August 19th, 2018

1330 Albina Ave, Berkeley, CA

Scott and Cyndi Stanfield welcome you to their home and palm garden in North Berkeley. Their 80+ palms (and many cycads and tree ferns) were planted by the late Thomas Roe, also a member of the IPS, over the past 4 decades on a third of an acre. 

The house is a fully-restored grand Victorian built over 123 years ago. The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association recently bestowed their top award to the house in 2012. 

Some of the palm highlights include:

- Jubaea chilensis (nearly 40')
- Rhopalostylis baueri (cluster of 7)
- Howea belmoreanas (a pair of double-trunked)
- Howea forsteriana (plenty)
- Ceroxylon quidiuense (blueish, waxy)
- Brahea edulis 
- Phoenix reclinata (solo + clumping)
- Trachycarpus fortunei (slowest palm ever)
- Juania australis  (doing well, newly truncked)

And loads of ripe Monstera deliciosa for the brave!

The towering Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) marks the SW, while the mature Monterey cypress shades the back.

Our street address is 
1330 Albina Ave, Berkeley, CA 94706

Please bring a good dish for our potluck. Also, if you have a palm to donate for our auction, it is always appreciated!

A link to our house on Google Maps: 
http://bit.ly/1330AlbinaAve

Is there a set time for this meeting? I didn't see that in the announcment?

1 hour ago, Hillizard said:

Is there a set time for this meeting? I didn't see that in the announcment?

"announcement."

The meeting and pot-luck lunch starts at 1:00PM.   Don't miss this meeting, the house is even more 'killer' than the palms !

Thank you Darold.  Yes, 1-5 pm.  Here is more information about the garden as provided by Jason Dewees:

The Stanfields' garden was originally composed by Tom Roe, the previous owner of the historic property. It contains a number of exceptional palms and other plants, very well maintained by the Stanfields, with some artful additions.

On the street side of the garden, a big, adult Jubaea chilensis was planted by Flora Grubb Gardens / The Palm Broker in 2006 and has grown significantly since then. A grove of Rhopalostylis sapida 'Chatham Island' given as young plants to Tom Roe by longtime Northern California IPS Chapter member, John Leupold, surrounds the jubaea. A number of adult, trunking Howea forsteriana are also growing in the front garden, along with king palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), Chamaedorea costaricana clumps, Rhapis excelsa, Brahea edulis, Livistona chinensis, a Pritchardia sp., Chamaedorea ernesti-agusti, C. metallica, and other frost-tender species suited to this mild Sunset zone 17 site. 

Along the driveway grows a spectacular Phoenix reclinata (possible hybrid, kept as single trunk) supplied as a specimen through Gary Gragg's Golden Gate Palms.

In the back garden a two gorgeous double Howea belmoreana specimens chosen by the Stanfields from Golden Gate Palms accent the entrance to the deck. You'll also see a substantial young Ceroxylon -- possibly C. quindiuense -- a burgeoning Dypsis decipiens (husky but not yet trunking), a nice young Juania australis, and a Ficus dammaropsis, highland form (?).

 

I'll be posting more pictures today from the Northern California Palm Society meeting  at Scott and Cyndi Stanfield's Victorian-era home on August 19, 2018.

Scott and Cyndi were very gracious hosts and gave the attendees tours of their palm gardens and the interior of the house. Inside and out there was plenty to amaze and admire!

The weather was perfect. The meeting was well attended and featured a potluck that was more like a banquet and a successful plant auction of desirable specimens.

A fine specimen of Juania australis (!!) in the back garden.

Ceroxylon quidiuense (Quindio Wax Palm, Andean Wax Palm or Palma de cera del quindio), is native to mountainous regions of Colombia.

A robust, trunking Dypsis decipiens.

And note the tall, fruiting highland Ficus dammaropsis in the upper left.

Twin Howea belmoreana palms flank the back deck and H. fosteriana arises from among a planting of diverse subtropicals.

WOW! The ceroxylon! Amazing tree. Spectacular in person, no doubt. This garden gives Southern CA a run for their money. 

In the front yard a Jubea chilensis towers above a cluster of Rhopalostylis baueri and some Howea fosteriana.

Caryota gigas (?) in the front yard with pet Velociraptor. Fruiting monocarpic Caryota species in the backyard.

One of several towering clumps of Chamaedorea sp. (seifrizii ?) in the front yard.

In the front yard a Pritchardia sp. grows in the shade of a massive Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla).

A very tall, single-trunked variety of Phoenix reclinata.

A Bismarckia nobilis tucked among cycads in the backyard.

Several cycads in the back garden.

Monstera deliciosa grows throughout the gardens. We sampled its delicious fruit, too!

Our host inspects his Howea plantings and the latest Northern California Palm Society meeting gets underway...

An unbranched Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands dragon tree. And a pot of Stromanthe (sanguinea?) in flower.

Very nice photos, thanks for posting ! 

3 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Very nice photos, thanks for posting ! 

You're welcome. I enjoyed meeting you and other members of the NCPS. It was great to 'talk' palms with such a knowledgeable group!

Great photos! Thanks for highlighting this thread.

The rhopalostylis grove around the big jubaea are Rhopalostylis sapida, Chatham Islands variety. Palm Society member John Leupold obtained them (he might have actually gone to the Chatham Islands and brought back seed—that's how he rolls) and gave them to Tom Roe to plant.

Our company obtained the big jubaea for Tom, and now you can see on the trunk the "history" of its transplantation in the form of a change in its pattern of leafbase scars.

2 minutes ago, JasonD said:

Great photos! Thanks for highlighting this thread.

The rhopalostylis grove around the big jubaea are Rhopalostylis sapida, Chatham Islands variety. Palm Society member John Leupold obtained them (he might have actually gone to the Chatham Islands and brought back seed—that's how he rolls) and gave them to Tom Roe to plant.

Our company obtained the big jubaea for Tom, and now you can see on the trunk the "history" of its transplantation in the form of a change in its pattern of leafbase scars.

Thank you for the IDs and the backstory on those palms. That garden was comparable to lush, private ones in SoCal. Of course it helps that Berkeley enjoys such a mild climate!

Stunning garden filled with many of my favourite palms 

On 8/21/2018 at 3:09 AM, Hillizard said:

Monstera deliciosa grows throughout the gardens. We sampled its delicious fruit, too!

wow! look delicious, i was read it can eat but not sure about it's taste https://monsteraholic.com/what-does-monstera-fruit-taste-like/

On 9/16/2023 at 11:04 AM, ferbvu said:

wow! look delicious, i was read it can eat but not sure about it's taste https://monsteraholic.com/what-does-monstera-fruit-taste-like/

They have a vaguely pineapple-like taste, but the unripe fruit contains a lot of oxalic acid crystals.  More info here: https://houseplantauthority.com/monstera-fruit/