An exquisite risk.
Western Hills Garden comes with a long and inspiring history, one that embraces alternative paths and a vision for something different.
In 1959, Lester Hawkins and Marshall Olbrich purchased the property that would become the Western Hills Rare Plants Nursery. They were two bohemian radicals from San Francisco who decided to escape the ruckus of the city and live surrounded and inspired by nature. They set out to homestead in Western Sonoma County with no building or gardening skills. Over the next three decades, they seeded an epicenter of Bay Area horticultural innovation and celebration that would become known internationally. Their passion, hard work, and tolerance for risk led to an exquisite collection of plants and trees from around the world.
In 1991, they bequeathed the property to their beloved gardener Maggie Wych, who added critical infrastructure and whimsical touches—including the arched wooden structure now known as “Maggie’s Folly”—and further developed the garden into a destination for the public. Chris and Tim Szybalski took over in 2010 and made significant investments, improving and rebuilding Western Hills’ physical structures, upgrading its irrigation systems, and revitalizing the botanical collection.
Hadley Dynak and Kent Strader (us!) purchased the property in August 2021. We will embrace our predecessors’ vision while leaving our own imprint the community can be proud of. We hope the property will serve as a place for visitors to connect to nature, learn about ecology, find inspiration, express creativity, and encourage new ideas to take root.
Western Hills Garden is a collective representation of its owners past and present. We continue to spend time learning about the history and plant collection and are building out our preservation, programming, and partnership plans. We’ll share more as they develop. We’re curious to hear from you too so let us know if you have stories or ideas to share.
Click through the snapshots below to learn more about the history of Western Hills Garden.
Western Hills Garden press
New York Times
“If you ask gardeners about their early influences, they often cite a parent or grandparent. But many serious gardeners in California—and throughout the country—are quick to mention Western Hills, a little nursery on the fringe of this Sonoma County village.”
Sunset Magazine
“Western Hills has a historically influential plant collection, along with a barn studio, a greenhouse, a commons area, four ponds, and a propagation house. It’s also gobsmackingly beautiful…But Western Hills is more than a garden; it’s the embodiment of an emblematic story.”
Pacific Horticulture
“Western Hills…was named after the early Chinese philosopher’s retreat outside Beijing and evolved into an enterprise that inspired a community of horticulturists and landscape designers that profoundly changed the look of West Coast gardens.”
A Growing Obsession
“When the pursuit of plants was still an adventure and not a mouse click, when one smuggled plants in suitcases from Europe because there was no U.S. source…the rare plants nursery at Western Hills became the beacon that guided me to a fecund world brimming over with a stunning riches of plant wealth, a world I returned to again and again for over 20 years.”
Garden Conservancy
“Returning visitors are pleased to see the progress of the garden, while nostalgically noting that it has evolved. The sunny hillsides with rare plantings are now covered by the shade of 60-year old trees and a mix of modern and historic cultivars…While Western Hills has proven itself to be a tenacious garden, it requires a caring and engaged community in order to thrive.”
Press Democrat
“To horticulturists, Western Hills is hallowed ground, with a history going back more than 60 years. The jewel of the property is not the house, but the garden, a magical community of wildly diverse plants from Australia, South America and South Africa collected many years ago by the late Lester Hawkins and Marshall Olbrich, who laid it out in a storybook setting of winding paths and bridges circumnavigating a large pond.”
SF Chronicle
“When the pandemic forced people indoors, many bought plants to spruce up their living spaces. A married couple from Berkeley went one better: They bought a 3-acre nursery.
But not just any nursery.”
Flora Grubb Bucket List
“Make a plan to find garden inspiration by visiting some of the Bay Area's public gardens. We put together a handy map of public gardens in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and a bit beyond..”
Disconnect from the digital world and immerse yourself in natural beauty as you stroll the three-acre grounds of Western Hills Garden, what The New York Times once wrote about in an article called "If Tiffany Sold Plants."
Western Hills Garden interviews
Edie Tanem has taken over for her father on his weekly KSFO Sunday morning talk radio show. On December 3, 2023, she interviewed Hadley about the past, present, and future of Western Hills Garden.
Articles by or about Lester Hawkins + Marshall Olbrich
A nonprofit community organization dedicated to advocating is for the garden and its power to enrich lives and heal the environment through writings, podcasts, experiences, awards, and travel opportunities.