Ed's Garden

About

This small garden was designed and planted in 1988 by my late partner, Ed Aulerich-Sugai, an artist and gardener at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. Influenced by his Japanese heritage and his childhood on the island of Oahu, Ed envisioned a space that was a cool and serene refuge.

A dry stream bed runs through the garden—designed not only for beauty but to channel runoff from our pre-earthquake cottage, which sits at the back of our lot. At the entrance, a bonsai-pruned purple smoke tree greets visitors. River- quarried dark slate steps open onto large steppingstones that lead to a central courtyard.

Two towering 80-foot eucalyptus trees once dominated the garden. As they aged and declined, they were replaced by New Zealand and Australian tree ferns and a Strelitzia, which now form a lush twenty- foot canopy. The garden serves as a living room connecting the historic cottage at the back with the studio at the front.

Ed died of complications from AIDS in 1994. During his final year, he invited the gardener, Richard Schwarzenberger, to assist him in tending the space. Richard and I have cared for the garden ever since. Over the decades, the Robin White landscape group, Lanxape, has also contributed to its evolution—adding

a screen along the entry path, a water feature, small boulders, various plants and a new cedar wall to replace the original living wall of bromeliads, ferns, and orchids.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: The garden is located on a steep hill. There are uneven step stones throughout the garden.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, June 13

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm