A Golden Moment in a Northern California Garden

The laburnum arch in Sandra Rennie’s garden in may, with iris pallida ‘Variegata’ flowering below and perfect mounds of english lavender (lavendula angustifolia) beyond. author’s photographs

“Focal point” doesn’t adequately describe the arched walkway of golden chain trees in Sandra Rennie’s Philo, California garden. “Event” is much more fitting.

During a visit to the garden one cloudless day last May, I enjoyed the privilege of strolling underneath the fortress created by forty carefully trained trees of Laburnum ×watereri ‘Vossii’. Beneath its dense, thriving roof of signature neon-yellow flowers, I felt as if I were staring at an endless ceiling of delicately jeweled chandeliers.

“If we have a gray day, and you walk under this feature while it’s in bloom, it’s like the sun is shining,” said Rennie, a self-taught gardener and retired environmental mediator. “It’s so yellow, so beautiful, and the bees go wild over it. Just stand under it, and you’ll notice the whole thing is shaking from the bees. They’re so excited to get to the pollen.”

The idea to build the arbor had been abuzz in Renni...