At the bottom of the garden is the ballroom, one of Mr. Hand's favorite areas. You descend into this complex and emotionally powerful space on curving staircases, reaching a wide expanse -- indeed the widest part of the garden -- with five ponds, a cascade, the cliff wall, and benches offering panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay.

You can munch on a pippin apple or a tangerine -- both of which produce fruit in the ballroom, and gaze into a selvatic area below -- the woods -- which blends the cultivated garden into untended parkland. Deer graze in the park, squirrels leap through branches, birds sing. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland, visible in the distance, seem far away...

Pippin Apple Tree

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