garden photography: Balboa Park

In January I’m looking for a Winter Garden

(This month I want to see photos and stories about winter gardens. You can interpret this any way you want; a garden in winter, winter flowers, or plants in a glasshouse)

The Botanical Building

Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre urban cultural park in San Diego, California. In addition to open space areas, natural vegetation zones, green belts, gardens and walking paths, it contains museums, several theatres, and the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Wikipedia

Visiting in February under a vivid blue sky we were amazed to see so many plants in flower, not only the cacti and succulents in the 1935 (Old) Cactus Garden, but also in pots inside the Spanish Village Art Centre.

The view of the Botanical Building (above) with the Lily Pond in the foreground is one of the most photographed scenes in Balboa Park, a “must-see” destination in San Diego. The Alcazar Garden (below), bordered by boxwood hedges, is planted with 7,000 annuals for a vibrant display of colour throughout the year. The garden has been reconstructed to replicate the 1935 design by San Diego architect Richard Requa. Named because its design is patterned after the gardens of Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain, it lies adjacent to the Art Institute and Mingei Museum. It is known for its ornate fountains, exquisite turquoise blue, yellow and green Moorish tiles, and shady pergola.

Alcazar Garden

There are so many gardens, including the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden (best in April – May), a Californian Native Plant Garden, a Desert Garden, an Australian Garden and even a Japanese Friendship Garden. We only touched on a few of these and definitely need to return.

(click on a photo to enlarge and for more information)

Succulents (1)

Agave

Blue pot

Cacti

Cactus (1)

Cactus (2)

Cactus (3)

Cactus (4)

Botanical Building

Succulent (3)

Succulent (4)

Succulents (2)

If you would like to join in with Garden Photography then please take a look at my Garden Photography Page. No complicated rules 🙂

• Create your own post and title it January: Winter Gardens
• Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
• Add the tag “GardenChallenge” so everyone can find the posts easily in the WP Reader
• Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new theme comes out on the first Sunday in February.
• Please visit the sites in the comments to see what others are posting.

This is the last week for posting winter gardens. Next week I am looking for Monochrome – black and white or tones of one colour. Look for texture, shape and patterns.