more about: Bay Area

A Hidden Oasis in Muir Woods

In New York, the cool kids know where the party’s at — and it’s usually at 1am in a top-secret abandoned warehouse in New Jersey. In the Bay Area, you still need to know someone with the directions to find the best weekend party, but the “directions” are a trail map and the dress code is hiking boots and a Camelback.

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Machu Picchu in a San Francisco Backyard

Camelias and hydrangeas? No, thank you. Western garden creators like it wild. Lucky for us, our mild coastal climate in the Bay Area means we can use tropical plants (like bromeliads) as we let our imaginations run free. Example: Designer Christopher Reynolds was given carte blanche when it came to designing a friend’s San Francisco backyard. He took a jungly […]

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Who Needs Trees When You Can Grow Succulents?

Come to think of it… Who needs trees or bushes or even flowers when you have a climate where succulents thrive year-round? This Millbrae, CA (about 20 miles south of San Francisco) front yard fulfills all garden needs with (almost) entirely succulents. Designer Daniel Nolan, of Flora Grubb Gardens, uses tree aloe in lieu of a more predictable choice. Strappy […]

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The Living Wall Extraordinaire

The new-ish living wall at Maven in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood is the best indoor living wall I’ve seen. Designer Daniel Nolan of Flora Grubb Gardens was inspired by the restaurant’s rustic, artisinal, California cuisine and wanted the plants to compliment that: “I wanted it to replicate a forest floor–nothing tropical looking.” So he went really heavy on the ferns and […]

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