Potrero Hill Eco-Patch
400 block of Vermont St.
(Note: The garden is currently viewed through a chain-length fence unless you’re there on an open garden day)

Designed by Field Collective with input from the community and Yerba Buena chapter, the garden features “native San Francisco plants with the intention of providing wildlife habitat and restoring biodiversity. The project is part of the larger Potrero Gateway Project, which is a community initiative that involves the reclamation of Caltrans land for the benefit of the neighborhood and biodiversity. This particular piece of land is situated above serpentine bedrock, which underlies portions of San Francisco. The selection of plants that survive and thrive in serpentine conditions highlights the unique natural history of the site and creates habitat for wildlife, such as the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly, which have coevolved with those plants.

“The Eco-Patch is intended to serve as a catalyst for change by showcasing the ecological and aesthetic benefits of habitat restoration. By design, the Eco-Patch encourages imitation, as it seeks to show the positive impact that a network of habitat patches can have on biodiversity. Geographic isolation caused by habitat fragmentation is one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss. Research in landscape ecology tells us that if enough patches within close proximity are restored, many species, especially insects and birds can island hop and reestablish, especially if there are corridors connecting them.”

Featured plants: Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis), beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), California field sedge (Carex praegracilis), prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), California fescue (F. californica), Franciscan wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum).