Robert Trachtenberg, a landscape designer who lives in Berkeley, is the owner of Garden Architecture. This photo essay is part of an occasional series in which Trachtenberg brings an educated eye to the beauty of the nature that surrounds us in Berkeley. It has been several weeks since I took these photos as I was […]
Robert Trachtenberg
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Awakenings: Early bloomers in Berkeley
Robert Trachtenberg, a landscape designer who lives in Berkeley, is the owner of Garden Architecture. This photo essay is part of an occasional series in which Trachtenberg brings an educated eye to the beauty of the nature that surrounds us in Berkeley. After a long hibernation and nearly a year to the day since the […]
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Comal: New restaurant takes a bet on downtown Berkeley
On Friday, John Paluska will throw open the heavy steel doors to his ambitious new restaurant, Comal, which he hopes will become a magnet for local residents and a cultural incubator. “I see it as a big tent that I hope will become the heart of the community,” he said last week as he stood […]
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Spectacular fall colors on view for all in Berkeley
By Robert Trachtenberg This has been one of the more spectacular fall color seasons that I can remember for a long time. The lack of rain and recent cool weather has given us a prolonged show of color that has lasted for several months now. Maybe it is my Pittsburgh PA, roots but the fall […]
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Memories of a fading summer: Shades of blue
By Robert Trachtenberg It is hard to believe how fast the summer went by. But it has been great having this last bit of Indian summer weather before the winter sets in. I did manage to capture a few moments of summer bloom that I wanted to share. Robert Trachtenberg, a landscape designer who lives in Berkeley, […]
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An all-white garden: serene, simple, sophisticated
By Robert Trachtenberg Writing this column has been a real thrill for me, as I am now cruising around Berkeley on high alert in search of anything that is spectacular in the world of plants. I start and end many of days with my camera in hand hoping to come across something special that I can […]
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The Hanging Gardens of Berkeley
By Robert Trachtenberg I have spent the last month observing and waiting to see what is blooming in Berkeley as we slowly come out of a long, cold winter. Berkeley the Garden City is an incredible place to live, especially if you have a passion for gardens and architecture. In my recent search for plants that are […]
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Strong, sculptural trees bring a sense of community
Despite the fact the calender says that it is spring, we all know that is still feels like winter. The bloom season for many trees such as Flowering Crabapples has been shortened with all of this rain. So I found myself focusing on the structural beauty of trees and how they help create a strong sense of identity in […]
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Berkeley in bloom: Shadow play and winter silhouettes
By Robert Trachtenberg When I was a young man (9th grade) falling in love with nature and in particular with trees, I was struck by a passage in The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins was walking through a forest and he observed: “Never before have I become so suddenly and so keenly aware of a tree’s skin, […]
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Signs of spring come early in Berkeley
The warm weather we have been enjoying recently has brought out the early bloomers. Berkeleysider and landscape architect Robert Trachtenberg sent in these photographs — and provided the precise identification for the blooms. “I just wanted to share a few beauties I see daily in my neighborhood,” he says.