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About The Garden

Mission Statement

RuthBancroft

The mission of the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Inc. is to preserve this exceptional example of garden design and to continue to develop its collection of water-conserving plants for the education and enjoyment of the public.

Read about The Garden's History.

Staff Biographies

Becky Rice, Executive Director

Becky Rice is the Executive Director of The Ruth Bancroft Garden. She has worked at The Garden since 2002, when she was awarded the Marco Polo Stufano Garden Conservancy Fellowship. After the fellowship was complete, she joined the staff as the Education Director. Becky is originally from Georgia, where she grew up gardening alongside her parents. She earned a B.S.A. in Horticulture and an M.H.P. in Historic Preservation, both from The University of Georgia.

Rebecca Ines, Development Director

Rebecca Ines has lived in Contra Costa County since 1960 and has a BA in Business Management from Saint Mary’s College, Moraga. She comes to The Garden with a passion for horticulture. She has studied California native plants while being involved with watershed restoration and open space conservation. Rebecca’s background in the Arts includes grant writing, fundraising, events planning, marketing and public relations. She has also worked with several non-profits, City Government, and has served on several county boards and commissions.

Brian Kemble, Director of Horticulture

Brian Kemble has been involved with The Ruth Bancroft Garden since 1980. He is highly regarded in the horticultural world and lectures in this country and in South Africa on the Agave family, Aloes, Bromeliads, the history of The Ruth Bancroft Garden and other horticultural topics. Kemble has a B.A. in Philosophy from Antioch College. His work has been in the area of horticulture since 1976, including garden design and installation, tree trimming and garden maintenance. Brian's work for The Garden has included hybridizing of aloes, agaves, and some South American cacti. Brian has traveled extensively in Mexico and South Africa, studying and photographing plants in their native habitats.

Andrew Wong, Gardener

Andrew Wong is a Bay Area native with 5 years experience in the field of landscape gardening. He studied Horticulture /Landscape at Merritt College with coursework in native plants, arboriculture, plant care, and soils etc. When Andrew is not gardening, he is running. Active in the sport of ultra-marathon distance running, he has completed distances greater than 100 kilometers. Currently he is training for his first attempt at the 100 mile distance. Other goals include training for an Iron Man distance triathlon.

Read The Biographies of Our Board Members.

The Ruth Bancoft Garden Newsletter

Read our Spring 2008 Newsletter in PDF Format.

Centennial Celebration

If ever there was a time to celebrate, 2008 is it! This year marks the 100th birthday of The Garden's Founder Ruth Bancroft. If you would like to get involved in this historic endeavor, you can help by contributing to the Centennial Fund or by attending on of our many special events this year.