When I visited South Coast Botanic Garden in late July, my focus was the new pollinator garden but that doesn't mean I entirely ignored the rest of the garden. Even in the early morning hours, it was hot so I didn't try to cover all 87 acres; however, I did stop to take photos here and there. These are the best of them.
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This shot of kids running across the upper meadow captures what's best about summer
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The palm circle, near the front entrance, had recently been refreshed to fit the season
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Construction of the new children's garden, scheduled to open on a date yet to be determined in 2024, is still underway and many areas are blocked off.
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Since my last visit, the focus seems to have shifted from bringing in additional soil to grading the new area
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Many of the most attention-grabbing sights were flowering trees and tree-sized shrubs.
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NoID Acacia in the parking lot
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Albizia julibrissin (aka mimosa tree)
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All the Jacarandas, trees Southern California is known for, bloomed late this year, presumably due to the unusually long stretch of cooler temperatures
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White-flowered Lagerstroemia (aka crape myrtle) line one edge of the rose garden
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NoID Senna or Cassia - I don't know enough about them to judge which is which
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One of my personal favorites, Tithonia divesifolia (aka tree marigold and Mexican sunflower)
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Despite the heat, there were other flowers scattered about.
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Just about all the plants in the Fuchsia Garden were blooming
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Dahlias were planted in the Garden for the Senses this year. With the changes planned for other areas of the garden, I'm wondering if the Garden for the Senses will be supplanted.
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A wide shot of the rose garden promenade
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I didn't spend much time in the Desert Garden on this occasion but I didn't ignore succulent plants altogether.
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The Living Wall
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This area between the parking lot and the garden's formal entrance was particularly colorful with Crassula perfoliata faltata (aka propeller plant) and Euphorbia milii (aka crown of thorns) in full bloom
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In a recent Instagram post, SCBG reported that the Pollination Garden's phase one planting is now in full bloom. I hope to get back there for a second spin by the end of this month.
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Those Jacarandas are so beautiful. Usually trees bloom in pinks, reds and white so blue really pops. It will be interesting to see how the garden changes. I have heard that public/botanic gardens need to shake things up frequently to continue to bring in visitors. Hopefully no rides in it's future.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved Jacarandas, Elaine. They're very messy trees so placement is key - my in-laws bought a house in a development decades ago that used them as street trees, which effectively kept people from parking in front of their house, a win-win! (The flowers make a sticky mess of car paint.) I still have my dwarf tree, which once again hasn't bloomed, but the tree itself is looking better and I haven't had the heart to replace it.
DeleteThis post reminds me I haven't been to our botanic garden since the spring. Road construction has been keeping me away but that means missing too many great scenes like you've posted. Love that living wall.
ReplyDeleteThe living wall is apparently maintained by the outside contractor that installed it. They're doing a good job of keeping it up.
DeleteThe kids running in the grass is a lovely photo. I'm impressed that both had their hats on :-D
ReplyDeleteThe Acacia in the parking lot has a dreamy appearance about it... like a water color. So beautiful.
Chavli
That Acacia had me thinking it might be a good tree on the south end of my garden, where I'd love to block the view of a neighboring home. I've yet to find the perfect replacement for the lovely native Toyon I lost to the pathogen that causes sudden death in oaks and certain other plants.
DeleteBeautiful photos! Any time spent in a botanical garden is special. That Acacia is so fluffy!
ReplyDeleteThe Acacia looked great, Beth. I regretted my failure to get a closeup photo.
DeleteI love the palm circle!
ReplyDeleteI think that's the best the palm circle has ever looked, Loree. They struck the right balance with the plants (and removed the displays that advertise other garden exhibits).
DeleteNice to have that so close to you, especially since they seem now to have some budget to work with--hopefully to showcase plants.
ReplyDeleteThe descriptions of the children's garden currently in development sound promising, HB. They raise the money the project requires in advance, which worked well in the case of the rose garden. However, the long-awaited replacement/revival of the garden's former lake seems endlessly stalled. The challenges of that project are admittedly considerable but I'd rather see a lake than another DiscOasis ;)
DeleteAmei as dicas. Parabéns pelo site. Aquele abraço!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the post!
DeleteI love the flowering trees and shrubs. That's one category a large public garden can really do well because they have the space.
ReplyDeleteMany species formerly included in Cassia are now in Senna. This includes popular garden plants like Senna artemisioides, Senna didymobotrya, and Senna phyllodinea.
Most of SCBG's original trees - and large shrubs too I imagine - came from the LA Arboretum. LA County owns the land on which both botanic gardens sit, although the primary responsibility for running SCBG now belongs to the SCBG Foundation.
DeleteI read that the Cassia genus now includes just 30 species whereas Senna has 300+; however, I couldn't find any source that helped me differentiate the 2 classifications. I couldn't find a label for that plant onsite.
Gosh, that Acacia is just otherworldly! I'd like to lose myself in that fluffy foliage... And, to even think of of something with the description of "tree marigold" tickles the imagination. California really is a wonderland...
ReplyDeleteOur Mediterranean climate offers both opportunities and limitations ;)
DeleteThe Acacia is beautiful! What a lovely garden, you need to go back and cover the entire 87 acres for us. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've probably covered all 87 acres over the course of the years I've been blogging in widely scattered posts, tz. Pre-pandemic, I was a docent there leading tours (most of which involved schoolchildren). Much of the garden is currently closed off due to the garden's massive construction project so it's not so fun to wander now, even excluding the issue of the heat. It'll be interesting to wander the garden once construction is done with, especially as I discovered that SCBG has removed its map from its website, possibly signifying all sorts of changes to how areas are used.
DeleteThose dahlias are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI was somewhat surprised to see them. Susie. SCBG used to have a dedicated dahlia garden but they gave that up when they installed the butterfly pavilion 3 years ago. The raised beds of the Garden for the Senses is a good growing location, although I'm not sure it fits the original theme set for that area but then change is in the air throughout the entire garden.
DeleteThat Tithonia diversifolia gets my vote too! Beautiful. That Acacia reminds me of the Palo Verde trees we just saw in Texas and Mexico, but it looks much more dense and floriferous.
ReplyDeleteThere's some possibility that what I identified as an Acacia IS a Palo Verde tree, Jerry. My cell phone's plant ID function at least showed that as another possibility. I hope to get a closeup photo of the tree's flowers on my next visit to see if that helps in clarifying its identity.
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