Event: January General Meeting

Speaker: Daisy Mah

Topic: Three Decades at William Land Park

Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025  •  7 p.m.

Location: Shepard Garden & Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento

After touring the William Land Park work site and meeting staff, the Parks Supervisor tried to tamp down Daisy Mah’s interest as she gazed over the hillside—referred to as the maze or the jungle—ablaze in white, a plant she would later coin the “wretched onion.” His words were uttered in vain; the dreamer was smitten and thus began a story lasting over three decades.

The hillside garden, developed in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), had long been reduced to ivy, periwinkle and weeds. Daisy learned all too soon the folly of gardening with minimal support, lack of experience, vandals and thieves. As years passed, other areas were renovated but have since been abandoned, victims of budget crunches. In Daisy’s post-retirement, the WPA Rock Garden quickly went into decline but now with help from dedicated employees, volunteers and funding from the Perennial Plant Club, the garden supporters are marching forward with rekindled hope and vision.