Take a Virtual Garden Tour of the Luther Burbank Gardens

I had this blog post planned over a month ago, but just could not get into it so I put it off.  But in these days of sheltering in place I thought a virtual tour of a garden might be just the thing. I chose the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens.  

March 7^th was the birthday American horticulturist Luther Burbank.  Born in 1849, he developed many new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers including the Shasta Daisy.  There is a foundation, museum and gardens devoted to the history of this influential plant specialist on his property in Santa Rosa, California.

After his death in 1926, he was buried on the front lawn “under the Cedar of Lebanon.” The property was opened to the public in the 1930s when Burpee Seed Company owned most of the property and seed development of Luther Burbank.

A bit of whimsy int he Luther Burbank Garden

On the website they offer a great coloring book entitled The Man Who Could Make a Flower, which is perfect for kids.

The Gardens can be viewed in vivid color by taking a virtual tour. They have a page on the website called “What’s in Bloom.”   For each month of the year they have a huge page of photos of what can be seen blooming in the garden.  It is like a virtual walk through the seasons of color.  

After you have gotten your fill of the Garden you can check out the wealth of information on Luther Burbank, his history breeding plants and explore information how what happened to his seeds and creations.

Imagine a world without the summer staple the Shasta Daisy – This edible flower was actually created by Burbank in 1901.  But it took 17 years to accomplish.  The flower was created as a quadruple hybrid.  Meaning the origin plant a New England Oxeye Daisy was mixed in succession with pollen from 3 more daisy species until it created his vision of the ideal daisy with large pure white flowers, smooth stems, early and persistent blooming, good keeping quality as a cut flower and sturdiness as a garden plant. They were named for California’s glistening white Mount Shasta, and presented an entirely new plant species, now known officially as Leucanthemum x superbum.

Of special note is the fact that 100 years ago Burbank was a member of the Victory Garden Committee of World War I. The goal of the National War Garden Commission was to encourage Americans to plant vegetable gardens so commercially produced agriculture could be shipped overseas to US troops and allies. The effort was so successful that there was no food rationing during WWI.  Burbank had created (introduced) a variety of fruits and vegetables which were then used for canning at home by many people in the U.S.  

In these current times many people are thinking of creating another season of Victory Gardening which made me realize it was a great time to explore the gardens of Luther Burbank. Don’t you agree?

All images in the post are from the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens website - www.lutherburbank.org