Holding San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Backyard rising
When Steven Pitsenbarger goes to work as a garden manager amid the greenery and beauty of San Francisco’s Japanese tea garden, he often takes a trip back in time.
He was taken there frequently by his single mother and five siblings during their childhood in San Francisco when the garden was still vacant. It is a place whose history he has been researching tirelessly for many years and lecturing at conferences and workshops across the country. It is also home to a grove of Cryptomeria trees – one of his favorite spots in the United States’ oldest public Japanese garden.
The Mill Valley resident, who studied ornamental horticulture at the City College of San Francisco, started out as a gardener at the Japanese Tea Garden in 2007. Pitsenbarger is also on the board of directors of the North American Japanese Garden Association.
Q How did you get into this field?
A I worked in an office job and felt like I was losing touch with myself and the world, trapped in that fluorescent cubicle. I remember exactly one day watching a grove of trees at work in front of the window and thinking about how I wanted to be outside. I quit with no real plan. I saved some money so I wouldn’t have to work for a while and spent about three months at home working on my own garden. That was my therapy. I should have known then that I should be doing gardening. I ended up starting my own business and painting houses for 10 years. That took me to a point where I again didn’t feel satisfied with my work. I thought about the things I wanted to do, what I would be happiest to do, and gardening was one of those things.
Photo by Kevin Kelleher
Steven Pitsenbarger grew up with the Japanese tea garden.
Q What do you love about Japanese gardens?
A When I went to school I had been doing an internship at the Conservatory of Flowers and thought to myself, maybe I want to end up here. But after being in the Japanese Tea Garden for a couple of weeks, I thought I had found my place. There’s something about a Japanese garden that just clicks with my brain. At its core, Japanese gardening is a connection between people and nature, and I have always been drawn to nature.
Q How was it when the garden closed at the beginning of the pandemic?
A On the one hand, being in the garden all by myself was fantastic and I was able to do things that I normally can’t do in the garden when it is full of people. But since the garden was empty there was a sadness. All this beauty happened and people couldn’t experience it. It also gave me a bit of perspective because our world was turned a bit upside down. So much has changed in our lives, but when you look at the garden, it’s like the world is still going, spring is still in progress, the flowers are still in bloom. The world doesn’t stop just because of us.
Q Why was it important to you to get to know the history of the garden?
A Often times, when you get into an older garden, try to determine the intent of the design. It’s difficult in our garden because so many hands have worked on the design over the years. But I didn’t just want to be informed about Japanese gardens in general, but also about our garden, so that when I make a decision – I take this tree out, I move this stone – I want to make informed decisions. I ended up walking down all of those rabbit holes trying to put together a full story about how the garden became where it is today. I am in the process of writing a book about the garden because there are many fascinating stories about the garden, but also that the information out there is based on myths, family stories and many exaggerations and sometimes just inventions that are generally known.
Q Do you spend a lot of time gardening at home?
A I have a garden in Mill Valley but can’t say I spend a lot of time in it. It’s pretty easy. It’s hard to garden all day and then to garden at night when I come back. With managing the garden, playing and writing music, taking care of two dogs, there are plenty of things to keep you busy.
