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Garden Visit: The Gardens of Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island is famous for being a long-ago maximum security prison where Al Capone did time and three infamous prisoners escaped. As a Bay Area native, I had visited Alcatraz before but only to do the famous cellhouse tour.
Photography by Kier Holmes.
A Rocky History
A slope covered with Drosanthemum floribundum (Ice Plant). In fact, maximum-security inmates were granted permission by the warden to work in the gardens.
In 2003, the Garden Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy partnered with the National Park Service to revive and restore the gardens of Alcatraz.
The plants in the garden had to be extremely tough, able to survive with minimal care and water and to withstand the incessant fog and wind.
Thriving spirals of foxgloves. Eventually in 1963, the prison closed and the garden was abandoned.
Top Plant Survivors
Bearded iris are among the rugged plants capable of surviving Alcatraz’s wind and fog.
The rare ‘Bardou Job’ rose. George took cuttings for propagation purposes and soon identified the rose as ‘Bardou Job’, among the rarest of varieties.
The compost they make on the island has won awards at the Marin County Fair.
Caring for Compost