July 25, 2012 by Born To Organize

Winchester Mystery House

Winchester Mystery House is one of the most unusual landmarks in my city. The sprawling mansion covers four acres and stands three stories tall. Sarah Winchester, mired in grief, was convinced that the spirits of innocent people, killed by the Winchester rifles were responsible for the death of her husband and infant daughter. Under the advice of a physic, she continuously built on to her home to confuse and appease the spirits. We took a tour there today with friends and had an interesting time.

I arrived early to take photos of the gardens on the spacious estate, before embarking on the house tour. Sarah Winchester, born in 1884, was ahead of her time. She built an amazing room for watering her house plants, while at the same time conserving water. The second story room has a non-oxidizing metal floor covered with removal wood planks. The floor has a gentle slope, a faucet and a working sink. After removing the planks, plants are set out on the floor and watered in place. The excess water followed the slope of the floor and then drained outdoors to water the garden.

Here is a bit about the house from the official website:

Winchester Mystery House™ is an extravagant maze of Victorian craftsmanship – marvelous, baffling, and eerily eccentric, to say the least.

Some of the architectural oddities may have practical explanations. For example, the Switchback Staircase, which has seven flights with forty-four steps, rises only about nine feet, since each step is just two inches high. Mrs. Winchester arthritis was quite severe in her later years, and the stairway may have been designed to accommodate her disability.

The miles of twisting hallways are made even more intriguing by secret passageways in the walls. Mrs. Winchester traveled through her house in a roundabout fashion, supposedly to confuse any mischievous ghosts that might be following her.

This wild and fanciful description of Mrs. Winchester’s nightly prowl to the Séance Room appeared in The American Weekly in 1928, six years after her death:

“When Mrs. Winchester set out for her Séance Room, it might well have discouraged the ghost of the Indian or even of a bloodhound, to follow her. After traversing an interminable labyrinth of rooms and hallways, suddenly she would push a button, a panel would fly back and she would step quickly from one apartment into another, and unless the pursuing ghost was watchful and quick, he would lose her. Then she opened a window in that apartment and climbed out, not into the open air, but on to the top of a flight of steps that took her down one story only to meet another flight that brought her right back up to the same level again, all inside the house. This was supposed to be very discomforting to evil spirits who are said to be naturally suspicious of traps.” – Read more on the Winchester Mystery House® website

Winchester Mystery House Spider Web windows

Spider webs figured prominently in many of the homes architectural features. An actual spider made a home in the garden just below these windows. I think Sarah would be proud.

June 3, 2012 by Born To Organize

Gardens of San Jose Tour

What a day! I toured three private gardens in the historic Rose Garden Neighborhood with a long-time friend along for the journey. We picked up our tour map in the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, run entirely by volunteers. From there we walked the route to each home.

The first garden, and the most unusual was a Xeriscape, a New Mexico arroyo-styled theme garden. There was so much to take in. The center of the garden houses a yoga room, surrounded by native plantings, dry river beds, a vertical vegetable garden and walkways. The home owner keeps bees on the property in a hive resembling a tall bird house. The hive sits behind trellised berry vines, and receives a regular visitor: a neighborhood blue jay. The bees “clean house” each day, tossing out the dead bees and the jay stops by in the morning to eat them.

Beehive

As an organizer, I was intrigued by the efficient use of space throughout the property. Baskets, crates, wire shelves and hooks lined the entire back side of the garage. The narrow space served as storage, with a beautiful Jade and Fuchsia intermingled with the tools.

The mid-day sun wasn’t optimum for good photos. That said, the collage below captures the flavor of this incredible garden.

Xeriscape Garden

Next on the tour was a spacious 1923 home with a California Woodland garden. The first thing you see is an 80-year-old Redwood tree with an equally magnificent Spruce dominating the side garden. The paths open up to a wide expanse of lawn, with “woodland plants such as ferns, lichens wildflowers and grasses” nearby.

A few highlights below:

Woodland Garden

The House of 53 Roses was the final home on the tour. While I appreciate roses, they don’t grab my attention the way other flowers do. The show-stopper for me was the charming cat in residence, a mellow fellow named Curtis. He let me scratch his chin as he rested in the cool grass and seemed indifferent to me and my camera. Look at that face!

53 Roses and 1 Charming Cat

We capped our day with garden salads and the comfortable conversation of old friends on the outdoor patio at Aqui in Willow Glen. Garden nirvana indeed.

Old Friends

Proceeds from today’s tour benefit San Jose Parks Foundation, a membership-based, non-profit organization that:

Empowers neighborhood and community groups;
Helps to recruit, train and retain park and trail volunteers;
Works in partnership with the City and others to maximize access and use of San Jose’s parks for families and youth; and
Advocates for our parks and trails on behalf of the community.

May 22, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Gardens of San Jose: Come Take the Tour

Hey Bay Area friends! Come join me this Sunday, June 3rd for a tour of several private gardens in the beautiful and historic Rose Garden neighborhood. San José Parks Foundation presents The Gardens of San Jose 2012 tour.

My friend and colleague Jim Reber is the Founding Executive Director with deep roots in our community. Many will know him as the founder of San José Repertory Theater in the early eighties. San Jose Parks Foundation vision is:

Founding Executive Director, Jim Reber

To establish innovative vibrant parks, trails, and recreation programs by building a permanent charitable endowment that will provide sustainable resources in perpetuity for San José.

Their Mission

To enhance the recreational, educational, and cultural life of the San José community by encouraging and soliciting support for our City’s parks system.

The San José Parks Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organization that:

Inspires passion and community involvement in our parks, trails and recreational programs.

Helps build and develop a world-class parks system by providing private funding for park programs, as well as acquisition, capital improvements and beautification and landscape enhancements.