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With good soil and carefully choose works , a garden can thrive anywhere , even on the Rock . Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay has a delightful surprise in memory board for visitant who expect to see nothing but empty prison cells and a unadulterated , desolate landscape . They will also get to live the Rock ’s gentle side — flourish garden , tide pool , shuttle colonies , and sensational views of the bay . Thanks to a decade - long partnership of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy , Garden Conservancy , and National Park Service , the historical Gardens of Alcatraz have been fully restored and are now alive with fragrant rosiness , common fig tree Tree , wildflower , and colored succulents .
The garden at Alcatraz needed tough plants that could survive with fiddling water or care . Many of the species were imported from other Mediterranean climates and flourished despite 40 years of neglect after the prison shut . Today , volunteer crews from the bay domain work out with Garden Conservancy faculty to help implant and keep the restored gardens . Photo by : Elizabeth Byers .
“ Our hope is that the beauty and complex nature of these gardens will become better known , ” say Greg Moore , prexy and CEO of the Parks Conservancy . “ The Alcatraz Gardens task is a protection to those who tend the gardens in the past , as well as to those who work to uphold and tend them today . ”
Alcatraz was first live in the mid-1800s , when it was used as an US Army fort and then transition into a military prison in 1861 . In an effort to cultivate the barren island , the military import soil from nearby Angel Island and the Presidio , and as early as 1865 , regular army police officer get down planting Victorian - style gardens . In the 1920s , the armed forces and the California Spring Blossom and Wildflower Association initiated an island - extensive beautification labor and prisoner planted hundreds of trees and shrubs and many lbf. of flower seed . In 1933 , when the Federal Bureau of Prisons took control of Alcatraz , they were surprised to find the island beautify by hillside terrace , a rose garden , and a greenhouse . Under the guidance of California plantsman , inpatient were allow to continue working the gardens , and they finally translate the island ’s westerly slope .
The officers ’ run-in gardens provided cutting flower for the guards go on Alcatraz . In this picture , Calendula , Centranthus , and bearded fleur-de-lis bring cheer to the Rock . Photo by : Shelagh Fritz .
After the prison close in 1963 , the gardens were abandon for 40 days and the landscape deteriorated . In 2003 , the Garden Conservancy , the National Park Service , and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy joined forces to reinstate the garden to their original glory . The challenging task include removing 40 years of overgrowth and decay , gathering historic documentation , and developing an ambitious volunteer garden broadcast . More than 200 species of ornamental plants survived the long stop of neglect and the challenging growing environment . Historic planting that were lost have been replaced by new broken - upkeep plants with water needs more suitable to the harsh climate shape .
Many succulent , such as theAeoniumseen here , have been able to fly high despite the ambitious environment . More than 200 species of cosmetic plants survived the harsh develop conditions . pic by : Elizabeth Byers .
“ Vintage images and historic records of the Alcatraz gardens from the mid-1800s through 1963 assistant guide our continuing restoration drive , ” state Frank Dean , general super of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area . “ The Gardens of Alcatraz are a howling and unexpected surprise for the 1.4 million yearly visitors to the island . ”
The Prisoner Gardens , on the west side of Alcatraz , were restored in 2009 . The recreated birdbath is surrounded bySalvia , Pelargonium , Osteospermum , Erysimum‘Bowles Mauve ' , andTropaeolum . Photo by : Shelagh Fritz .
The Gardens of Alcatraz are open to the public year - round , but the near metre for viewing is from January to September , particularly during the spring . Seven key garden have been restored , admit the Main Road Landscape , Rose Terrace , Officers ’ Row Gardens , Warden ’s Garden , Prisoner Gardens , Cellhouse slope , and West Lawn and Terraces . Docent - lead tours are available on Fridays and Sundays . For more information and to take a virtual circuit , visitthe Gardens of Alcatraz .
The gardens tended by the captive of Alcatraz became a recourse from the tensions in the cell menage . A aspect of San Francisco can be seen across the bay . photograph by : Shelagh Fritz .
In the morning light , the Officers ’ Row Gardens are inundated in soft pastels , including whiteCentranthus , majestic barbate iris , pinkNicotiana , and rosiness . Across San Francisco Bay is a view of Angel Island . Photo by : Shelagh Fritz .
Rose Terrace and Greenhouse Complete with a new greenhouse , propagation tables , and composting space , the rose bench is once again functioning as the center of garden bodily process at Alcatraz . Photo by : Elizabeth Byers .
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