Tour Marin gardens for a good cause
If you want to soak up some glamorous views and gorgeous gardens, sip wine over an alfresco lunch at a sun-splashed yacht club, shop a stylish boutique, take your chances at a raffle with prizes valued at $1,200 and up, the MarinHealth Raccoons have the perfect event for you.
For more than 60 years, the Raccoons, a group of volunteers that support MarinHealth, have raised millions of dollars for patient programs, staff education and state-of-the-art medical procedures and facilities.
Now in its third year, the group’s Spring has Sprung Garden Tour will help fund the adolescent behavioral health clinic that’s scheduled to open at the UCSF MarinHealth campus in Greenbrae this month, providing Marin County adolescents accessible, affordable and essential support for mental wellness.
The centerpiece, a self-guided tour of six private Belvedere Island gardens all within walking distance of each other on a flat road, will start from the San Francisco Yacht Club on Tuesday.
This is a timed-entry tour, so tickets will be sold in 15-minute intervals and shuttles will transport patrons to a central jumping-off spot for the gardens.
Local plein air painters Graciela Placak and Deborah Dvorak will create paintings in separate gardens, a UC Marin master gardener will be at each garden to field questions and a plant list for each garden will be available.
One garden is located on the original site of the Belvedere Golf & Country Club — constructed in 1913 — where a representative from the Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society will discuss the home’s historic significance.
“Special highlights include four majestic sycamore trees at the entry and a 100-year-old redwood arbor with Graham Thomas roses, providing an elegant backdrop to the sparkling swimming pool,” Laura Whitlock says.
Film buffs may recognize the second garden on the tour.
“This stunning home was the setting of the party scene for the Academy Award-winning Woody Allen movie ‘Blue Jasmine,’ starring Cate Blanchett, who was ‘best actress’ in 2014,” Whitlock says.
Dubbed the “English Garden,” it’s filled with colorful roses, hydrangeas, impatiens, star jasmine and bougainvillea, and lends itself to easy entertaining.
In the backyard, there are more colorful plants, a “she shed” and a stone fireplace against a backdrop of a gorgeous view of the San Francisco skyline.
At garden three, “A Painter’s Dream,” patrons will see a garden designed to capture the sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco bay.
“Fuchsia-colored blooms of bougainvillea highlight the space combined with an array of native drought-resistant plants,” Whitlock says. “A large fire pit serves as a gathering place for friends to enjoy the majestic skyline.”
The garden of the fourth house is a romantic contemporary with a variety of colorful flowers.
“The serene outdoor space was specifically created as a special place to take in amazing Belvedere Lagoon views while enjoying peaceful privacy,” she says.
The fifth garden complements a newly constructed concrete modern home, built by Jeff Jungsten of Jungsten Construction.
According to Whitlock, “the home has a striking appeal with a secret spot commanding breathtaking bay views from the Golden Gate Bridge to Mount Tamalpais.”
The original landscape was replaced with native plants such as California oak trees, bunch and meadow grasses, lavender and drought- and deer-resistant plants. And an interesting natural filter captures and cleans the water here before it enters the storm drain.
Originally designed in a traditional style, the last garden has been planted with native plants and designed to support the natural ecosystem of Marin’s insects and wildlife and is now a natural bee and butterfly habitat.
The Raccoons seem to add on layers of fun to their garden tours.
For example, they offer a range of parties and experiences. Tickets range from $100 to $150 a person. Sign up and meet new friends at a sunset cruise, a bocce ball happy hour, cocktails in Sonoma, a Belvedere treasure hunt, a French wine tasting, a plein air painting or Italian cooking class.
The raffle includes a variety of prizes, almost all valued at $1,500 or more. One ticket costs $25; a pack of five tickets cost $100.
Among the prizes are a four-person private tour of the Inglenook Chateau, grounds and the Coppola family’s personal movie memorabilia with a large format bottle of Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon; a vodka tasting experience; a sunset bay cruise for six; a luxury package for Mother’s Day; a collection of gift cards to Tiburon restaurants; a fitness and wellness package; and a three-piece set of chairs and loveseat, along with a fire pit and accessories for the garden.
Anyone — ticketholder or not — is welcome to shop their pop-up boutique at the San Francisco Yacht Club from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday. Vendors include Trina Turk, Ground, Brimroad, Vivo Studios, Nikki Rene, Cob Mark.It, Birds in Paradise, Kate’s Single Batch Toffee, Caitlin Greene, Ashley Ashoff, Classy Bag Lady and Kathy Kamei Designs.
Whitlock shares her tips for making the most of the day.
• Park for free at the tour’s headquarters at the San Francisco Yacht Club at 98 Beach Road in Belvedere.
• “For a guaranteed time slot, it’s best to place your order online by 4 p.m. Monday,” she says. “All other tickets will be sold the day of the tour with no guarantee.” Note: The 10 a.m. time slot has sold-out.
• Shuttles will depart every 10 minutes until the last shuttle at noon.
• “The vans are handicapped-equipped and most of the gardens are accessible, but there are some stairs and hills that could be a challenge,” she says.
• Gardens will close and the last shuttle will return to the yacht club at 2 p.m.
• The tour should take approximately two hours, so wear comfortable shoes.
• “Please leave time to enjoy your lunch and do some shopping,” Whitlock says. “Our boutique of unique vendors is just in time for Mother’s Day and graduation shopping.”
• Details: The third annual Spring has Sprung Garden Tour is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the San Francisco Yacht Club at 98 Beach Road in Belvedere. Admission is $145 and includes a boxed salad lunch and a glass of wine on the lawn of the San Francisco Yacht Club. Go to marinhealthraccoons-gardentour.org.
Not-to-miss events
• Find your next favorite plant when the Novato Garden Club presents it annual sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at two Novato locations: 7 Estates Drive near Novato Boulevard or 6 Equestrian Court near Atherton Avenue. Member-grown plants include vegetables, ornamentals, shrubs, trees and succulents, along with items such as seeds and garden pots. Go to NovatoGardenClub.org.
• Shop organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, succulents and annual, perennial or native plant starts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Saturday at College of Marin’s Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden at 1800 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato. Prices range from $4 for a 3-inch pot to $15 for a 1-gallon pot. Cash, checks or credit cards accepted. Call 415-883-2211, extension 8147.
Show off
If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.
Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.