In the Works - Community Newsletter May 2020 Newsletter | Page 23

The 1,200-square foot garden
at 1353 Turk St. sits tucked
between a modern apartment
complex and the historic
Fillmore Muni substation that
once powered streetcars in the
western half of the City. Until
mid-February, the lot was
covered in gravel, weeds and
litter.
Volunteers and our gardeners,
led by Brian Lease, from our
Bureau of Urban Forestry,
covered the ground with
cardboard to keep the weeds at
bay, and layered that with clean
soil before scattering the mix
of 11 varieties of native coastal
California wildflower seeds,
including lupine, California
poppies, clarkia and yarrow.
A bit of hand-watering at the
start, and rains from the skies
in March, let the wildflower
seeds do what they’re meant
to do: turn into flowers. A
rainbow of purple, pink, yellow
and orange blooms emerged,
just in time for spring. It didn’t
take long for the butterflies
and bees to arrive, moving
from one blossom to the next.
The pollinator garden, found
behind a tall fence made of
thin black bars, is easy to pass
by without noticing it. But it’s
a hidden gem worth looking
for, bringing a welcome touch
of nature into a dense urban
neighborhood.