is that Bill has a story about every single plant and the seed that has been collected and planted since the beginning of the garden.
Tibetan prayer flags which promote peace, happiness, courage and love at the highest point of Quarryhill Botanical Garden
Visiting Quarryhill is easy. It’s located at 12841 Sonoma Highway 12 in Glen Ellen and is open everyday between 9am and 4pm. Admission is $12 for adults and a reduced rate for seniors and children. There is a downloadable app for a self-guided tour of the roughly 3 mile journey through the garden or you can arrange a docent-led tour, if you provide roughly two week’s notice. Definitely bring your comfortable walking shoes as there are a few hills.
Sadly, but perhaps inevitably, Bill is retiring in October after 32 years of curating and caring for this amazing garden. He will continue to be an advisor and supporter of Quarryhill, which is incredibly important for historical continuity.
I look forward to returning to this botanical garden in the fall so I can experience the fall colors and next May for the annual plant sale. I did manage to bring home one 4″ container of white corydalis (is it corydalis ochroleuca?), thanks to Bill. I want more of this wonderful plant!
Thanks for a wonderful day, Mary, Nancy, Laura & Jan!
