FALL 2022

Welcome to this seasonal issue of “Branching Out” —
The home for sharing about the many trees of Cypress Lawn Arboretum!

Dearest friends, neighbors, and tree-lovers near and far —

Heritage is a term vested with many layers of meaning and cultural richness. This idea may be defined as "something that is handed down from the past, as a tradition" or "noting to a place that evokes a nostalgic sense of history." The Cambridge English dictionary even describes heritage as "features belonging to the culture of a particular society [or place], that were created in the past and still have historical importance." Each of these definitions is an apt description of the centurial legacy scattered throughout the grounds of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.

The many trees of our Arboretum have an origin story of great heritage, tracing back to the ambitious global plant collecting of our founder Hamden Holmes Noble in the late 19th century. Beyond the many stone monuments of Western pioneers and formative figures of the San Franciscan metropolis, the wooden legacy of Cypress Lawn stands across generations as a growing tale of kinship between people and plants.

Trees are truly the makers of place, over long spans of time defining the outdoor spaces and landscapes that we inhabit, perhaps more than any other form or type of flora — simply put, they are nature’s architects. Here at the Arboretum, the distinctive character and quality of our Memorial Park has grown across the decades, quite literally, as Noble’s seedlings have emerged to become the giants that grace our grounds today.

In the virtuous cycle of life, however — with people as with trees — loss is inevitable, and this truth inspires me to action in the lee of our founder’s tradition. Just as the works of Noble and the historic stewards of Cypress Lawn delineated the legacy of now, the heritage of future generations will be seeded by the actions of today and the not-so-distant tomorrows to come. It is our mission and purpose in managing the Arboretum with each passing season to carry on that legacy, to pay forward the 130-year heritage of this singular open space here on the San Francisco peninsula.

So, as we approach our third-annual Arboretum Day in the fall of 2022, I invite you to join me in the planting of trees, to celebrate life and sow the heritage of the world we want to see. The forest of the future is ours to plant, in the noble spirit of hope.

Your ever-humble Arboretum Director,
Josh Gevertz

HAPPENING THIS SEASON

JUST HAPPENED ON NOVEMBER 4: In collaboration with the Western Chapter of ISA, Cypress will be hosting “Putting Research to Work,” a tree professional conference and lecture series benefitting the Britton Fund, a regional nonprofit supporting arboricultural research and education. This special event will be hosted at Cypress Chapel on our Olivet Campus, concluding with a tour of our foundational East Campus.

COMING UP ON NOVEMBER 12: Our third-annual Arboretum Day! Celebrating 130 years and 130 species in the living collection of Cypress Lawn, this special community event in our “Tree City USA” Town of Colma will showcase the diverse trees of the Arboretum, honor our champion Monterey Cypress by the foundational entry archway, and continue our living legacy with the planting of companion trees for old heritage specimens along Cypress Avenue of our original East Campus.

HAPPENING ALL AUTUMN: Wood reclamation at the Arboretum! Giving a second life to trees recently removed on-site, this ongoing collaborative program with Arbor Upcycle custom milling and Structural Concepts Design Build will repurpose wood for benches, tables, and other furniture, both outdoors and in, throughout Cypress Lawn.

HAPPENING NEXT SEASON

COMING UP THIS WINTER: Continued development of Cypress Lawn’s new Arboretum Center, including the construction of an outdoor classroom featuring reclaimed wood benches, the establishment of a small on-site nursery in support of the burgeoning Arboretum Heritage Project for cultivating seedlings directly from veteran trees in our living collection, and equipment storage for ongoing tree care projects.

COMING UP IN DECEMBER: More tree planting! In collaboration with Devil Mountain Wholesale Nursery and Christopher Campbell Tree Design, late fall and early winter will be the annual planting season at the Arboretum, establishing trees for future generations to enjoy and adding diversity to our living collection to showcase a global flora.

COMING UP IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY: “Living Color” Botanical Art Gallery Exhibition, featuring the artwork of renowned local botanical illustrator and watercolor painter, Pria Graves. This inaugural exhibition will be located in the entrance lobby and adjacent rooms of the main offices at Cypress Lawn at 1370 El Camino Real.

ARBORETUM DAY 2022:
COMPANION TREES AND THE ARBORETUM HERITAGE PROJECT

In early November — the regionally appropriate time for planting here in the Mediterranean microclimate of coastal California — we will take the first steps towards introducing the next generation of trees in our cherished Arboretum.

On November 12th, you’re welcome to join us in the growing tradition of Arboretum Day, celebrating life both young and old here at Cypress Lawn. Our champion Hesperocyparis macrocarpa, located just inside the threshold of our 1892 archway, will be honored with a companion planting.

“LIVING COLOR” BY BOTANICAL ARTIST PRIA GRAVES — FEATURE EXHIBITION AT CYPRESS LAWN ARBORETUM — JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2023

Beginning in the opening month of 2023, Cypress Lawn Arboretum will be hosting our inaugural botanical art gallery exhibit, featuring several works by renowned local artist Pria Graves. This exhibit will launch on January 20th and will remain on display in the lobby of the main offices at Cypress Lawn (1370 El Camino Real) through February 24th. We hope you will visit the Arboretum to experience our living collection of trees and plants and spend a moment to witness the remarkable art of Ms. Graves, in living color!

The Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is a formative place in the shared history of plants and human culture. Collectors and botanists from across generations and traveling to continents afar have brought specimens here in the mission of scientific curation, on behalf of the London Royal Horticultural Society as far back as 1759. 260 years after its founding, I visited Kew and the broader London metropolis as a part of my global journey following the Monterey cypress, a tree ever dancing on the brink of the world.

650-550-8808 · cypresslawn.com

1370 El Camino Real, Colma, CA 94014

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FALL 2022

Welcome to this seasonal issue of “Branching Out” — The home for sharing about the many trees of Cypress Lawn Arboretum!