Hidden Forest Nursery and Botanical Reserve faces an uncertain future
Hidden Forest Nursery and Botanical Reserve faces an uncertain future
This hidden gem south of Sebastopol may be going up for sale soon
At the end of a peaceful country lane a few minutes drive from downtown Sebastopol lies one of West County’s true gems: Hidden Forest Nursery and Botanical Reserve. A natural marvel encompassing 7.5 acres, the reserve is 60 years in the making.
“There is no other place like this, and you can’t make a place like this. [It] takes a long time,” said retired landscaper Mike Boss, who purchased the land in 2017 and has since pioneered numerous projects on it, including improving the forest, creating a nonprofit organization with an educational program and founding the botanical reserve itself.
The project began when Audrey and Stewart Barber purchased the land from a cattle ranch in 1965 and founded the Azalea Farm and Garden. Polo De Lorenzo and Warren Smith next assumed ownership, renaming it Sonoma Horticultural Nursery in 1978, and adding infrastructure and planting vast amounts of flowering bushes, vines and unusual plants and trees.
Previously featured in Sonoma Magazine and the Sebastopol Times, the property is now home to large numbers of exotic, mature trees, including redwoods, empress trees, weeping willows, magnolias, katsuras, a wollemi pine and Sonoma County Heritage Tree No. 20 — a Sonoma dove tree — to name but a few. Many of the trees are hybrids; some are one-of-a-kind.
The property also has a house, its own spring pond and naturally occurring wetlands with a towering Chinese swamp cypress growing in it, as well as a meadow, a gazebo, outbuildings and an outdoor classroom. Blucher Creek, which flows all year long, runs through it.
In addition, the expansive nursery sells fruit trees, camellias, rhododendrons, trees, ferns, vines, azaleas, herbs, veggies, edibles, grasses and perennials.
“You know, they say love is blind. Love is blind, and I fell in love with this place,” Boss said.
Per his brochure, in 2023 he dedicated the non-nursery grounds as the Hidden Forest Botanical Reserve and formed a 501c3 nonprofit organization called Friends of the Hidden Forest. The nonprofit’s mission is to inspire nature appreciation and education “by protecting, preserving, improving and promoting nature sanctuaries like the Hidden Forest Botanical Reserve.”
Nonprofit Friends of the Hidden Forest offers memberships with special privileges, docent-led tours, self-guided walks, volunteer opportunities, and classes encompassing nature art, mushroom walks, the wildlife of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Watershed and more.
Since buying the land, Boss has run the nursery and the botanical garden with the help of several employees, and now also singlehandedly manages the foundation while functioning as marketer and educational program director for the entire operation.
Six years of overwork have taken their toll on his health and his pocketbook. The fires, the pandemic, the drought and the floods didn’t help either.
Faced with the specter of selling the property in the immediate future, Boss is now reaching out to the greater community for assistance and would like to find the right buyer.
He saved the property from a developer when he purchased it in 2017 and would like to see it stewarded into the future.
The land, which is difficult to value because no comparable property exists on the market, has been valued at $2.5 million. This includes the house, the forest sanctuary, the outbuildings and the business with its half-million dollars worth of inventory.
“Everyone says, ‘There are nature-loving philanthropists.’ I just haven’t been meeting them,” Boss said. “I only need one, or a small group, to save this very special place.”
He added, “If there is somebody, maybe a couple of people, who could buy this for $2.5 million, or someone who wants to run a nursery, who could run it — a more computer-savvy, energetic person with some money to work with.”
Meanwhile, people can show immediate support by making donations to the nonprofit Friends of the Hidden Forest via the website listed below, and by buying plants directly from the Hidden Forest Nursery. In fact, Boss is throwing a “buy 1, get 1 free” tree-and-shrub clearance sale through April 30.
“[T]his is a treasure … so many people come here just to experience the essence of this place. People come, with kids, telling me, ‘I came here when I was my kids’ age,’” Boss said. “Really, what I want to happen is for this place to get into the hands of a foundation or some entity, to steward it for future generations.”
Hidden Forest Nursery, 3970 Azalea Lane, Sebastopol. Open Thursday through Monday, 9 am to 4 pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Other times by appointment. (707) 823-6832, www.hiddenforestnursery.com
See a letter from Mike Boss below…
On Sunday, April 21, Hidden Forest owner Mike Boss sent this letter to his supporters.
Hello Friends,
“April is the cruelest month,” wrote T.S. Elliot in The Wasteland, over a century ago. He was referring to the awakening of sleeping lilacs from their delightful winter slumber. Here in The Hidden Forest, April 2024 is also proving to be the cruelest month, as I have awakened from my magical forest slumber to realize that I can no longer keep the nursery and botanical garden open by myself.
My vision has always been to transfer ownership to an entity that could steward this precious community resource for the benefit of future generations. One such entity has been Friends of the Hidden Forest, the 501c3 that was created in 2023 with the mission: to inspire nature appreciation and education. It was created to help save this unique forest sanctuary, botanical wonderland, and wildlife corridor. The hope has been that garden and nature-loving philanthropists in our community would donate tax-deductible contributions to the nonprofit in order to acquire the property. This would tilt the financial formula favorably and we could stay open. Unfortunately time has all but run out, and unless we can secure significant contributions very soon the forest will be closed as a community resource.
There are other options, such as business or land partners. I am open to any and all reasonable and creative possibilities, because closing this precious jewel will be a big loss to Sonoma County.
The reality is that the property of 7.5 acres with the house, outbuildings, and everything else will go on the market very soon, so if you know any generous philanthropists who would want to help keep the Hidden Forest open to the public as part of their legacy, now is the time to reach out to them. For more information, feel free to contact me or have them contact me: mike@hiddenforestnursery.com.
If you would like to help out in a small but much appreciated way by extending the timeline for finding a big money donor, please consider contributing to our GoFundMe by clicking here.
Also, watch for an article about The Hidden Forest in Saturday’s Press Democrat!
With many thanks and hope for the future,
Mike Boss, Steward of the Hidden Forest.
 | A guest post by
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While the focus is on the owner, the knowledge and history of this fantastic creation is the “gardener”, Armando. Over decades he has grown many of the rhododendrons from seeds and propagated countless plants. He has lived a majority of his life in this garden. Armando is not a rich white man but a dedicated Latino without whom Mike, the boss would have lost all customers from the Polo era.
Armando is an unrecognized hero. Too bad the author of this piece missed the reason Mike has lasted as long as he did.
What a great spot and good story. Could be also GREAT financial return for Mike Boss, if he is able to manifest his desired outcome. It looks like he paid $1.5M for 3970 Azalea Ln, Sebastopol, CA 95472 in 2017 and is now looking for a cool million more. Again, truly a hidden gem for all of us and a possible gold or diamond gem for Mike.