A Gift for You - Luther Burbank's Place

Have you heard of Luther Burbank? When I hear his name, because of the Luther, I sometimes think people more often have heard of Martin Luther King. Luther Burbank also made an impact on our world by developing over 600 varieties of fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables. The Shasta Daisy is among his creations. He lived in Santa Rosa, California and if you visit there you will find his home and gardens to walk through. However, he also had several acres in Sebastopol, California, where I lived, and now his little orchard house and 2 acres have been preserved for people to visit. So on my adventure in California I walked in his garden and orchard.

 

I knew my uncle, an apple grower in Sebastopol, had a connection; so wrote to my cousin to get the story. The following is what he responded:

"My dad had an orchard on Bloomfield road with what I think were the first Golden Delicious apples planted in Sebastopol. We called it the Burbank Place. Dad rented the orchard first and then ended up buying it. I remember going with my dad to Santa Rosa to deliver the rent check to Mrs. Burbank. I must have been about 5-6 years old. I think this orchard was planted after he passed away, but I could be wrong about that. Stark Brothers purchased the rights to growing Golden Delicious in 1914. Luther Burbank was somehow involved with them. He died in 1917. His wife was very young. It was his second wife. They had no children. She died in 1977. "

 

I remember riding in my uncles jeep through "the Burbank Place" on several occasions; so for me it was fascinating to get this information from my cousin.

The volunteer I talked to didn't think that anyone ever lived in the house, but it was used more as an office and studio. It was mostly just one room.

 

There were several varieties of quince ripening on the trees.

"She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last."
-  Willa Cather

Lilies were blooming. I remember having lilies like this in my childhood garden.

He developed varieties of cactus thinking they would be good for feeding cattle.

Not sure if cattle eat this fruit or not.

There were hibiscus in bloom.

Many varieties of daisies and cosmos also were in bloom.

This was an unplanned stop, but so glad we did it.

Earlier we had stopped at the old cemetery next to this farm to lay flowers on my grandfather and my mother's graves. I think my grandfather chose to be buried there because of the orchards and gardens that surround it.

 

For me it was like poetry to walk in these gardens and remember my childhood in the surrounding countryside. As Willa Cather stated, I loved standing in the orchard and touching what was growing there.

 

Have a great week, dear friends!