Bay Area & Northern California Gardens

Gardening is a popular hobby for many people in the Bay Area. Whether you live in downtown San Francisco or have property in Wine Country, you can grow flowers, plants and edibles. Many gardens in this region are designed to be environmentally friendly, especially when it comes to efficient water usage. Take a look at the gardens below to collect ideas for your own Bay Area garden.

North Bay & Wine Country

Tanner Garden: Rooted in ImaginationFreeland and Sabrina experiment, reimagine, and create an extraordinary, deeply personal garden on their Napa property.

A Photographer's ‘Picture-Perfect’ GardenThis Napa garden features a butterfly garden, a tunnel made out of roses, meandering paths, giant timber bamboo, and a labyrinth.

Winter in Petaluma, CaliforniaThe story and photographs of one reader's winter garden in Petaluma, California.

Rudd Oakville Estate in Napa ValleyA party beneath olive trees at a winery in Napa is exactly as the garden's creators envisioned.

Barbara Chevalier's Outdoor RoomsIn Stinson Beach, green walls frame a romantic setting for dramas of family life.

How to Plan an Heirloom Vegetable GardenAn organic kitchen garden in Healdsburg nourishes body, soul and the local community.

Sandra Jordan's Farmhouse and GardensSandra Jordan’s New-England-style farmhouse in Healdsburg has artichoke and cactus fields and expansive fruit and flower gardens.

Wine Country GardensThese California wineries grow more than just grapes.

Davis Dalbok's Nor Cal Bungalow GardenThis San Rafael, California, garden is colorful and perfectly suited for parties.

San Francisco & the Silicon Valley

Small Property Gets a Simple, Sustainable GardenThe clean lines of this minimalist garden in Palo Alto reveal that less is more.

Zen and the Art of GardeningThe Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center faces out to the world.

Make an Escape to the Gardens of AlcatrazThe gardens at Alcatraz are now flourishing after 40 years of neglect.

Greenlee Nurseries - Master of Ornamental GrassesGrasses guru John Greenlee and landscape architect Ron Herman join forces at a Mediterranean-style estate in California.

East Bay

Making the Most of a Small Outdoor SpaceDesigner and homeowner share a passion for plants in a jewel-box garden in Berkeley.

Small Backyard Makeover: Using Every Square InchA tiny backyard is transformed into a functional, family-friendly retreat.

Central Coast & the San Joaquin Valley

Tales of a Big Sur BackyardThe hardest lesson to learn from gardening in the wild isn't how to clear, but when to leave well enough alone.

Reclaiming a Coastal GardenWith an eye for the right plant in the right place, landscape designer Bernard Trainor reclaims a magnificent Carmel, California, site.

Rose Extravaganza in an Olive GroveThis magnificent rose garden in the San Joaquin Valley was created on the site of a family olive grove, which they've owned for half a century.

Sacramento

Resort-style Entertaining: This outdoor kitchen in the Sierra foothills of California is the social hub of a five-acre backyard