2019-09-01 Martha Stewart Living

it sits. The project’s unlikely leader was Julie Cain, who had

spent the previous 10 years managing Stanford’s undergraduate

library. In 1998, she gathered a team of volunteers and slowly

resuscitated the grounds. “It was in rough shape,” she says.

More than a dozen volunteer oaks blanketed the entire space

in shade and had to be removed. A layer of leaf litter, several

inches thick, covered the ground. The original serpentine rock

edging that delineated the beds had sunk underground, eras-

ing the pathways. Though Cain and her cohorts tried various

mechanical excavators, they eventually found that an old-

fashioned shovel worked best. “We did a hell of a lot of digging!”

she recalls.

Now restored but still under the radar, this prickly paradise

is poised for another heyday, but for strikingly different rea-

sons. Originally designed for status and showmanship, the

low-water, low-maintenance plot is a beacon of sustainability.

Plant procurement is dramatically different today, too. Due

to its limited budget, the garden relies not on Wild West train

treks but on botanical donations. (The San Francisco Cactus &

Succulent Society has been indispensable in providing expertise

and plenty of cuttings.)

This makes planning challenging; however, the upside is

the opportunity to receive an occasional giant, like a tree-size

Pilocereus, dug up and lifted by crane when new owners of its

home in Salinas didn’t care for the spines. Another break from

the past: Thirsty varieties are no longer mixed in with dry-

adapted species, a signature Ulrich touch that’s neither finan-

cially nor environmentally viable today. “But

textural contrast is still vital,” says current

coordinator Christy Smith, another Stanford

librarian-turned-garden-custodian. As is

generational contrast: In this landscape,

youngsters mingle with old treasures, includ-

ing a dozen rare mature succulents that date

back to Ulrich’s time. These spiky elder states-

men have truly seen it all.

Left: A golden-flowered Aloe marlothii shares a bed with

Euphorbia lambii. Above: Golden-barrel cacti—donated in

2003 from Lotusland, the famous Montecito garden—frame

Opuntia ficus-indica, grown from cuttings of the original

planting. In the background, a columnar Echinopsis ters-

checkii stands next to silvery swords of Yucca x schottii.

Simply hover

your phone over

this smart code

to watch a video

on how to propa-

gate succulents.

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