CGLHS Lecture: Hayes Perkins, The “Magic Carpet” Man

PHOTO: Title page of EDEN article, Winter 2019

David Laws describes the life and times of Henry Hayes Perkins who, after 50 years of working his way around the world as a manual laborer, transformed a barren strip of coastal bluff in Pacific Grove, California into a dazzling springtime carpet of fluorescent pink blooms. Photographs in LIFE and National Geographic, as well as a giant display in Grand Central Station, enticed tourists from across the globe. One of the most loved and distinctive horticultural features of the Pacific Coast in the early 1960s, today the garden is but a sad reflection of its former glory. And its creator is all but forgotten. Topics of the talk will include Perkins’s life as an adventurer, his work on the construction of Hearst Castle, and efforts by the citizens of Pacific Grove to preserve his garden for future generations.

More about our speaker, David Laws: 

David A. Laws is a board member of CGLHS. He photographs and writes about the technology pioneers of Silicon Valley and the history of gardens from his home on the Monterey Peninsula. His work has appeared in numerous broadcast, electronic, and print media outlets from the BBC and NPR, to mobile apps, guide books, newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. His talk is based on the article “Hayes Perkins: The ‘Magic Carpet’ Man” that was published in EDEN Vol. 22, No. 1, Winter 2019.

To view a video of this talk, members log in and visit the Members Only, CGLHS Talks page. 

An online version of the EDEN article is posted on medium.com.