The legacy of Cypress Lawn’s Memorial Park can be traced back over 130 years to our founder, Hamden Holmes Noble. In 1892, our Memorial Park began with the goal to provide a beautiful place for families in the Bay Area to memorialize their loved ones. This same noble goal remains with our compassionate staff to this day. At that time, San Francisco city officials passed a law essentially “evicting” the dead from city limits. Real estate was in hot demand — which may feel akin to today’s housing market — and many community members didn’t want cemeteries taking up valuable space in the city. Dur ..read more

Beginning in the opening month of 2023, Cypress Lawn Arboretum will be hosting our inaugural botanical art gallery exhibit, featuring several works by renowned local artist Pria Graves. This exhibit will launch on January 20th and will remain on display in the lobby of the main offices at Cypress Lawn (1370 El Camino Real) through February 24th. We hope you will visit the Arboretum to experience our living collection of trees and plants and spend a moment to witness the remarkable art of Ms. Graves, in living color!   Pria Graves has been creating botanical art since 1992. She now works ..read more

THE ORIGIN OF HERITAGE   From origin upon this earth Arising from the sand To journey far, friend, from thy birth  Your seed now germs on distant land   This story seldom hears the call Unknown tale, to my own kin So by these words, may we grow tall Together! Let us now begin …     A botanist named Hartweg sailed Across the ocean blue To lands, where winds ancestral wailed Old Hespero, on Lobos, grew   A branch was taken, holotype! So science gave thee a name Your seed then carried, green and ripe To kingdom, of royal London fame     From Kew, on to th ..read more

In September of 2019, I embarked on a global journey as a traveling scholar of UC Berkeley’s Geraldine Knight Scott Fellowship. My purpose was to follow the Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) wherever it has been planted by people, which for this species of cypress is a great many places. Half the world away, this tree has grown a living legacy in the cultures of countless communities and has indelibly transformed the landscape on multiple continents. In no place is this more true than the island nation of New Zealand. In the home of the Kiwis, where they call the cypress simply “mac ..read more

Veteran Cypress   Rugged beauty on continent’s edge, Your rounded canopy swept by fog Gives little hint of your ultimate fate. Below, in the canyon, your gnarled roots Cling, oh so firmly, to weathered stone; And above, your thickened buttress stands Rock-solid, fixing that massive trunk   Yet, even now, your buttress splits, And adjacent slopes are strewn with limbs. Are you aware, old veteran, or your destiny? But then… do any of us know?    Curt Cureton, 1996[1]   The above poem describes an iconic and ancient Monterey cypress, known as “The Old Veteran of Point Lo ..read more

By Cypress Lawn Arboretum Director Josh Gevertz   Hesperocyparis macrocarpa – Monterey cypress   Creative inspiration is rarely a given. Most often, it needs to be strived for, cultivated, discovered. In my own experience, there is a certain openness of the mind and spirit that lives as an essential tenet, preceding and informing the deeply human act of making. This notion might be thought of as a participatory dance with the muses, an engagement of one’s psyche with just the right environment and surrounding influences to become ripe for creativity. Such conditions may be int ..read more

This past September, a major seasonal effort in the pruning of Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) trees took place, here at Cypress Lawn Arboretum! Please enjoy this video, showcasing the work and arboricultural intentions of CypressFest.                                     Our namesake native tree of the California coast — here in the cemeteries of Colma, there are hundreds of these phenomenally large plants. Scattered throughout more than 250 acres of Arboretum grounds, centurial speci ..read more

Dearest friends, neighbors, and tree-lovers near and far — It is my honor to extend to you a cordial in-person (as well as virtual!) invitation to our second-annual Arboretum Day, here at Cypress Lawn Arboretum and Botanical Gardens on Nov. 12, 2021. The first-ever Arboretum Day, held last year on Nov. 18, 2020, was indeed a meaningful celebration of life befitting the legacy of our Memorial Park, where trees have been cherished since our founding in 1892. On that day, we planted a memorial tree in honor of the many lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Monterey cypress seedling in the lee of ..read more

On November 12th, 2021, just a few short months ago, we celebrated our second-annual Arboretum Day. This special event of planting trees, learning about the living collection of Cypress Lawn Arboretum, and growing our community of tree-lovers near and far was a joyous and successful occasion. Many thanks to all those who helped to bring the festivities to life, including the kind people of the office of the Town of Colma. With a formal proclamation by the honorable Mayor Diana Colvin, Arboretum Day is and will now be an official annual holiday throughout Colma, to be celebrated in our unique ..read more

There is a certain awe that a tree may inspire, when given our attention.  The dappled light passing through a curtain of pine needles; a shimmering branch of copper beech leaves, dancing on the wind; the heady scent of magnolia flowers in mid-summer bloom.  At Cypress Lawn Arboretum, the care of our trees is given in the intention of nurturing these opportunities for inspiration, for all who come to visit our memorial park. In the preservation of our most senior trees, specimens may be managed to extend their lifetimes and protect the living legacy they have grown over so many decad ..read more