11/15/2025
Public Gardens: Auburn Armed Forces and Community Garden
To have a creative life, I learned early on that one must “fill the well” with visual images. One of my favorite ways to do this is by going to public gardens. Any time I go to a new city, I make it a point to find its public garden. Visiting botanical gardens is about much more than filling the well with visual images, though. They often have special plant collections, pay homage to a cause or persons, have unique garden art and sculpture created by local artists, commemorate a group of people, may even present some educational local history. They give us a way of peeking in on the life of the locals and the city itself. They have the tangible benefit of helping to preserve a spot of land, even reducing carbon emissions. But best of all, I think public gardens slow down our hearts and help us to feel and heal more. These gardens don’t have to be grandiose to produce those feelings as you will read below...
This seeing of gardens endeavor began in my 20s long before I even dreamed of becoming a landscape designer. (I won’t say how long ago that was.) Although my love for plants began in my childhood in Pennsylvania where I grew up on a wild diversity of plants and trees, I hadn’t a fathom of an idea that I would end up having them be at the center of my life starting at middle age.
I moved to Los Angeles from Pennsylvania in my 20s, taking a job in accounting just so I could make it. I knew the city was not for me, and I was desperate for some greenery and something to connect me with life while living “in the city”. I came up with the goal of going to all of LA’s botanical gardens. That was all I could think of to do there and feel safe going out. I think I came up with the idea by looking at a map of the City and under “things to do”, I saw botanical gardens. I had never been to a garden before. No, that’s not true. I had found Asbury Woods in Erie, PA after my college days (https://www.asburywoods.org). But something inside of me called out. I started out by going to Huntington Botanical Gardens (https://www.huntington.org). Although I would end up living in Los Angeles for only one year, in that year I did go to all of that city’s botanical gardens. This year one of my clients told me that their mother had worked at Huntington Garden in LA, and it was fun to say that that was my first botanical garden trip. And trip it was. It was where Tarzan movies were filmed; it had trees from all over the world. It was a true arboretum. Over many many years, these images must have come up to the top and helped me to figure out that I wanted to be a landscape designer.
Remembering all of this today has made me decide to write a few blogs on some of the public gardens that I have been to. Although some gardens are about sheer whimsical delight, such as the Moorten Cactarium in Palm Springs, today I am going to write about a quieter feeling induced by a garden.
Because we observed Veterans Day this week, and because I am at the one year anniversary of the passing of my beloved brother Rickie (an Air Force lifer and vet), I would like to start this blog series by introducing you to an Auburn, CA local treasure, the California Armed Forces Pavilion & Community Garden at 995 Lincoln Way.
Before that, though...let me give you some more filler by saying that last November when my brother died, I went to the San Antonio Botanical Garden in Texas right after the funeral and graveside ceremony. I had been to this garden a couple years before when I visited him. That garden trip had been a lighter hearted one. The trip after the funeral was made in the hope of finding some solace through plants and the peaceful feeling of being in nature. It did start the healing process. Upon leaving the garden, though, I realized that I might not pass that way again now that he was gone, so the visit was bittersweet.
And now, a year later, for Veterans Day, I thought going to the local veterans’ memorial garden would be the ideal spot to celebrate the life of my veteran brother. This is one of the things that a veterans’ memorial garden can give to you.
Auburn’s Armed Forces and Community Garden (https://forgottensoldierprogram.com/garden) is a Bluestar memorial Garden (a coincidence that my business name is also that). This quiet garden has given me so much over the years. Situated right in downtown Auburn (we actually call it “uptown”), its gifts are boundless.
It reminds me to appreciate all of the patriotic Americans who have served our country. It helps me to know that others in my town appreciate them as well, and that is one of the ties that helps to bind me tight to my community.
This charming garden abounds with all kinds of symbols: of patriotism, appreciation, our country, our earth. Its demure but thought-provoking labyrinth is a circular symbolic nod to the circle of life and its mystery. Other symbols of connection are exhibited here: flags, benches painted as flags, arches that one walks through as a threshold to this special patriotic exhibit, and more.
The space also symbolizes trust. Being a community garden, garden boxes are rented out to locals who, presumably have no place of their own to garden. Having these public garden boxes shows the trust the renters have—trust that no one will cut the flowers or harvest the vegetables grown there. What a splendid idea for a community!
The sculptures at this garden are excellent and apropos to the theme. A bust of Rear Admiral Bonnie Burnham Potter, an Auburn resident, who was the first female physician to be selected for flag rank shines with pride and inspiration. Various angels (may I say of various nationalities?) adorn and protect the space. My favorite is the very large angel who lives under a magnificent palm tree. She makes the atmosphere a peaceful and safe one.
A sign at the entrance indicates that this is an Auburn Quail Trail. So this space provides some “backyard habitat” for birds to boot.
The best part for me, though, is the sign with wooden arrows attached. Each arrow shows the distances from Auburn to battlefields that Americans have fought in since the beginning of our country. 2402 miles to Yorktown. 2319 miles to Gettysburg. 5401 miles to Somme. 7351 miles to Fallujah (such a far away place for Rickie to be fighting a war). Seeing that sign gets me every time. I worship veterans in a very private, quiet way. But going to this garden is one of the ways that is most fulfilling for me. And it’s not just about my brother, the vet, it’s about the history of our country and the world, the sad meaning of wars, the sorrow. But also I feel gratitude and am deeply impressed that my fellow citizens could have such courage to go to these foreign places for us. It’s downright inspiring and helps me to put my small troubles in perspective. All of these thoughts and feelings come up when I see this incredible compilation of values at this memorial garden.
So on this Veterans Day and always, this special public garden is a real gift for me and my community. Beside the symbols, aesthetics, plants that I love, I foremost appreciate the gratitude it shows to our vets. All of our vets are celebrated here. It brings me home to knowing that my brother is one of them all. These men and women were selfless and gave so much to our country, democracy, and the world. It acknowledges the best that people can be. It’s a symbol of appreciation to my brother and all the other vets I have known and not known. Any time I want I can go there and know that he is one of them. Thank you, Rickie, all vets, and Auburn!
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This veterans’ memorial garden is just one example of what a public garden has to offer us. They are real gems, oft forgotten. I encourage you to find and visit one near you as soon as you can. Check out more photos of this garden on my page (https://www.facebook.com/BluestarLandscapeDesigners).
