Beautiful Rare Palms for Bay Area Gardens With Jason Dewees Jason Dewees, palm expert at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco and longtime SFBG volunteer, discusses new plantings at the Botanical Garden of rare Andean and Himalayan palms. Though only five common species dominate palm plantings in the Bay Area,nearly two hundred species of palms can be grown in varied local microclimates, ranging from tiny understory plants and bamboo-like shrubs to towering landmark trees.