Forestiere Underground Gardens

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
​~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Visiting the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, California, may be the closest I will ever get to visiting a hobbit-hole.

In 1901, a young immigrant farmer from Sicily named Baldassare Forestiere traveled from Italy to America to make his fortune. After arriving in New York City, he spent some time working underground on building the New York subway system, mostly to escape the cold, wet weather that did not favorably compare with the warm Mediterranean weather with which he had grown up. He then spent some time in the Boston area, farming the land and honing his skills. It did not take him long to decide to head west to sunnier climes carrying his dreams to successfully grow a variety of citrus fruits in California.

He landed in Fresno.

With money cobbled together from his previous jobs, instead of lodgings, he bought a large plot of land. By day he worked as a farmer in the scorching summer heat and by night he began to dig, at first simply to create somewhere to rest, out of the sun.

Using only hand tools; a pick, a shovel and a wheelbarrow, he began to make a home for himself underground. He dug through the hardpan to create the most beautiful rooms, patios, grottos, garden courts, fish ponds and meeting spaces, all with Italian flair. Without a plan or formal education, Forestiere built arches, roofs and walls with stonework reminiscent of Catholic Chapels, nooks for religious statuary, benches for prayer, and at the heart of it all, he included the most incredible raised beds from which his beloved citrus trees grew. Of course he grew oranges, lemons and grapefruit but he also grew more unusual varieties like kumquats, loquats, jujubes, carob, quince, and dates as well as wine and table grapes. Experimenting with hybrids he even grew a tree that bore both oranges and lemons from the same bough of the same tree. 

By the time he was 44 years old Baldassare Forestiere had excavated and planted over 10 acres.

By hand!

The beauty, fragrance and energy of the place was incredible. Palpable. Magical.

Perhaps Bilbo Baggins and Baldassare Forestiere shared a distant hobbit ancestor. Belladonna Took has an Italian ring to it, right? I choose to believe Baldy Forestiere enjoyed a comfortable second breakfast just like Bilbo and they certainly shared a love for travel and unexpected adventures.

In 1979, the Forestiere Underground Garden was designated a California Historic Landmark and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.