Tucked into a half-acre lot in the heart of the Northern California city of Santa Rosa is a picturesque city park that celebrates the life and works of renowned botanist and horticulturalist Luther Burbank, who is credited with introducing more than 250 new varieties of fruit.
Known officially as the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, the park at the corner of Santa Rosa and Sonoma Avenues, commemorates the life of a man largely forgotten today, but, during his lifetime, was often referred to as “the Plant Wizard” because of his efforts to create new and better varieties of fruits.
Burbank was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1849 and from an early age showed a fascination with plants. In 1867, following his father’s death, Burbank used his inheritance to purchase a 17-acre farm, where he developed what became known as the Burbank potato, a variety that was more resistant to the blight that had wiped out potato harvests all over the world.
He sold the rights to the Burbank potato and used the proceeds to relocate to Santa Rosa, California, where he purchased a four-acre lot and built a greenhouse, nursery and experimental crop fields, where he could work on developing new varieties of plants using crossbreeding.
To market his discoveries, Burbank published regular plant catalogs, including his famous 1893 “New Creations in Fruits and Flowers,” and marketed his new species.
That same year, Clarence McDowell Starks, co-owner of one of the nation’s largest orchard companies, agreed to pay Burbank $9,000 in return for the rights to three of his new fruit varieties. Burbank said the arrangement finally helped make his life’s work profitable.
As Burbank’s fame grew, so did his access to grant funding, including from the Carnegie Corporation. Over the years, he became friends with many of the era’s most acclaimed inventors and businessmen, including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.
Burbank died in 1926 of heart failure. He was buried beneath a large Cedar of Lebanon tree in his gardens.
Following Burbank’s death, his wife, Elizabeth, lived in the cottage on the garden property (until her death in 1977) and, over time, disposed of his assets and patents. In the 1970s, the property was acquired by the City of Santa Rosa and converted into a public park.
Visitors to the site today will find a peaceful, picturesque setting with rows, plots and hedges of various fruits, vegetables, and other plants. Among the unique plants found on the site are a “multi-grafted apple tree,” which Burbank used in his grafting experiments. The tree has more than 50 separate cultivars grafted onto it, including fresh-eating and cider apples.
Additionally, there is a garden devoted to medicinal herbs, which Burbank experimented with and improved upon, a giant cactus plant, various prune and apple trees, flowers, shrubs and a host of other plant species.
The property also has the cottage that Burbank lived in for many years (and, later, was the home of his wife) as well a brick-and-glass greenhouse, a large barn and other smaller storage buildings.
A virtual tour of the cottage can be found on the park’s website or on Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh3x9sbimHc&feature=emb_logo.
At the entrance to the park is a brick walkway leading to a scenic fountain and wooden trellis covered with plants, while to the north end, past the barn, is a beautiful rose and flower garden with white, wooden arches.
Entry into the park, open to the public on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to dusk, and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to dusk, is free. Tours, the small museum and gift shop are available Tuesday through Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, go to: http://www.lutherburbank.org/.