The Willow Glen Resident

Bird Avenue may lose iris garden

Developers at work on plan to bulldoze flowers for homes

By Cecily Barnes

One of the valley's last remaining reminders of its orchard days plans to pack it up and move south. Willow Glen's Maryott's Garden, which has sold homegrown irises on Bird Avenue since 1978, will likely be leaving San Jose for Corralitos in the next few months. Garden owner Bill Maryott and garden manager Marilyn Harlow are waiting for the final word from the Santa Clara Development Company, which, if the deal goes through, intends to erect 12 single-family homes on the site of the iris garden.

"We'd be leaving San Jose because a developer might offer us enough money that we can't turn it down," Maryott said. "If they do that, we'll be history in San Jose."

For the time being, Maryott and Harlow are carrying on business as usual, pulling the irises from the ground and sacking the bulbs until next season, when they'll be replanted--either on Bird Avenue or in Corralitos.

If the sale goes through, Maryott will pack up his one-acre garden and move to a five-acre plot in Corralitos, with room for many more irises. Because the zoning of the new property doesn't allow on-site sales, Maryott will release a large catalog for customers to browse and order from.

In 1978, Bill Maryott began planting and growing irises in his Bird Avenue garden as a hobby. At the time he was a full-time engineer for IBM and would plant irises mostly after work and on the weekends. Over time, the garden and customer demand grew. In 1992, Maryott retired from IBM and began working full time at the garden.

"It's a tremendous amount of work," Maryott said. "It's a seven-day-a-week, 15- hour-a-day job."

But Maryott has made history at his garden, inventing at least 100 new strains of irises. According to Harlow, Maryott's favorite iris inventions include "Oktoberfest," "Sunny Bubbles" and "Pure as Gold."

Valley residents and visitors have often stopped by the iris garden in spring to view a field of colorful blooms tucked behind a busy street in the midst of the city.

"First-time visitors are always very surprised to see a piece of country on busy Bird Avenue," garden manager Harlow said. "The iris garden on Bird Avenue has kind of been an institution."

If Maryott's leaves, Bird Avenue will be devoid of irises for the first time in 40 years. According to Harlow, there has been some kind of iris garden on Bird since the early 1950s. Harlow mentioned the Rees sisters and Bernice Roe as once having their own well-known iris gardens on Bird Avenue.

Willow Glen residents say the garden is a unique asset to Willow Glen--one that will be missed by the community.

"I think it's neat whenever you have something that's unique like that in a community," said Kris Cunningham, a Willow Glen resident and president of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association. "It's beautiful and gives us a little bit of nature in the middle of the city. It's something to be cherished, but my practical feeling is that all good things come to an end."

Others felt less willing to see the garden go.

"I hope it can stay," Willow Glen resident and WGNA board member Larry Ames said. "I took relatives there, out-of-state visitors. It was one of the things to do in San Jose, not just Willow Glen but San Jose. I'm going to miss it."

The Santa Clara Development Company confirmed that 12 single-family homes would be ready for occupancy approximately one year after the purchase date, should the developer decide to purchase the property.

The development would require a new public street, which planners expect to name Iris Gardens Court, according to senior city planner Carol Hamilton.

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