Sunset garden ready for the big time

Tour the garden: Lawrence Helman shows off one of his microgarden quadrants; note the large rhododendron over his shoulder and the varieties of lettuce in the bed, above. Below, a cactus with bright flowers is among the color spots in Helman’s varied garden. (Bret Putnam/Special to The Examiner)

SAN FRANCISCO — With victory gardens all the rage, it’s nice to find a garden that tastes as good as it looks.

Lawrence Helman has a garden in San Francisco’s Sunset district that appeals to all the senses.

He has vegetables and fruit to eat, roses to smell, succulents to touch, perennials to see and a 70-year-old rhododendron bush — almost a tree — that rustles in the wind, to hear.

Helman works as a publicist for the arts in San Francisco and is an event planner and documentary producer; in 2005 he produced “That Man: Peter Berlin.”

The garden, which he designed and created, is as dynamic as any Broadway show. He even added some mirrors on the fencing around the garden.

There are four quadrants housing edibles and florals.

One microgarden is devoted to lettuce — “so many varieties,” he says. Others are for dahlias (“my favorite, they do so well in the Sunset”), irises, strawberries and a variety of blooming perennials.

Each quadrant is a slightly raised bed, bordered by wood.

“I didn’t use railroad ties because I heard that they have chemicals in them,” Helman says.

Along the perimeter of the microgardens is a stellar collection of succulents, some with bright orange flowers, including aloe and cabbage cacti, and others in multiple shapes, colors and varieties.

“My favorite is red and white and green — not as big as the other ones, but the geometry is so beautiful,” Helman says.

They flourish alongside red roses and cymbidium orchids.

“Cymbidiums do well here,” he says, “when friends visit and ask to bring a gift, I ask for them, rather than wine.”

Helman, “a weekend gardener,” clearly relishes his plot. His energy and enthusiasm are palpable.

The clear imperative of this garden is to produce, and produce it does. He says, the cactuses are “so prolific, they just keep growing. Every time I pick one to give to people, there are eight little babies underneath it.”

He has snap peas, and offers some to visitors, and his lettuces are choice. He tried tomatoes, but says, “In the Sunset, it’s hard to grow them.”

His wide, two-story deck, which he also designed, features cable wire railings, frosted glass on the sides and overlooks the garden and the entire neighborhood.

He has a sprinkler system on three grids: one for the deck, one for the side and rear beds, and one for the inner beds.

Speaking excitedly about plans for more roses next year, Helman’s a garden impresario with a garden that delights.