Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Friendly Flora from San Diego
We spent a few days in San Diego last month and I’m still sorting through the hundreds of pictures I took – when will I ever learn?
In the meantime, I decided that this cold and rainy day in the Pacific Northwest could use some brightening up with the beautiful flora we enjoyed there.
I’ll start with the birds of paradise – was there ever a plant with a more appropriate name? These happy birds invited me to join their conversation, and I did.
The friendly, bulbous, Baobab trees at the San Diego Zoo seemed to wave hello. Natives of Africa, some live more than 2,000 years.
The San Diego Zoo is part of Balboa Park.
The impressive Moreton Bay Fig tree stands alone in the park, demanding respect.
According to the Balboa Park website “it was planted as a small tree in a garden of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition… and measured in 1996 at 78 feet (24 meters) high, with a crown width of 123 feet (37 meters) and a trunk girth of 486 inches (12.3 meters).”
The Cactus Garden nearby invited me to walk its paths.
“Look, but do not touch,” it cautioned.
The Rose Garden was even more inviting and less prickly.
“Come enjoy my brilliant colors and breathe in my scent,” the roses said, and I did.
Who can resist roses blooming in December?
Stay tuned for more adventures from San Diego.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Wow, the trees are so amazing and beautiful! š
Yes, indeed! Aren’t they wonderful?
Yes, the shapes they grow into are amazing. ā¤ļø
Beautiful! It amazes me that the garden can grow both roses and cacti in the same climate. All the cacti Iāve know well were in a much hotter, drier climate. They must be in hog heaven to have so much water!
Thank you! San Diego is pretty dry, with an average rainfall of 10 – 12 inches or so a year. But the temperatures are moderate in the seventies year-round I believe. A climate I could learn to live with!
Iām from a drier place, originally, with <6ā annual rainfall and cacti were plentiful. San Diego is delightfully cool and wet in comparison. Delightful to visit!
Beautiful photos, Susanne. One of those trees seems to have a friendly face! And I love Cacti.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete! I found the trees to have friendly faces, too! š
San Diego is my home town, Susanne! We spent lots of days at the zoo and Balboa Park. The palm tree Grove is also amazing to walk through. Beautiful pics! We are heading to SD next week š
A wonderful town to be from! I could almost live there, but I think I’d miss the four seasons. We love visiting and enjoyed our time at the zoo and in the park. So much to do! Also loved the waterfront and the USS Midway! Enjoy your time! Hope you have nothing but sunshine!
I enjoy visiting, we still have family there, mostly in the East County area. Too expensive to live there and the traffic is terrible. But sun is good!
Lovely photos but the birds of paradise are my favourite!
Glad you enjoyed them!
San Diego is pretty anytime of year. Love the blooming color our brought us. Love those roots.
Thank you so much for your comment. I only just found it in spam, who knows why? I love San Diego and hope to visit again. You can never see everything on a single trip!
No you canāt. We live a half day drive. Try to go twice a year.
It seems like if I log out of my site and log in on my laptop instead of my main computer sometimes stuff goes to spam. Who knows who WP filters š¤·š¼āāļø
Very impressive cacti.
I enjoyed them, too!
Beautiful getaway, I’m envious!
Thank you! It’s an easy trip from Seattle.
Lovely!
Very sunny photos. Love that fig tree. The trunk is so sinuous.
Thanks, Graham. I loved the fig tree, too. Looked prehistoric.
Very cool plant life ā and what an amazing fig tree!
I enjoyed seeing the giant fig tree, too!
A wonderful assortment of plant life! I always love to see a baobab in particular, but the Moreton Bay fig is amazing too and I love the birds of paradise flowers š
Thanks, Sarah! I enjoyed seeing them all, too! So different from here in the Pacific NW. I first saw a baobab tree in a botanical garden in Hawaii and loved seeing them again!
Wonderful post! I moved to San Diego during the past year and my phone is full of more flora pictures than sunsets. Watching the trees and shrubs outside my apartment change every month has been an absolute joy.
Oh lucky you! I love Seattle but I could definitely see living in San Diego! Enjoy! š
Nice trees!
Thank you!