Sherman Gardens (part 2): Focusing on the plants

Last Friday, I published a post on a recent visit to Sherman Gardens, a small botanic garden in Corona del Mar.  That post focused on the Sculptura Botanica exhibit, created by landscaper and ceramic sculptor, Dustin Gimbel.  This post is focused on the plants I photographed during the visit but didn't include in the first post.

One of my favorite areas of Sherman Gardens is the Tropical Conservatory.  I'd be ecstatic to have something of this kind in my own garden but, in addition to the fact that there isn't room for it, maintaining a temperature controlled space like this with a pond would require more time and money than I can imagine.  So I just enjoy Sherman's conservatory on every visit.

The koi were very active in the pond

Usually, the turtles are already sunning themselves on the flat rocks of the pond but this fellow showed up late and without his companions

This wonderful chenille plant (Acalypha hispida) hangs above the pond

My best guess is that this is Heliconia psittacorum (aka parrot Heliconia)

I loved this, which I think is Heliconia rostrata (aka lobster claw Heliconia)

There are always orchids in this area

as well as a collection of bromeliads

In addition to the bromeliads inside the conservatory, there's a nice display of bromeliads outside its door.

Those I plant in the ground in my own garden never look this good

The flamingo covered in Tillandsias is a regular feature

I also love Sherman's lath-covered shade structure.  In fact, it was the inspiration for my own much smaller lath house, which my husband built for me in December 2017 as a Christmas present.  Mine doesn't hold nearly as much but, like mine, Sherman's is big on begonias.

I didn't even attempt to identify all these plants on this visit

I was charmed by this display, which I think consists entirely of Peperomia of various kinds.  I collected specimens in this genus as indoor plants when I was a kid and I've found myself gravitating to them again in recent years.

Like the Bromeliad Garden, the shade area has wood bird sculpture too, this one of a pelican

From the shade structure, we passed through the Sun Garden and a small courtyard area just inside the garden's north entrance before venturing into the Succulent Garden, another of my favorite areas.

I featured the beds and sculptures in the Sun Garden in my prior post but didn't include photos of the robust passionflower vine.  In addition to flowers, the vines had plenty of developing fruit.

This courtyard contained a wide variety of shade plants too, including the pretty Streptocarpus (aka cape primrose) shown on the right

This vignette in the Succulent Garden, featuring a fan aloe (Kumara plicatilis), bromeliads, and an Agave ovatifolia, is perfect

I fixated on the tree-size Euphorbia here.  After a couple of trips down the rabbit hole that is the internet, I'm still not clear if this is Euphorbia lactea or E. ingens or something else altogether.

This display had me wanting to go to the local stone yard to pick up boulders to redo one of my front garden succulent beds

As we exited the Succulent Garden and turned in the direction of the Central Garden (addressed in my prior post), we checked out the Palm Collection and, beyond that, the Perennial Garden.

I think that's a banana tree on the left and a traveler palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) on the right

Dahlias and other flowers dotted the Perennial Garden

This massive Dyckia in the Mediterranean Garden was impressive

Before leaving, we toured the Fern Grotto adjacent to the south entrance and parking lot.

Tall palm trees (shown in my prior post) soar above the Fern Grotto with cycads and smaller palms planted below them

Ferns and Farfugium filled the area under the shade cover

I have mixed feeling about bonsai plants but I loved this dwarf Ginkgo backed by Farfugium

The plant on the left is a spear lily (Doryanthes palmeri), which I've yet to see in bloom

The only flowering plant I saw in the Fern Grotto was this Medinilla magnifica

We're expecting Santa Ana winds (aka devil winds) here today.  They'll drive temperatures back up again, probably for the balance of the week.  Fingers are crossed they don't intensify the fires here  - or create new ones.  Our garden has already been dusted with ash once this week.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party