Sunflower, vegetable gardens lighten up downtown Santa Rosa

The tomatoes and basil are coming in nicely, and the bees look to be enjoying the sunflowers, in a linear garden that charms and enlivens a workaday block of central Santa Rosa.

Sunflowers of various heights, colors, diameters and stages of life dominate the urban plot, two perpendicular blocks long and no wider than your shoulders.

It occupies what was before a largely barren sidewalk planter that borders two sides of a municipal parking lot on South East Street between Second and Third.

The entire landscape of the heavily treaded zone - the main post office is just to the south of the parking lot, the Central Santa Rosa Library to the north - is brightened and softened and made conducive to lollygagging by the presence of the vegetables and herbs and the skinny, gangly forest of sunflowers.

In an earthen area at the entrance to the parking lot directly across the post office, there’s also a flowering garden embellished with a plaster birdbath and three orange spheres that from a distance might be reasonably be mistaken for pumpkins.

On Monday, several admirers of the L-shaped garden identified the creator and caretaker as Paul Miller, a Sonoma County native and an attorney with an office in the Second Street building immediately west of the parking lot.

Miller could not be reached Monday to be asked about the inspiration that led him to plant the garden and the toil required to keep it watered and maintained.

His website tells of a son of Healdsburg who has two boys, brings his dog to work, runs, plays soccer, focuses his law practice on estate planning, probate and trust administration - and is active in endeavors to revitalize downtown Santa Rosa.

On Monday, passers-by gazed up at his artful fence of sunflowers and smiled.

A woman headed for her parked car seemed to hear the cherry tomatoes beckon, “Please, pick and taste a few,” and she complied.

You can reach Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.