The Potrero Hill Eco-Patch: Part 1 of 2

Summer 2021

Watch our Landscapes of Change video about The Potrero Hill Eco-Patch here.

Read Part 2 Here
Introduction
Native, biodiverse, and ecologically functional planting creates a foundation for resilient ecologies in the face of anthropogenic mass extinction. Yet we cannot rely on conservation land alone to perform this role; protected areas are too small and too fragmented (Tallamy 2020). We need to look to our cities, suburban areas, gardens, parks, and leftover spaces to fill the void. Recognizing this, the need for functional planting in urban landscapes is steadily growing, both in high visibility spaces like roof gardens and parks, and in the underutilized fragments of urban land such as utility easements (Rainer and West 2016). Home gardens are also becoming biodiversity hotspots as residents become more attuned to their potential role as land stewards.

However, in our experience at the landscape architecture practice Field Collective, working with plants native to California presents unique challenges. Typical aesthetic expectations of planting in public or semi-public spaces—tidy, static, and evergreen—are often at odds with the periods of dormancy and dec...