I haven't visited South Coast Botanic Garden since early July, which is relatively unusual. I popped in at last earlier this week. My mood may have been colored by the the recent election results, the fact that we haven't had any rain in over six months, the fact that the botanic garden hasn't held a proper plant sale for a long time, or a combination of all these factors but I found myself disappointed. However, it didn't help that the construction project that started in 2022 appears to be stalled, that many areas were still closed to visitors, or that there were a lot of bare beds.
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| The construction of a new Children's and Family Garden started in December 2022. The official groundbreaking was held March 15, 2023 and that year I saw a lot of earth moved around. However, these photos taken through the fence don't show much progress since I was there in July. |
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| My favorite Banyan Grove is still inaccessible except at its furthest end |
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| The original signs posted on the fences surrounding the work area in 2023 stated that the new garden was slated to open in 2024. The new signs I saw this week just say it's "coming soon." I checked online and couldn't find a single update on its status. |
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| I don't think I've been able to access the upper meadow on a single one of my visits this year. It could be a coincidence I suppose... |
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| There were a lot of bare beds like these. The 2 shown in the bottom row are part of what was the Garden for the Senses. A friend of mine, also a former volunteer, poured her heart into renovating this area pre-pandemic but there are just remnants to show for her hard work. |
The holiday season light show is up and running. I'm sure there are many people who enjoy it and it no doubt brings in revenue (given that virtually all botanic gardens I'm familiar with seem to have one). It feels as though it overshadows the garden itself, though.
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| I had to wonder if the light show was structured around the garden or vice versa |
I tried to shake off my disappointment and looked for something I could get excited about. As it turned out, the area that most impressed me was one that was replanted early this year. I'm not sure how to refer to it as the garden's map hasn't been updated since 2015. The lake is gone, the dahlia garden was replaced by a butterfly pavilion, the Mediterranean garden is closed off or gone, and so on. The replanted area encompasses part of the original Mediterranean garden, part of the upper meadow, and extends to the corner of what I've always referred to as the "promenade," a path that leads from the garden's main entrance to the entrance of the rose garden.
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| This shot was taken from the far edge of what used to be the Mediterranean garden. The "new" area features Salvia leucantha, pink and white Muhlenbergia, California natives like Epilobium canum and Cleomella arborea, and succulents like Calandrinia, Opuntia, and Euphorbia rigida. |
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| I think there's some Romneya coulteri (matilja poppy) in the mix too but I couldn't get close enough to be sure |
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| The palm and whale's tail agaves have been in this corner for awhile longer than the rest of the plants |
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| The new area, visible in the distance, offers a nice background to the Rose Garden |
The other areas worthy of note include the Desert Garden, the Pollination Garden, and parts of the "promenade."
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| This is a different view of the old section of the Desert Garden than I usually show but it's been tidied up recently |
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| I always believed that the large agaves in the back were Agave shawii because that's what the signage suggested but my phone's plant ID app suggests that the plant shown on the right is an Agave shawii and the 2 look very different. Does anyone want to weigh in on IDs here? |
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| The Pedilanthus bracteatus is looking good |
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| The aloes on the left are mostly Aloe vanbalenii or hybrids of that species. I didn't get close enough to those on the upper right to ID them. I believe those on the lower right are Aloe 'David Verity'. |
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| This mix of plants sits on the corner of the promenade across from the palm accompanied by whale's tongue agaves shown earlier. The yellow-flowered plant is Senna pendula. The plant behind and to the right of the Senna is a hot pink-flowered Callistemon. |
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| More Agave ovatifolia are scattered along the promenade walkway |
A few individual plants also stood out.
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| Ceiba speciosa (aka silk floss tree, left) is at its peak. Remarkably, the Jacaranda on the right still has some flowers at the top of its canopy. |
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| Furcraea foetida (left) has an impressive flower stalk. I thought the plant on the right might be an aloe at first but it seems to be Furcraea macdougallii (aka American aloe). |
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| Lastly, the Tithonia diversifolia (aka Mexican sunflower) surprised me with all its blooms |
So my visit was a mixed bag. I hope to see more I like in the upcoming year. ideally before it comes time to renew my membership.
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| The bulbs and bedding plants for sale at SCBG's plant kiosk were nothing special, all locally available at garden centers for approximately the same price |
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
What first came to mind were the nearby landslide issues, and possibly stopping irrigation to some parts of the garden with that in mind. The botanic garden says it's not in the affected area and that many of its closures are due to "private events" -- hmmm... (https://southcoastbotanicgarden.org/garden-area-updates/)
ReplyDeleteThey host a lot of weddings, both in the rose garden and the upper meadow, although I've yet to see one in progress when I've been there. On one occasion, the upper meadow was closed for a summer science camp, which I entirely supported but it is weird that I've not been able to access that meadow garden on any of my 5 visits this year. I saw no activity whatsoever for any event on November 11th and there's no closure noted on that date either.
DeleteVery disappointing indeed. Especially at a time when gardens are so very needed. The big agaves in your photo are not Agave shawii, but the two small images on the right do appear to be. At least the desert garden section looks good!
ReplyDeleteThe Desert Garden also had some fairly bare areas but at least most of those showed new plantings. I think the maintenance volunteers often specialize by area.
DeleteYour first few photos reflect perfectly how many of us feel: dark, neglected, deserted, inaccessible... I hope your botanical garden gets it together soon.
ReplyDeleteJumping ahead to photo 15: a very bright and colorful vignette. I don't think I've seen a brighter Callistemon! The yellow flowered branches reaching for the agave make a wonderful combination.
Chavli
DeleteThe yellow flowers of that Senna looked almost florescent, Chavli (at least by comparison to my own Senna bicapsularis). I can't remember seeing that one in bloom before but this is definitely the Sennas' season.
That last section that's the "positive" IS a beautiful and lush area of the garden. Thanks for the tour! Re: the disappointments...I hope they fix them soon. Take care of yourself. I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible, but it's difficult right now. Hang in there...
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth. I appreciate that SCBG is compelled to host a lot of events to stay afloat but I wish they'd also cater a bit to gardeners by reactivating their propagation program and bringing the plant sales back.
DeleteHaving done some institutional work I can attest to the frustration of seeing funding going towards traveling shows and grand construction projects rather than plants and people. I couldn't help but wonder if the SCBG actually refers to their own mission statement in caring for the garden. Reading the about page vs. that of Chanticleer really illuminates how vital people and the plants that love them are to great gardens.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, one of my concerns was the relationship SCBG had with its volunteers. A LOT of maintenance work, as well as the onsite propagation effort and other activities, was performed by volunteers. Volunteers who invested deeply in the work they performed often expressed concerns and made recommendations but that input apparently created some tension with the staff (even though the number of volunteers exceeded that of the paid staff). I think they needed a trained staff member to manage the volunteers and effectively weave their interests and concerns with those of the garden's paid staff. What management volunteers received was generally confined to entry paperwork and perfunctory annual recognition events. I couldn't count the number of times I heard volunteers comment that staff members failed to even acknowledge them when they crossed paths, much less took any time to speak with them. For an organization that depends so heavily on volunteer help, this stuck me as very short-sighted but then I spent my career in human resource management.
DeleteThe concept of public infrastructure and facilities like gardens, schools (yes, schools), hospitals, parks (except "sports" parks which can be rented out), and transportation like buses, light rail, rail, etc., seem to be vanishing from our country. Government is evil and must be drowned in a bathtub (a private-equity owned bathtub?). In the meantime what still exists is being starved of its value by being left to deteriorate. It's so very sad.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least there are some nice plants and areas managing to survive there at the SCBG.
Maybe bovicornuta? Seems to have that distinctive green color.
Greed and self-interest has a pernicious influence but SCBG may be following a trend that elevates theme park-like experiences over the value of learning about and embracing nature. The fear I saw in some children when exposed to butterflies haunts me with the concern that future generations of children may grow up with little to no appreciation of nature. A little off topic perhaps but I was struck by the news that one company this week was recalling huge amounts of butter ostensibly because the packages didn't include a warning that butter contains milk. If there are adults out there buying groceries that don't know that butter is made from cow's milk, that's tragic.
DeleteSCBG's new children's garden is reportedly designed to help children and their parents get acquainted with nature - so kudos to them for that if/when they get that done.
It's unfortunate to see public gardens degrade. I always suspect funding issues and then I fantasize about being a wealthy philanthropist donating 6 figure $$ to botanical gardens that are in need. Maybe they ran out of money and had to stall the projects.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall they wanted to raise $15M to create the new children's garden. There are public references to one $3M donation they received from a single source and I'd assumed that they'd raised the rest they needed when they deconstructed the old children's garden and broke ground on the new one officially in March 2023. But then there's the old saw about assuming...I know the rose garden took longer to complete than they'd originally expected so it may be that they're not good at projecting their schedules - or there were complications - but they're not very transparent. I was shocked to see so little evidence of progress as we near year-end.
DeleteThis garden either is cursed or has remarkably bad management. Either way, it's really sad.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found an area that spoke to you. I do like the pants you showed, a lot actually.
Well, the garden is 87 acres in size and it's 60+ years old now so there's bound to be something out there. The problem is partly the clash between expectations and reality on my part. I'd probably have felt more positive if management was more transparent about where things stand with the garden - and if they got back to some of the basic features expected from a botanic garden, like propagating their own plants and holding real plant sales.
DeleteVery valid points. I would feel the same.
DeleteI hate to see it suffer and stall like this, and the treatment of the volunteers is unacceptable! I hope they get their sh*t together.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I'm trying to chalk it up to growing pains.
DeleteI like the newly planted area too. Hope they continue to make progress and that things improve. Sounds like they probably have bad management. It's amazing how quickly things go downhill when one or a few people are in charge that shouldn't be. The dysfunction flows down hill and you can't keep quality people when they are mistreated or invisible. The plant sale is embarrassing. It's hard work to come back from mismanagement, but it can be done.
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed this comment earlier, Jerry. Yes, a new operations manager came on board in 2019 and things changed, although the pandemic may have been a factor too. The shift away from what I consider fundamentals for a botanic garden lost out to "events" (including a disco-themed event that apparently irritated some of the garden's neighbors). I recently heard that manager has moved on to another role opportunity but, if there's a shift in direction, I haven't yet seen it.
DeleteFrustrating to be shut out, but not see anything happening THERE!
ReplyDeleteThe rumor I heard is that the garden didn't apply for necessary building permits, resulting in a "pause" on construction. That's a pretty amazing gaffe.
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