Honoring a man who helped Oakland gardens grow

"There was L.M. Newsom, an early Bay Area nurseryman; Walter Plunkett, an Academy Award-winning costume designer known for his gorgeous costumes in films such as Gone With the Wind and Singin' in the Rain; and Samuel Newsom, a one-time resident of Mill Valley who owned the Greenwood Tree art store in the El Paseo building and is recognized for writing the first modern book in English on Japanese gardens."

"While Taylor knew of her family's public contributions, it wasn't until this weekend that she was able to celebrate one of them in real time. On the closing night of the Autumn Lights Festival at the Gardens at Lake Merritt, she was present to witness her 84-year-old uncle, Bruce Cobbledick, be publicly lauded and awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt for his dedication to the Gardens of Lake Merritt."

"Earlier that evening, as Cobbledick, his son, Kevin, and Taylor strolled the gardens with other festivalgoers, the elder Cobbledick was continuously met with hugs by his friends who still volunteer there. The Gardens at Lake Merritt is a 7-acre city-owned oasis set in Lakeside Park facing Lake Merritt, the nation's first wildlife refuge. Its various themed gardens bay-friendly, edible, Japanese, Mediterranean, bonsai, palm, rhododendron, sensory, pollinator, succulent and bee are supported by the volunteer group Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt."

Greenbrae resident Cathy Taylor descends from a family with deep contributions to art, design and gardens, including L.M. Newsom, Walter Plunkett and Samuel Newsom. Samuel Newsom wrote the first modern English book on Japanese gardens and designed the Carson Mansion and the Japanese Tea Garden waterfall. Great-grandfather James H. Cobbledick founded and for 25 years led the Oakland Businessmen's Garden Club, which helped create Children's Fairyland in 1950. Taylor attended the Autumn Lights Festival closing night at the Gardens at Lake Merritt when her 84-year-old uncle, Bruce Cobbledick, received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The seven-acre Gardens at Lake Merritt are supported by volunteer group Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

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