CHAPTER ELEVEN
Joining Forces
1991
In 1991, after ten years of building a new life together, Jim and Ellen married in a civil ceremony. At their home, tucked high on Silver Hills Road and surrounded by forest, Jim created a large terraced vegetable and flower garden. Over time, the garden developed a stellar reputation throughout the community.
With each passing year, the garden became a revolving work of art. From the terraced hillside plantings and sweeping staircases to Jim’s handmade Indonesian-style fences, carport, and domed entry gate, every detail reflected Jim's artistic vision. Florencio worked side by side with Jim, helping him build and maintain this carefully curated landscape.
Many great couturiers have gardens for respite and inspiration. Jim designed the Silver Hills botanical wonderland as though he were creating gowns for a masterpiece painting. He cultivated layered displays of enormous flowers, edible fruits, and vegetables that mesmerized all who entered this Eden. Every season became a dream collection. Jim developed his own fermented fertilizer, which he claimed was the key to the garden's breathtaking colors and magnificent blooms.
Jim wanted to write about the botanical knowledge he had gained through years of living in the jungle and working in landscaping. To further develop his writing skills, he attended night classes at UC Berkeley. He wrote several botanical articles for various publications and began writing short stories, hoping one day to publish them. His botanical knowledge was often ahead of its time. He wrote a paper titled “Imagery in People/Plant Communication and its Psycho/ Physiological Effects” for a conference at Marquette University, a Jesuit research university in Milwaukee. The paper was later published by the university in a book titled The Healing Dimensions of People-Plant Relations: A Research Symposium , Publisher UC Davis, 1994.
Jim’s ability to master both fashion and botany came together when he worked in the costume department for the film Fright Night Part 2 , helping create some of the production's iconic costumes. That same year, he helped create the jungles of Vietnam for the television miniseries Vietnam War Story . He later traveled to Chile to work in the greens department for the IMAX production The Discoverers .
From the 1980s through the mid-2000s, Ellen and Jim traveled extensively, visiting Europe, Indonesia, St. Martin, Hawaii, and Mexico. Jim also made regular trips back to Costa Rica and to Los Angeles to visit family.
One of his return trips to Costa Rica revealed how the newly paved Highway 34 had erased nearly all traces of Finca Avabacu . What had once been an eight-hour journey over rough dirt roads had become a three-hour drive on asphalt. Businesses and boutique hotels had replaced much of the jungle paradise that once existed there.
West Marin became Jim's new paradise. Ellen and Jim shared many memorable Christmas celebrations and dinner parties with friends and family. Jim especially enjoyed decorating a large Christmas tree each holiday season. Having missed so many Christmases over the years, he developed a deep appreciation for the traditions he enjoyed at Silver Hills.
Not one to slow down, James hosted a local radio show called Garden Planet and, during the 2010s, began writing radio plays for local station KWMR. These productions became a true passion. He also maintained a blog, Garden Planet 1. During this period, he developed a tall, vivid purple variety of cineraria that he named after his daughter, "Giovanna's Select." He sold the plant seeds through Annie's Annuals.
Jim became a grandfather in 1986 with the birth of Giovanna’s son Ryan and again in 1991 when she bore a second son, Thomas. More grandchildren followed: Bonnie's daughter, Lea, was born in 1998, and Josh's son, Zane, was born in 2005.
About a decade later, Jim became a great-grandfather several times over: in 2013 with the birth of Ryder, in 2016 with Hunter, in 2018 with Phoenix, and in 2019 with Walker.
In 2017, Bonnie and granddaughter Lea, along with Giovanna and Zeb visited Jim. This was the first time all the kids were together with Jim in many decades.
Bonnie, Lea, Giovanna and Zeb visit, August
2017.