In 1900 John McLaren[1], Superintendent of Golden Gate Park[2], envisioned a botanical garden in the park, but San Franciscans rejected a measure put on the ballot that same year to finance the project. Despite lack of support, McLaren went ahead and chose a site for a botanical garden at Lincoln and 9th and slowly began planting trees. He chose the location because of its diverse terrain, protection from the ocean, and the fact that it was one of the few areas in the Park that had wells and real soil (as opposed to sand dunes). His vision, however, would not come to fruition for another twenty-six years.
Frederike Sophie Helene Jordan was born on June 21, 1845 in Helstorf, Germany. In 1865 she traveled to San Francisco to marry German immigrant Christian Strybing, who had arrived in San Francisco at the beginning of the Gold Rush and made his money importing tobacco, German wine, snuff and clothing. They lived at 1212 Mason and never had children. Christian died in 1895, leaving Helene a wealthy widow. In 1918 she bought the Edgar DePue mansion at 2311 Scott. Directly across the street from Alta Plaza Park[2A], the mansion afforded Helene great vistas. An avid gardener, Helene was drawn to open spaces and wished to help McLaren achieve his vision.
Helene Strybing died on December 24, 1926 at the age of 81 of heart failure. She was buried at Cypress Lawn in Colma. The DePue mansion was eventually demolished to make way for condominiums. In her will, Strybing left a large sum of money for the building of a public botanical garden. The Strybing Arboretum officially opened in May 1940. Fifty six acres display 9,000 different species of plants. The plants are grouped by geography reflecting three microclimates: Mediterranean, mild, and tropical cloud forest. Plants came from California, Chile, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, South America, Mexico, Guatemala and Asia.
The Strybing Arboretum Society was founded in 1954 to support the garden’s continued development. In 1959 UC Berkeley landscape professor Robert Tetlow redesigned the garden, creating the Great Meadow and clearly defining the different geographical areas.
In 2004 the new de Young Museum[3] opened, the California Academy of Sciences[4] was renovated and the Conservatory of Flowers[5] was restored. Strybing Arboretum officially changed its name to the San Francisco Botanical Garden[6], and in smaller letters, at Strybing Arboretum. The Strybing Arboretum Society was renamed the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society[7]. The belief was that the new name would increase both attendance and public support.
Strybing had a plant named after her: Leptospermum Scoparium, more commonly known as the Helene Strybing New Zealand Tea Tree. Victoria Stewart, Plant Records Manager at SFBG, was able to tell me that this particular hybrid was created by Arthur Menzies using pollen from the Strybing Arboretum in the 1960s. An evergreen shrub that can grow ten feet tall and just as wide, it has needle-like leaves and clusters of single deep pink flowers with a darker center that blooms in the spring and fall.
[1] John McLaren: see story coming January 15th
[2] Golden Gate Park: story coming April 4th
[2A] Alta Plaza Park: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4589[3] De Young Museum: story coming March 23rd
[4] California Academy of Sciences: story coming September 27th
[5] Conservatory of Flowers: story coming August 25th
[6] Visit them at www.sfbotanicalgarden.org
[7] Visit them at www.sfbotanicalgardensociety.org
