Sherman Gardens - Part 2

Wednesday's post covered the Sun Garden, the Central Garden, the Perennial Garden and selected plants at Sherman Gardens, a 2.2 acre botanical garden in Corona del Mar.  While very nice, these were perhaps less interesting than the areas I'll cover in today's post: the Tropical Conservatory, the Shade Garden, and the Succulent Garden.

As you'd expect, the inside of the Tropical Conservatory was very warm and moist.  I felt as if I'd been transported back to Washington DC on the first day of the Garden Bloggers' Fling.

This large Koi pond, surrounded by bromeliads and ferns, set the scene.  I assume the brightly colored balls are part of the glass display that runs from June through October.

This handsome fellow demonstrated just the right touch of attitude

There were lots of massed plant displays like this one

While the flashy pink Cordyline shown here is pretty, I'm head-over-heels about the other variegated Cordyline, C. terminalis 'Miss Andrea', which I've seen in blog postings but not in my local garden centers

There were blooming orchids tucked in here and there throughout the conservatory

I'm not certain but I think I snapped this photo outside the Conservatory although then again it might have been part of the gardens' Palm Collection.  I can't identify the tree at the photo's center but I think it's a palm.

We toured the Specimen Shade Garden next.  This was enclosed in a very large lath house.  The space got me thinking about adding a structure like this, on a far smaller scale of course, to my own garden.  I'd previously asked my husband about building a shed/greenhouse but arguably this is an unnecessary addition to our garden.  I have adequate (if not particularly attractive) space to store my garden tools in our garage and, as our winters are exceptionally mild, I don't actually need a greenhouse to protect seedlings and tender plants.  However, I can definitely use some shade protection.  I miss the fuchsias, begonias, ferns and other shade-loving plants I grew in my former garden.  Luckily for me, my husband has embraced the lath house idea to a greater extent than the shed/greenhouse idea so my fingers are crossed that this plan will get off the ground - eventually.

View of the lath house from the outside

View from the inside with fuchsias in hanging pots as far as the eye can see

A nice massed planting of bromeliads

A healthy clump of variegated Iresine, paired with New Guinea impatiens

A huge staghorn fern (Platycerium) and lots of tuberous begonias in pots positioned on the shelves lining the sides of the lath house

The last area we toured was the Succulent Garden.  Like every other section of Sherman Gardens, it was densely planted.  Parts of it were also more stylized than most succulent gardens I've toured.

The entrance gates were decorated with wreaths, which I didn't notice until I reviewed my photos

A huge Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' anchored one end of the artistically decorated succulent bed

This is the other side of the same bed, bordered by the entrance gate

This area bed was situated on the opposite side of the Succulent Garden

There were glass pieces in this garden too

I think the mounded plant in the center foreground (repeated both to the left and the right) is Deuterocohnia brevifolia (formerly Abromeitiella brevifolia), a bromeliad

These 2 mature specimens of Agave 'Jaws' serve as yet another reminder that I need to move at least one of mine before it gets too big

The largest Rhipsalis baccifera I've ever seen

Perhaps the best example of both the focus on detail and the insistence on making use of every square inch of planting space by Sherman Gardens: succulents planted in the gap between every stair tread

You can find Hoover Boo's posts on our visit to Sherman Gardens at Piece of Eden here, here and here.  The earlier post by Denise that launched our trip can be found at A Growing Obsession here.

That's it for Sherman Gardens.  I won't let a decade or more go by before visiting again.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party