Underground Gardens Offer Spectacular Architecture Dreamed Up by a Citrus Farmer

The Sicilian immigrant carved out multiple rooms and courtyards bursting with carefully grown trees.

Citrus trees and a Black Moroccan grapevine are seen in this courtyard in the gardens in Fresno, Calif. Courtesy of Forestiere Underground Gardens

Blink and you might miss a famous but hidden gem in Fresno County, California, nestled near the train tracks at Shaw Avenue near Highway 99, where the tops of citrus trees can be seen popping out of the ground, prompting curious passersby to stop and take a photo of the phenomena.

The trees that rise from beneath the ground are part of the horticultural mystique of the Forestiere Underground Gardens, a subterranean network and living museum of tunnels, rooms, and underground courtyards built over 100 years ago by a Sicilian-born immigrant with a can-do attitude.