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Marcia Donahue’s Our Own Stuff Gallery Garden exists on the line between passion and obsession. Even for Berkeley, land of the boldly and proudly iconoclastic, artists Donahue and her life-partner Mark Bulwinkle have created something rare, a garden and gallery that smashes all conceptions of what gardens or galleries should be.  

“Mark and I thought that it would be good to follow an example set by some of the artists in New York City who have salons in their studios,” Donahue said, recalling the beginning of the garden a decade ago. “Instead of having gallery shows we would show our work in a comfortable, non-formal, non-threatening, ‘sacrosanct’ environment at home and invite whoever was interested to come see what we’re doing.  

“It’s a pleasant thing to do on a Sunday afternoon and it’s sort of multifaceted. There’s the garden people who come and the art people and people with out-of-town guests, who want to see a little Berkeley lunacy.” 

Enormous and exotic vegetation surround Donahue’s South Berkeley home. From the shiny green and thorny tree in front of her house to the tall and sculpted cypress in her backyard; from the tombstone steps that define some of the backyard garden paths to the Skyy Vodka bottle tree; from the enormous white leaves of some exotic tropical plant buried in thick vegetation to the ochre-colored ceramic bamboo covered in Tibetan prayers, it’s clear you’re not in Kansas anymore and you’re not really in Berkeley, either. 

Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Donahue’s front door swings open. Entering her abode is like wandering into another, innocent and more colorful land. Chris Wakefield, his wife, Sherri, and sons Christopher and Dylan came from Rohnert Park to view and visit the gallery garden. 

“I’d like to live in a place like this because it’s really cool,” said 10-year-old Christopher. His favorites were the small pools stocked with fish and sculptures. 

“It’s got a very good feel to it,” agreed his father, Chris. “There’s a little of everything. There’s a little African art, a little psychedelic art, a little hippie, a little renaissance, a little everything.” 

Donahue’s walls and ceilings are painted in vibrant colors with either patterns or enormous portraits. Some of the chandeliers and light fixtures are hand-crafted from found and collected objects. Candles flicker, illuminating African masks and African textiles. Turn one way and you confront a shiny golden Buddha; rotate slightly and a statuesque ceramic nude created by Donahue’s adult daughter captures your attention. 

Twenty-five years ago Donahue purchased her Victorian-era duplex on quiet Wheeler Street and, like many new homeowners, she started a garden in her backyard. 

“This was my first chance to have a garden,” she said. “It took a little while to get going but once I got going, it got me. I got completely subsumed.” 

There’s an innocent, child-like quality to the garden world Donahue has created. 

“Part of it is how it’s all over your head,” she said. “You’re inside it and it makes you feel small.” 

Rosie Kaplan and her friend, Nancy Erb, came from Oakland to tour the garden and house. This was Kaplan’s second visit. Six years earlier her husband Harvey Goldenberg brought her here to select one of Donahue’s large, carved stone heads for a 50th birthday present. 

“It’s like a fantasy world that takes you away from everything that’s going on outside,” said Kaplan. “It’s wonderful.” 

Erb concurred: “Each path you wander has a focal point. She’s done it so it all looks very casual and happenstance but I think she’s very talented at putting it together. There are no accidents. It’s hard to capture. You see one part of it but then you keep discovering things.” 

More than just a garden, Donahue’s open house functions as a gallery for her and Bullwinkle’s art. 

“I make things for gardens and about gardens. Stone and ceramic last well outside and work well with organic stuff. That’s why I’m doing garden sculpture,” Donahue said. “The stones I make to drop a hint that it’s okay to relax in the garden.” She sighs to indicate release. 

“This is our version of self-promotion. The nice part about that is we don’t have to share it with the gallery. That’s a lot, especially when it can be up to 60 percent. The gallery scene is really hard and I’m not interested in it. I don’t like the openings. It doesn’t make people feel better. So I’m trying to do something else and this is better in so many ways. We both think it’s pretty great that we get to be on our own schedule and have that freedom.”  

Our Own Stuff Gallery Garden is located at 3017 Wheeler Street in South Berkeley. Hours are Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. only (510) 540-8544.