Designed by:
Shirley Alexandra Watts
Garden Design and Installation
1000 Park Street
Alameda, CA 94501
510-521-5223

Created by:  Ross Craig
2419 1/2 Oregon Street
Berkeley, CA
510-763-7576

Inspired by Francesco Petrarca's Canzoniere 'Chaire, fresche et dolci aque' this garden, a contemporary interpretation of the medieval pleasure garden, explores the relation between beauty and sadness, memory and loss. Petrarca's stunningly beautiful poem, one of hundreds written to Laura de Noves in the fourteenth century, describes his memory of an idyllic garden scene and his unrequited love for Laura. The text is printed on the translucent fabric of the water walls that form the central enclosed space and is spoken in an intimate sound piece, which can be heard as the visitor wanders though the garden. Enormous bales of aluminum scrap are used as sculptural elements while the planting is a wild tangle of flowering trees and rose brambles. Love hurts.
Award: Garden Creator's Choice Award, APLD Award, Gold