Einstein once said, "One of the strongest motives that leads men to art and science is escape from everyday life…" certainly applies to
Ed and Marian Sampson who escaped to their magic garden, where they indulged their love of flowers, trees, and open land.
In 1973, while looking for the perfect acreage that included fruit trees and room to raise Hackney horses,
Ed and Marian (who passed away two years ago) discovered the town of Tehachapi, tucked away in the Sierra Nevada joins the Tehachapi Mountains, 45 miles southwest of their Bakersfield home. Due to the 4,000-foot elevation,
Tehachapi has four distinct seasons, where winters are mild and the surrounding mountains are often snow-capped. This environmentally unique area is a transition zone between mountain and desert.
Sampson's Mourning Cloak Ranch
is built on the historic site of Williamsberg, a town that predates the city of Tehachapi. Brite Creek, swollen with water until the scorched summer months, winds through the ranch.
"We were immediately drawn to this
property by the many large and very old valley and blue oaks," says Sampson, who has an entomology and horticulture background. "The name Mourning Cloak is taken from a beautiful butterfly that breeds in great numbers,
with thousands of larvae found on the willows along the creek. The grounds are approximately 30-acres with 22-acres completely landscaped."
The rolling hills are alive with more than 30 mature oaks, some estimated to be 400
years old. "One Quercus lobata (valley oak) is 72 feet tall and has a spread of 128 feet," says Sampson.
The entrance to the Ranch is a sculptured iron gate that opens to visitors from all over the world. "Last
year we welcomed over 10,000 people, including two busloads from China," Sampson happily points out.
Visitors take the bridge over the running creek and wander the garden paths lined with old oak trees and timber. The ranch
house looks nestled into the side of a mountain surrounded by trees and plants while quail and deer feed on native plants.
Sampson's neighbors include gray fox, raccoons, skunks, possum, bob cats, mountain lion, black bear, and
deer. There are 71 species of birds recorded in the annual Audubon bird counts along with California Quail, common to the area.
"In our largest trees we host the migrating Turkey Vultures," continued Sampson.
"Some nights we have 800 roosting birds."
Sampson painted a lovely word picture of his gardens. "If you walk down one of the paths in the Stroll Garden, you notice a large statue of the patron Saint of Gardening,
surrounded by red leafed Berberis. To the right are brilliant blue native California flowers (penstemon heterophyllus) and in the foreground orange and yellow Foxgove (digitalis ambigus) behind them."
Each plant in this
two-acre garden is permanently identified with metal labels. A huge Valley Oak stands guard over the flora, lending shade during the hot dry months of summer.
"One hundred percent of my waking hours are devoted to the
Gardens. We hired a plant propagator, Maria Aquirre, who's been here for 14 years and two additional gardeners," says Sampson. "The big secret here at the Ranch is our docent program. Without the trained docents the
gardens wouldn't have succeeded. We are fortunate to have 10 lovely ladies who give guided tours and work in the gift shop."
In the beginning, "we found little information available for this growing area. We decided to
experiment, grow many plants and keep accurate records so the information could be shared with the many newcomers arriving in the area," says Sampson. Twenty-seven years later the garden includes 2,200 species of plants,
mostly exotics but also 500 California native plants.
A frequent visitor to the Ranch is Tehachapi City Manager Jason Caudle, who notes, "Eight years ago my first visit to the ranch happened when Marian invited the town's
people for coffee, cookies and a seminar. My wife and I bought six trumpet vines that continue to grow in our backyard today. Something as beautiful as Mourning Cloak Ranch doesn't happen overnight. It takes a passion and a
lifetime of hard work," says Caudle.
Surrounded by acres of beauty a new flower has sprung up at Mourning Cloak Ranch. Sampson cultivated it and lovingly named the flower the Marian Sampson. This dazzling scarlet-red flower
recently became the official flower for the city of Tehachapi.
