Monday, February 3, 2025

Ten years later... they're still there!

When Andrew and I decided to spend a few days in San Diego and talked about returning to Balboa Park, my curious brain started to wonder, "what are the chances they'll still be there?" Well it turns out the chances are good...

I'm talking about these containers, on the side of the Balboa Park Club building. They themselves aren't all that remarkable anymore, kind of sad actually. Although there's still something about the vignette that pulls me in...

They mattered to me because when I saw them during our visit back in 2014 I had a very strange moment of déjà vu. I knew those containers, I'd loved them, maybe even lusted after them...not in real life, but online, on Pinterest (it was my photo heavy social media platform of choice back then). Standing here in person—in 2014—it took me awhile to figure out exactly why I was feeling that strong sense of déjà vu when I had never been here, never seen them in person. This image is the original pin/source that I'd loved online...

Another photo I took on January 16th 2025...

And one of my photos from December of 2014 that shows the same container, if from not quite the same angle...

This was the first place we stopped during our January visit to Balboa Park, and I'll admit that while I was initially happy to see the planters were largely unaltered, that emotion quickly changed to sadness. Sadness that nobody had cared enough to spruce them up a bit in the intervening 10 years.

Unfortunately I would feel that same sadness as we visited other areas in the park. That's not to say there weren't happy healthy plants and many wonderful things to see, but it's obvious that plant care is not as high on the list of expenditures as one might hope. 

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

10 comments:

  1. I love these containers against the stucco wall, both wonderfully stained. But the plants in the containers do look a bit sad. They have got to be completely root-bound. Maybe a little more water would help, and some fertilizer?

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    1. I'd like to see them moved (retired?) to an in-ground location and new plantings put in the containers. Sadly it doesn't seem there's a budget for that.

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  2. Agree, they are too special to be ignored.

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    1. Sadly I think their somewhat hidden location dooms them to that fate.

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  3. Maybe your post will prompt a spruce up by the club's members. I'd be nervous about digging the plants out of those containers to start afresh, though, which may be the reason they've hesitated to tackle the job.

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    1. Oh I don't think the clubs members have anything to do with the plantings, that's up to the park's horticultural staff. A couple of old pieces of carpet and they'd be fine! (wrapped to prevent injuries)

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  4. I agree with Gerhard about the staining on the containers, but not the black staining on the walls of the building.

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    1. Ya there's no way that's good for the stucco.

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  5. There is something eerie in those pictures. Between the moldy, water stained walls and the neglected containers it's hard to shake an apocalyptic chill... and yet, there is a mesmerizing beauty in those images too; I keep staring at them.
    Chavli

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    1. You're right. They are both of those things equally.

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