CALIFORNIA’S SARATOGA: SPRINGS, ORCHARDS & GARDENS

Fifty miles south of San Francisco, surrounded by orchards and the dramatic Santa Cruz Mountains, the Saratoga-Los Gatos area has attracted vacationers since just after the Civil War. We will hear from experts and visit four important gardens–survivors of this early California resort era.

Our conference begins in Los Gatos (a 19th century rail head for arriving guests) with a Friday evening reception at the Museum of Art, housed in a converted fire house set amidst summer bungalows. On Saturday and Sunday from our base in Saratoga, we will examine the landscape history and the gardens of the Santa Clara Valley’s west side. The village of Saratoga is a designated California Historical Site with interesting architecture, and the hills which surround it are full of vineyards producing first-rate California wines. Once called “Tollgate,” it was named “Saratoga” in 1865 for its healthful spring waters (a reference to Congress Springs in Saratoga, New York), and the region’s orchards were celebrated by the artist Theodore Wores (1859-1939) whose studio-gallery was located in the former Methodist-Episcopal Church.

Image: Hakone Gardens, Saratoga, California