As the Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco officially kicked off on June 28, two buses full of about 75 bloggers split up, navigating the city’s challenging hills separately so that the small gardens we visited could better accommodate us. My bus headed for sculptor Matt Gil‘s garden, which is improbably tucked under an elevated highway and whose planting area is largely composed of a nearly vertical, rubbly hillside.

Despite such obstacles Gil and his wife, with the help of designer Dan Carlson of Wigglestem Gardens, now enjoy a dual-level garden that allows the sculptor space to display several large pieces. We entered the garden through his contemporary-styled home, stepping onto an elevated back deck — actually a roof deck atop his ground-level workshop. Pots of tough, xeric plants liven up the deck, but my eyes were drawn immediately to the imposingly steep hillside that essentially forms the back wall of the garden.

The designer told us that this hillside is composed largely of crumbly, unstable “earthquake rock.” Transforming it from an eyesore into a garden involved some delicate rock-climbing, tethered by a rope, to remove invasive weeds and grasses and tucking plants into small pockets of soil across the hill’s nearly vertical face. You can see a bit of the highway that looms overhead in the upper right corner of the photo.

Looking over the rail, you see that the hillside is more intensively gardened at the base, where it was possible to bring in some good soil. The decomposed-granite floor of the garden was excavated several inches and regraded, the designer explained, to help with drainage issues from rainwater cascading down the hillside.

A closer look — this is a dryland garden that would look at home in Austin.

A brilliant, tomato-red passionflower to my left caught my eye. It’s clambering atop an industrial-style, galvanized metal fence that encloses the lower garden.

Defying our expectations of cool, foggy weather, San Francisco was experiencing a heat wave during the Fling, and even in the morning temperatures were warm and sunlight was intense. It only added to the beauty of these potted plants, however.

Gorgeous texture. Does anyone know what those feathery leaves belong to? Update: Max believes it’s Australian native Calothamnus villosus. Thanks, Max!

A pretty collection united by terracotta pots greens up one corner of the deck.

A stair leads directly to the base of the hillside. At your right as you descend…

…a circular concrete container pond admires its reflection in a mirror. A sturdy metal grid (cattle panel, perhaps?) has been cut to fit the pond, keeping out marauding raccoons while allowing plants to grow up through the holes and fish to swim in safety.

Turning left toward the main part of the garden, you’re greeted by a beautiful assemblage of Mediterranean-climate-loving plants. Little succulents nestle up to an Agave ‘Blue Glow’, with prehistoric-seeming Proteus flowering above.

Silvery blue Agave ‘Blue Glow’ is not winter hardy in Austin, but I may have to get one anyway and resign myself to carrying yet another plant indoors during freezes.

Another mild-winter plant I adore, this butter-yellow kangaroo paws pairs perfectly with a creamy striped agave.

Yum!

Another fetching combination features California poppies and blue fescue.

I believe this is a bronze cordyline. It was gigantic, towering tree-like over the patio below — one of Mother Nature’s sculptures next to those of the homeowner.

From the far corner of the garden, here’s a look back at the elevated deck. You can see what a key role verticality plays in this small garden. Much of the planting space has been achieved by planting up — up trellises, up on the deck, up the sheer cliff wall. Necessity is the mother of invention, and of creatively planted gardens too, it seems.

Up next: A hidden garden in the courtyard of a city apartment building, known as the Organic Mechanics Garden. For a look back at the uniquely literary garden of artist and designer Shirley Watts, click here.

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