Friday, January 9, 2015

Visiting the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, 2014 Part 2

We're back at the UC Berkeley Botanical garden (yesterday's post was Part 1) and about to enjoy the Southern Africa and New World Desert Gardens. Oh and if you thought yesterday's post was long you ain't seen nothing yet (buckle in, grab a drink)! Aloe polyphylla...

Also if you're looking for strict division between the Southern Africa and New World Desert sections this will disappoint. I found myself sort of  drifting back and forth as something caught my eye, or Andrew called out and wanted me to see something of interest. Yes I could have reorganized my photos but instead chose to share them in the same order I took them (ish). Aloe capitata var. quartziticola...

Aloe castanea

Love them.

Protea subvestita

Love them more.

That view again, now towards downtown SF.

Cussonia spicata

Leucospermum conocarpodendron

Look at those leaves!

Erica vestita, just as good (even better?) with the brown flowers...

As the white.

Compare the yucca, below, on the right, to the opening shot on this post about the Desert Botanical Garden. Inspiration for the glass version I think.

Looks a little like marsala, the Pantone color of the year for 2015...

Leucadendron tinctum

Vaguely marsala.

Oh the glow! Aloe striata

And a glow of a different sort. I know this one as Agave celsii var. albicans.

Euphorbia coerulescens, below the aloe.

Euphorbia horrida

Yucca elata and Dasylirion acrotrichum

Hechtia texensis

Those darn beautiful Agave celsii var. albicans again, from the other side.

Agave filifera, not particularly healthy but oh so beautiful.

Agave vilmoriniana

Imagine, just imagine this being your garden...

Agave victoriae-reginae said the sign, here's a little additional discussion on the matter, dated 2012.

Agave filifera, on the right.

Agave parryi var. Huachucensis

Cleistocactus

Hesperoyucca whippllei

Agave xylonacantha, at the front.

Agave stricta, this one...well, I took at least a dozen photos. I wanted to include them all. Maybe it should have been it's own stand-alone post.

Aloe plicatilis, now going by the name Kumara plicatilis, for those on the cutting edge.

Something proteaceous...

And again, proteaceously wonderful.

Okay somewhere in my heat-fueled stupor we've ventured out of the garden and into the arid house, just to the side of the main garden entrance. We'd hoped to do the route in reverse of what you've seen over the last two days, however since the house was locked when we entered the garden we went the opposite direction, c'est la vie. There were many spectacular euphorbia in the arid house, this one is E. echinus...

Leuchtenbergia principis, Agave cactus.

A wonderful euphorbia I thought I got the name of, but I did not.

Ditto, or wait, that's the same one as above.

Euphorbia aeruginosa

Euphorbia heterochroma

And another with no name, but great markings. Someone with more energy than I at this point may have been able to find the label however this was the last photo I took at the garden and was done! But so willing to go back again when the opportunity presents itself.

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

20 comments:

  1. Oh My, Oh My, Oh My! They have some utterly fabulous specimens. Those spiky Euphorbias are so cool. And all those wonderful Agaves. I need to go back to San Francisco, there's so much I didn't see when we were there for the Fling.

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    1. Yes you do! There is so much to see and do there. Let me know when you do and I'll help add a few things to your list.

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  2. I really shouldn't read these posts, as I already have too many non-hardy succulents to overwinter indoors, and your photos want me adding more. I tell you what though, I'd really like to be able to sit on a bench (or the ground) in the warm sun surrounded by these plants and just "be" for a while. Right now. Sigh.

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    1. How I wish you could. The sun, the smells, the sound. Nothing quite like it.

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  3. So many wonderful plants it's hard to decide what to comment on! I need to go to San Francisco. I love the red tips on the Leucospermum conocarpodendron leaves! And both the white and rust colored flowers of the Erica vestita. Those last three euphorbias have really cool markings.

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  4. Your post makes me want to jump in the car and drive on over. Wonderful photos. The UC Botanical Garden looks just like that.

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  5. That's well worth being exhausted for Loree :) beautiful images, sight for winter weary eyes and makes me want to go gardening now...oops it's cold and wet out there! Aloe quartzicola, that colour is sumptuous!

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    1. It is, mine sadly has taken on a rather blueish tint and grown some long floppy arms. I think I'm going to practice a little tough love on it this spring.

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  6. I love seeing it from another perspective. I could see you being right at home in this fabulous botanical garden. When I lived in Sacramento I tried to figure out a way to move to Berkeley. Visiting the garden renewed that wish : )

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    1. I've been told (by Sean Hogan, current owner of Cistus, prior curator of the South African, New Zealand, Australian, New World Desert and the California Native Cultivar Gardens here) that the lack of any real summer eventually wears on a person and he was thrilled to get back to summer in Portland. I don't know, the trade off of not having a real winter sounds like it still might tip the scales towards Berkeley for me...

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  7. It took me a while to recover from the euphoria brought on by "Imagine this being your garden." So many incredible plants. Thanks for sweating it out so that we could enjoy your post!

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    1. Anytime, really anytime. I'm tough that way.

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  8. There are a lot of succulents I don't recall seeing before. I love that Leucadendron tinctum and the Agave filifera - and I hope my itty, bitty Agave stricta looks like that some day. (I guess it needs some companions.)

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  9. Euphorbia Euphoria (to borrow a word from Peter's comment) overtakes me. It's always mind-blowing to contemplate how many there are, and how different from each other. One could nearly contemplate becoming a collector. But then there are the Aloes and...oh, well.

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  10. OMG, gorgeous! Clearly I missed this section the last time I was at the Berkeley gardens, because at the time, I wasn't crazy impressed with the upkeep of the place. I am gonna have to head over there again the next time I'm in NorCal. And changing the subject, having exactly one agave stricta in my garden, I am dying to know how they weed their giant stand. I have gotten stabbed so many times while carefully weeding around mine!

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  11. The Protea is my favorite, definitely. We've been to Berkeley a couple of times but never made it to the Botanical Garden. Next time we'll have to go there.

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  12. Beautiful place--thanks for the tour.

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  13. This post is simply an amazing collection of beautiful plants. I wish I had the time, space, and energy to grow all of them.

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