A Ribwort Plantain Grows, 4 Stories High, in San Francisco

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Mona Caron's finished ribwort plantain mural in San Francisco — viewed from the spot where the small weed grows on the sidewalk. Photo by Andrea Laue/sparebeauty.com

By Ali Budner, Bay Nature

Mona Caron leans over the edge of a creaky blue scissor lift 20 feet in the air and points to a spot on the sun-drenched wall in front of her. “This is the tip of the leaf,” she says. Then she checks her harness — a thin loop of straps clipped to the railing. She’s eye level with the tops of the sidewalk trees and ear level to the insistent bursts of jackhammers that ricochet from the scaffolded building-in-progress across the street.

Today, Caron is adding something green to the landscape. She squints at the outline of a giant leaf spreading across the wall in front of her. The scissor lift platform sways with her slightest movement — she says it’s like standing on a piece of pudding. But she’s used to it. She steadies herself and crouches down to open a box of paints — revealing a rich array of verdant hues. She spritzes water on them and dips her brush in.

Read the complete story at Bay Nature. 

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