Gardens + Design

Lombard Street Hill, San Francisco – an armchair garden tour

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While we’re in San Francisco on our visit to the Gardens of Alcatraz, let’s take a little sidetrip. We met up with Bay-area friend and travel blogger Alice Joyce to see some of the city’s small gems, including the World’s Crookedest Street. Little did we know, it was also a garden.

Sarah and Alice, halfway up the hill. Naturally, the only reason to pause is a photo op.

You’ll get an idea of the context in the map and map detail below. At the top of the hill, Lombard Street suddenly makes eight zigs and zags.

In between the zagging are 2000+ densely planted hydrangeas in Easter egg colours. Not all those cars are driving the switchbacks. Some are just sitting in their driveways. Stairs twist up the hill on the left and right.

You can see that the top of Lombard Street is popular with tourists. Like us!

Looking downhill gives you a bird’s-eye view of the bay.

Yes, we walked aaaaaall the way up that hill, and those steps.
Those sharp turns are an efficient form of speed control.
That blue house with the hot-pink Bougainvillea was highly photogenic
And look what we can see from the very top! Alcatraz.

You can be sure that we caught a cable car for the downhill journey.

Helen

Helen Battersby is a gardener, a writer, a garden speaker, and a power-walker, not always in that order!

2 comments

  1. Wonderful memories of our adventures in San Francisco!
    Dreaming of a day when we can again hang out, power walk, explore
    and bask in the beauty of gardens.

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