The Daily Dig

Bruce Cobbledicks history as a gardener has been lifelong and bright. He's the son of the Oakland Morcom Rose Garden landscape architect, Aurthur Cobbledick, setting him on a path to be a dedicated garden lover and plant explorer.  Bruce is currently the President of The Gardens at Lake Merritt where he has been involved in a number of recent projects including the Mediterranean and the Sensory Gardens.

At home, Bruce's shaded hillside garden is a travel experience to lands far away starting with the decent to the house through a forest of Rhododendron and down into a lush garden of exotic flowering plants.

During my visit I asked Bruce if he would be interested in answering The Garden Geeks gardening questionnaire. Here are Bruce responses mixed in with the photos I took that day.

Describe your gardening style
Very eclectic.  My wife always says I am a plant collector and not a gardener. I like bold plants which add a architectural or scuptural aspect to the garden.  In public gardens I like bold forms and colors that are showy for long periods and require minimal maintenance. In my private garden more rare plants, plants from areas recently open to collecting or not generally available.

Walking down through the Rhododendron forest.

What's your favorite garden element
A complementary blend of hard and soft scape. Also succulents because of their form, colors. Peonies and Rhododendrons because of their incredible flowers, but flower periods are too short.

Rhododendron Etta Burrows

What's your biggest gardening challenge
In my yard it is light. I live on a North facing down slope with large trees. In the winter the sun does not get high enough to provide much light in the garden. Best plants in the yard are deciduous or winter dormant which don't care about lack of sun.

Brugmansia sanguinea

What's your favorite part of your garden
In my yard the front yard is a combination of large rhodys and several different forms of japanese maples and native ferns. A restful garden. The backyard contains a few rhodys. Peonies are most plentiful both tree peonies and herbaceous ones. Helleborus also do well in the backyard and I seem to always be adding a few more.

Rhododendron Taurus

Give us a cleaning and organizing tip
Not my stongest suits, have more questions than answers.

Rhododendron Rubricon

What's your proudest DIY
The Sensory and Mediterranean Gardens at Lake Merritt. They were not individual but group efforts of which I was heavily involved. It is wonderful to see beautiful showy gardens replacing rundown and neglected spots in our parks.

Mediterranean Garden

Mediterranean Garden

Tell us about your biggest indulgence  
Rare and unusual plants

Acer palmatum Burgundy Lace

Give us your best gardening advice
Get small sizes of plants that are not root bound and give them enough space. They will soon be as large as larger sizes and adapt to the microclimate better.

Peony rockii

Name your favorite gardening resource
Favorite local nurseries would be Annies Annuals, Berkeley Hort, Magic Gardens and Ace Garden Center. It is always fun to visit new nurseries. Botanical gardens, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden and Ruth Bancroft Garden.

Aeonium Zwartkop

Who or what inspires you?
Lots of people. People who work hard to create positive change and  are respectful of the environment and each other.

Rhododendron Lake Lorraine

What is in your cd player right now?
The Minks

Rhododendron Saffron Prince

Rhododendron Taurus

Rhododendron Loderi King George

Aeonium Zwartkop and Sunburst

Acer palmatum Sazanami

Enjoying the view

Ceanothus Julia Phelps

Thalictrum

Rhododendron Saffron Prince

Brugmansia sanguinea I now have cuttings, thank you Bruce :—,)*

Helleborus Wayne Roderick

Rhododendron Taurus