January at my local botanic garden

A number of things have kept me away from the South Coast Botanic Garden since mid-November - the holidays, the weather, and the Los Angeles teacher's strike among them.  With no schools scheduling tours of the garden, there was little need for docents.  However, we had a general meeting on Monday and another docent and I took the opportunity to make a quick spin around the garden to see what's going on while also checking out the new "Incredible Journey" adventure program for kids sponsored by the garden.

I took photos in 3 areas of the garden (all unrelated to the adventure program).  Our first stop was the new Living Wall.  I'd been told that the garden had posted a list of the plants included in the construction of the wall and, some readers of my prior post on the wall had expressed interest in this, I looked for it.

The wall looks much the same as it did in my November post, although what I think were bird's nest ferns in one small section of the planting scheme were struggling

The sign describes the construction of the wall, which is maintained by a hydroponic system.  It's still a mystery to me how it works to simultaneously support the needs of plants as different as succulents and ferns.

This is the plant list, which relies largely on common names.  I'm not sure what's meant by a "Chester Fern" or "Stars" and unfortunately I didn't take the time to examine the plants carefully when I was on-site.  "Stars" might mean "Earthstars," although the photo on the sign doesn't seem right if that's the case.  "Habbit Jade" refers to Crassula "Hobbit" and I think #14 is meant to be spelled "Plumosa Fern."

After we'd completed the "Incredible Journey" adventure tour, my docent friend took off and I cruised through some of my favorite areas of the garden, starting with the Banyan Grove, a common stop on docent tours.

These are photos of Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as Moreton Bay fig trees.  The elementary school kids on our tours love climbing over the huge roots of these trees under their immense canopy.  When our temperatures soar, this is literally the coolest spot in the entire garden.

This photo shows how roots reach down from the tree's limbs to embed themselves in the soil

This photo gives you a sense of the huge canopy created by these fig trees

The Stenocarpus sinuatus (aka Firewheel Trees) next to the Moreton Bay figs were in bloom

This is another tree I commonly point out to kids on our tours.  We refer to is as the "ghost fig" but its proper name is Ficus petiolaris.  The photos I've seen of this plant on-line don't show the yellow color of this particular specimen so that may be an anomaly.  

The fig tree attached to this palm (Phoenix sylvestris) is also one that interests kids.  It's referred to as a "strangler fig" as it's rooted in the palm and working hard to take over its host.  The garden recently cut it back but it's not defeated.

My final stop was the garden's expanded Desert Garden, where I checked out the blooming Aloes.

Aloe arborescens: the group on the left was referred to by the common name of Candelabra Aloe while the group on the right were referred to as Torch Aloes but they're the same species

Aloe aristata

Aloe castanea, or Cat's Tail Aloe, one of my personal favorites

Aloe 'David Verity'

Aloe vanbalenii

Aloe hybrid 'Spiney'

This one wasn't in the Desert Garden and I couldn't find a label but my guess is that it's Aloe wickensii (which I think has been renamed but that's the name I know if by)

I've been thinking more and more about planting my back slope in succulents.  It's east-facing so it's not optimal for Aloes and other succulents that want full sun to flower but I may experiment a bit anyway.  The succulents planted on the southeast-facing slope at the entrance to our neighborhood are doing surprisingly well as shown in the photos below.

Created from a hodge-podge of succulent pups and cuttings donated by neighbors including myself, this succulent bed on a fairly sharp slope looks better every year

This is the view from the other direction

Among other things, the mix includes Agave attenuata, Aeonium arboreum, Aloe arborescens, Crassula ovata, Carpobrotus, and Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire'

A neighbor's front garden just up the street from ours sported an even more impressive display.

Isn't this a gorgeous mix?  It includes Aeonium arboreum, A. 'Zwartkop' (or a relative), Agave 'Blue Glow', Aloe nobilis and other plants I can't immediately identify

Food for thought...


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party