Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The Old Cactus Garden at Balboa Park

I knew we were getting close to the Old Cactus Garden when the palm plantings started to thin out and blooming Agave attenuata started appearing.

Here's a sad truth about the plants everywhere in Balboa Park...

Because entrance is free and the park is open 24-hrs a day, 365 days a year, it's impossible for them to keep a lid on the vandalism. For the most part the park is quite pristine, but seeing names and initials etched into the plants had me fairly disgusted with my fellow human beings.

That arched bridge is how we entered the park.

The Old Cactus Garden was "developed under the direction of Kate Sessions for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. It contains some of the largest cactus and succulent specimens in the Park and has also been developed to include exotic African and Australian Protea plants." (source)

I have to admit that as we approached I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up being completely charmed by this garden.

I imagine they're messy as hell but I do love pepper trees (Schinus molle, I believe).

None of the plants had labels, and I don't know my banksias well enough to tell you which one this is.

Bad bad bad people.

I wonder?

This patient little guy sat here long enough for me to move and line up an opuntia pad behind him, he was nearly impossible to see otherwise.

Equal screen time for the little reptiles, do you see him? He wasn't so easy to position for the photo.

That's a nice opuntia tree!

The sky had me worried, in the end all it did was provide a nice bit of drama.

The fact there are no labels on the plants probably drives some people crazy. I actually enjoyed the lack of visual clutter.


This image I shared in a previous post was taken here, in the Old Cactus Garden.

There was another container that had sustained a little damage. It looks like someone was scared off while stealing cuttings but I doubt it. Probably just a careless passer-by.

Stressed color on the trunk? Sunburn? Or normal?

These next photos were taken in front of the Balboa Park Club, which backs up against the Old Cactus Garden. The plantings appear to be much younger than those in the OCG proper.

I thought that Agave desmettiana looked pretty healthy for having a bloom spike with bulbils on it.

A closer inspection revealed what was really happening.

Albino bulbils?

Huge furcraea!

That's it for the this part of our visit to Balboa Park. Next week we'll visit the Lath House, aka the Botanical Building and the Australian Garden...

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

26 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post. It was exactly what I needed today, for a variety of reasons. Now I look forward to our trip even more. You lucked out with such a dramatic sky as the backdrop!

    The lack of labels will drive me crazy, but at least now I'll be prepared!

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    1. Well darn, sounds like things might be a little tough-going for you right now. I'm glad there's a vacation in your immediate future.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your photos of the Pachypodiums again. I bought one at the YGP show, and now I have to decide if I want to plant it up in a mixed container, or all on its own. I love what they did with theirs. So sad about the vandalism.

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    1. Theirs were pretty spectacular, wish we could do something like that up here and leave it outside year round.

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  3. So many wonderful photos Loree!

    I'm glad the carvings aren't on every single plant. :(

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    1. Me too. I think a broken finger should be the punishment for anyone caught doing this.

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  4. Great photos as always. It is strange how often those places we aren't expecting much from can turn out to be some of the best.

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  5. I loved the Old Cactus Garden when I visited Balboa Park 3 years ago. I'm a midwest girl so I don't get to see cactus and succulents "en masse" very often. Beautiful pictures!

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    1. Such a strange "otherworldly" feel from what we (living in other parts of the U.S.) regularly see.

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  6. That aloe with the pink stress blush took my breath away, lovely! The OCG has that rustic, slightly neglected look to it which just adds to its charms.

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    1. Yes, I agree. The rustic, slightly neglected look combined with the no labels thing has us feeling a little like we'd stumbled upon a deserted personal garden.

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  7. Maybe it's time to close the park at night. People can be so destructive! They make worse pets than kittens! Great photos and tour of this garden and the information about Kate Sessions was very interesting!

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    1. Ya I was thinking in the same thing, then again he bad ones will always find a way in.

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  8. Wonderful, wonderful photos. I love that you got some fauna in with the flora. I have never been here (it's on my 2015 list!!), but I did notice that horrible practice of carving into cacti when I was in Old Town San Diego. It made me so sad. Many of the ones that are most damaged seem to be VERY old.
    Also, we inherited half a dozen or so pepper trees when we bought this house. The tree-made mulch is actually very nice. It keeps the weeds at bay and has a beautiful, peppery smell when trod upon. And if I let the weepy branches grow long, the wind causes them to sweep a circle underneath. Pretty neat!

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    1. How wonderful to hear from someone with person experience with the pepper tree, and likes it!

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  9. Just found your blog, adore your photos. I'm in the bothered-by-lack-of-labels camp and would have had to come home and try to look every one of those up! Now I have a new place I want to visit.

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    1. I hope you do (visit), there's so much to see!

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  10. Great shot of the hummer! Actually, all these photos are wonderful. The stormy sky adds some nice drama. I like everything about this post except for the vandalism. Thanks for taking us along.

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  11. Visual clutter. A good term. Personally I can do without signage. More relaxing. Less distracting. Did you notice how clean the ground around the plants looked? Like someone has recently raked or swept it? This place appears to me like a comfortable, old shoe. Publicly, I can do without signs because signs are graffiti magnets. Especially in a place like this. You are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. Voice of experience speaking here. As soon as an interpretive sign went up in the forest where I volunteered it was shot at or tagged. Over and over again.

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    1. Why do people have to be so destructive!? I just don't understand. And yes, I was impressed with the upkeep of the entire park!

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  12. Ok, I know I always say the same thing, but I´m truly amazed with this garden. It's so beautiful!! the shapes, the colors, etc.
    I can´t stand it when I see names or other things carved on plants, rocks, etc. I hate it. But I guess is something too human and difficult to avoid...
    And that hummi is so cute!! I´m so sad there are no hummingbirds in Europe, I really enjoy them a lot.

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    1. Hummingbirds have always commanded attention but now (almost) every time I see one I think of you and remember how lucky I am to live in a part of the world where they are.

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  13. Wonderful mature cactus garden - somehow I missed this when I was there!

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  14. I loved this stroll you provided for us in Balboa park. Years ago when still in college I went there to present at the meeting of the American Chemical Society. We visited Balboa park then but mostly the Bonzai collection. I remember it marked me somewhat.

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