Located at the intersection of Bridgeway, Caledonia and Napa Streets, Bolinar Plaza commemorates Sausalito’s 1993 Centennial and celebrates the city’s Portuguese heritage. In 2018, this treasured gem was renovated by several parties including Sausalito Beautifiul as project leader, the Sausalito Art Festival as financial donor, Schwartz Landscape Architecture as plants donor and the City of Sausalito’s Department of Public Works. Subsequenty, this pocket park won the Caledonia Area Beautification Award.

Anchoring the space is “Bolinar – Close to the Wind,” a classic sail sculpture by local artist John Libberton. Original tiles were donated by Heath Ceramics under the direction of renowned ceramist Edith Heath. Plants for the 1993 succulent garden were donated by the late Dr. Herman Schwartz, the famed plant collector and succulent specialist who made his home in Marin County.

To celebrate Bolinar’s beautiful new landscape, Sausalito Beautiful hosted a champagne reception for those participating in the renovation. Among those recognized were Tom Wilhite, Loren Umbertis, David Schwartz, John Libberton, the Sausalito Art Festival, Tia Weissman, DPW landscape workers and Sausalito Beautiful’s Green Thumbs team.

If you’d like to include water-wise succulents in your garden, Tom Wilhite (Bolinar Plaza’s garden designer) suggests these three from Bolinar Plaza:

• Spider Aloe (Aloe x spinosissima) is the red-blooming plant in the photo above
• Blue Chalksticks (Senecio mandraliscae) is the lower-growing blue plant
• Foxtail Agave (Agave attenuata) is the large leafed green plant