On Our Second Anniversary: Gratitude

The Hidden Garden Steps mosaic and gardens are (already!)  two years old—as of today—and the site continues to be as attractive and appealing as all of us hoped it would be, thanks largely to the ongoing contributions of volunteers and visitors from all over the world.

Detail from “gratitude” passion flower on the Steps

It’s a place where we celebrate community in a welcoming, tranquil, and well-respected setting—a place where neighbors and other members of our world-wide Steps community  meet, talk, exercise, and simply enjoy the benefits of the collaborations that continue to grow here in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District.

If you haven’t been onsite (on 16^th Avenue, between Kirkham and Lawton streets) recently to see the 148-step ceramic-tiled mosaic designed and fabricated by project artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, you’re in for a treat: recent tree-trimming completed by volunteers has made more of the mosaic visible from 16^th Avenue between Judah and Kirkham streets, and the gardens (particularly at the bottom and top of the Steps) are beginning to flourish again thanks to recent rainfall after the long, dry summer and autumn months.

Our partners in the San Francisco Department of Public Works are also continuing to work on a long-term solution to a drainage problem at the foot of the Steps. Neighbors continue to donate succulents and drought-tolerant native California plants to expand the gardens. And our next monthly clean-up and planting is scheduled for Saturday, December 12, 2015 from 1 – 3 pm if rain doesn’t force cancellation of the event. As always, new and returning volunteers are welcome to join us; for more information, please contact Paul Signorelli (paul@paulsignorelli.com).

N.B.: For additional reflections in the second anniversary of the completion of the Hidden Garden Steps mosaic, please visit the Building Creative Bridges blog.