I was surprised to discover I'd missed writing about the Desert Garden at
Balboa Park, since I'd previously covered the
Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden and Palm Canyon, and
the Botanical Building (aka the lath house), all of which we visited in mid-January of this year.
You reach the desert garden by walking across a pedestrian bridge at the far east side of the park.
As we descended down into the garden I could see that the plants were suffering from the same lack of attention, care, and water that I saw elsewhere in the park.
Someone had a little fun with a dead barrel cactus.
The plants that were still looking good stood as a testament to the resilience of succulents.
Towering Euphorbia sp.
I don't know palms enough to venture a serious guess as to the ID of this beauty. I mean if you made me throw out a name I'd say Bismarckia nobilis.
Puya sp?
It's crazy to think there were aloes blooming during our visit in mid-January and still many blooming when I was in the Bay area at the end of March. You gotta love a plant that blooms for that long.
I love this yucca class photo. Or maybe it's a family reunion?
The large trunk of their Brachychiton rupestris (Queensland bottle tree) has broken open.
Wow.
This opuntia looks like it's melting.
Cochineal
Ah yes, there is nothing more stately than a Dracaena draco..
So dry...
These agaves (sorry, can't venture a guess on the species) were all colored up with drought stress.
The Wiliwili tree (Erythrina sandwicensis) was blooming!
This tree in the pea family is native to the Hawaiian Islands. The colorful flowers were a stark contrast to the bare brown branches.
The blooms pictured above were way up over my head, but there were a few that had fallen to the ground.
Look at that adorable little baby cactus! Grown from a dropped seed? Planted by someone who is watching over it?
This one is not so lucky, it's at the end of its life.
It's still a visual anchor for this vignette within the garden, and no doubt providing shelter to small creatures.
As it breaks down I hope it will be allowed to stay in place and do so completely. What an interesting process to watch.
That's a healthy Agave victoriae-reginae at its base...
A parting view. I still have a handful of San Diego gardens to share!
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I wonder if the area has an irrigation system? I couldn't make out any signs of one in your photos. Although SoCal had 2 good years of rain in a row, the stretches of drought are clearly becoming more frequent and lengthy.
ReplyDeleteThe Queensland bottle tree view is incredible, especially as parts of the tree appear healthy. I love that Erythinia too - I've never seen one with flowers that color.
I don't think there is an irrigation system, maybe along the edges since they're visible from the main road.
DeleteWhat a smart time to vacation to San Diego, going mid-January when the real doldrums hit. I have a strong desire to water everything. The bottle tree is so cool! I've only seen the red red Erythrina types, that one is gorgeous. I quite like your parting shot, you do moody shots so well.
ReplyDeleteExactly! The perfect time to leave the cold grey wet behind. Thanks for the moody compliment!
DeleteHad to look up cochineal. Was surprised by what I found. So interesting. A red food dye is made from these? Also they secrete carminic acid deterring predation from other insects.
ReplyDeleteI remember years ago Starbucks got in trouble for using cochineal.
DeleteWow! for succulents to show this much drought stress is a testament to hos scary dry it must be. It's too bad about the care of the park in general as one of my favourite movies (It's a Mad Mad Mad World) was shot in the park. Some very cool plants though especially the Brachychiton. Hard to believe it can survive on just a thin rind of bark.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that! It's a Mad Mad Mad world was one of my favs as a kid, I haven't seen it in years. Maybe it's time to look it up.
DeleteI was going to make a smart aleck comment about the "yucca class photo", but then I saw the Brachychiton rupestris trunk that busted open: Goodness! Its as big as my living room... A visit to explore Australia's flora and fauna would be mind blowing.
ReplyDeleteChavli
Yes! Australia and New Zealand both are places I would love to visit, that long flight though... not so much.
DeleteWithout irrigation and with the last few dry years out West, this situation is what happens. I remember I was in the LA area a few years ago and all the sprinkler systems were shut off and not allowed to be used. Dead lawns everywhere. I don't care about lawns but I do care about these succulents! So totally sad.
ReplyDeleteSo sad! With established plantings such as these it would seem a little water would be cost effective, cheaper than replacing them.
Delete