danger garden: SoCal 2014

Showing posts with label SoCal 2014. Show all posts

Friday, January 8, 2016

Finishing up SoCal 2014 with a visit to the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden

On the last day of our 2014 trip to Southern California we paid a visit to the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden...what? You've never heard of it?

From their website: "The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County"...my brother-in-law and family live nearby and when researching gardeny things to do I discovered this little treasure. "Between the mall and the mountains and the freeway and the green way, lies one of the hidden gems of the Conejo Valley. The Conejo Valley Botanic Garden is 33-acres of natural terrain encircled by the city of Thousand Oaks. From the the sweeping vistas at the peak of the Garden through fifteen unique, hillside specialty gardens, and onto the hiking trail along the riparian steam, the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden is a destination not to be missed. The garden is open every day except holidays and is free to the public."

Acacia something-or-other...

Salvia apiana maybe?

Salvia discolor

There was a nice view too!

From their website: "While a significant portion of the Garden’s acreage is reserved to provide a natural habitat for birds and small animals, the developed area of the Garden incorporates eighteen specialty gardens that highlight water-conserving plants from California and other Mediterranean climates." There's a map here if you're interested.

~~Any guesses what this shrub is?~~ Rhus ovata, thanks Gerhard!

At first I thought this was a patch of Crocosmia...

But it's actually Chasmanthe floribunda.

Protea laurifolia flower...

Foliage

And another flower...

One of the Leucadendrons...

Schinus molle / Peruvian pepper

The Desert Garden!

Can anyone identify the small agave on the left side?

Here's a close up of it and it's pups, I suspect they were spread out, away from mom, by human hands?

Pretty nice for a free community botanical garden right?

Hesperaloe parviflora, and another view.

The Melianthus major was HUGE!

Callistemon (not sure which one)

Ceiba speciosa / Floss Silk Tree

It's spikes!

Exploring off the beaten path I discovered a small nursery area. Turns out they have plant sales on Sunday's (info).

I stared at this beauty for a bit before I realized what it was.

Maytenus boaria

I have the cultivar 'Green Showers' - which has "deep green leaves that are broader and more densely arranged than on the species"...

Eriodictyon crassifolium / Felt leaved Yerba Santa

Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp aspleniifolius / Fernleaf Catalina Ironwood, foliage...

Bark

Platanus racemosa / California sycamore

There is a more traditional park around the botanical garden as well as a fenced kid's playground. A great place for a family outing!

Finally, walking back to the car, I spotted this.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to it's ID?

I suspect it's a baby conifer, but for a moment thought it might be something more, well, Australian.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Huntington Fridays from 2014, the Desert Garden chapter 2

Last week was Part One of my 2014 visit to the Huntington Garden Desert Garden, today I'll wrap up that visit with Part Two, what a great way to start the New Year!...

My timing is a little odd, since we were just in the LA area for a week and yet I'm writing about a 2014 visit.

At the outset it seemed a little sacrilegious to not visit the Huntington again this year, after all I was so close.

But not visiting freed up time for other pursuits, which was good.

*sigh* there's no place like the Huntington though...

Agave macroacantha (I think)

Steps to nowhere? (I was a little off the actual path here, no worries, I got legal again real soon)

My reading material for the most recent trip was Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks (good stuff). There was a humorous mention of his confusion in ordering an empanada. Tuna fish (atún) vs. Tuna (the fruit of the Opuntia), drastically different tastes!