San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas
San Diego Botanic Garden is a hilly garden with many different areas to explore, in Encinitas (26 miles north of downtown San Diego). Its conservatory in a modern, new building is lovely. We visited during the annual Orchid show. Outside, the gardens show trees and plants from many countries: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, and Africa.
The gardens start out plain but as you head up the hill they get better and better! I liked seeing the Cork Oaks from Spain and Portugal with their spongy bark, the Queensland Bottle Tree with its swollen trunk, Clay Wattle from Australia with little yellow balls, Tower of Jewels from the Canary Islands with its tall flowering white bloom spike, Canary Island Dragon Tree which you see all around San Diego, Penwiper flowers from Africa, the desert cactus garden, and the bright flower beds.
At the top of the hill is a beautiful area with tropical trees growing along a stream: trumpet flowers, ferns, slim palms, fan palms, banana trees. If you look up, you see their lovely bright green leaves against the sky. The walled garden has sculptures of Spanish musicians and dancers with rose cactus plants growing on them. The walled garden also has some pretty tilework and fountains. Climb the lookout tower to see views of the coast.
For kids, near the entrance, there is a popular tree house play structure, and an edibles garden.
At the far end of the garden is a bamboo grove. It's wonderful to listen to the wind blowing through the bamboo, making cracking sounds.
In December, the gardens are lit up for Winter Wonderland.
For another garden, much smaller but with clifftop ocean views, check out Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden, a ten minute drive southwest. After, have a gelato or boba tea at Gelato 101 on South Coast Highway 101.
Moonlight State Beach is a delightful beach nearby.
California native flowers.
Yellow trailing ice plant!
Cycad catching the light.
Yellow flowers in springtime.
Fishtail palms.
Canary Island Dragon trees.
Flowers galore.
Path past Australian plants.
Agave and other wonderful plants.
Agave with its blue hues.
Cycad and bamboo.
Bamboo grove.
Palms and blue sky.
Bench under a fishtail palm.
Fishtail palm lit up with sunlight.
Bamboo grove and pretty light.
Wattle, and banana trees.
I love tropical plants!
Interesting tree.
A couple walks through the tropical area by the stream.
Trumpet flowers.
Wonderful tropical area by a stream.
Rainforest trees.
Skinny palms and date palm.
View of Encinitas in the distance.
Tree fern in the sunlight.
Trail through tropical vegetation.
Bench by fronds.
Benches in the stream area.
Dark wood gazebo.
Pods hanging from a tree.
Lilies and daisies.
Assortment of colors.
Curling leaves.
Baobob tree.
Cork Oak Cafe.
Walking in the walled garden.
Pink and orange daisies.
Spanish tile in the walled garden.
Blue pot tiled fountain in the walled garden.
Paths in the walled garden.
Living sculpture in the walled garden- a Spanish musician.
Jade green tiled fountain in the walled garden.
Bench in a pretty spot.
Spanish dancer living sculpture in the walled garden.
Agave americana and purple trailing ice plant!
Shady spot with weeping tree and flowers.
Exuberant flowers.
Wooden entrance to banana grove.
Roxburgh fig tree full of fruit!
Bamboo.
Bamboo and palm.
Looking up at bamboo sihouetted against the sky.
Cactus garden.
The interesting shapes of the cactus garden.
Yucca.
Gazebo in the distance.
Cork oak. It can be harvested every fifteen years.
Wonderful desert plants.
Flowering euphorbia plant.
The entrance to the gardens.
Purple orchids.
Cattleya warneri orchid.
Orchid in the conservatory.
Orchids in sunlight.
White orchid flowers.
Yellow orchids in the conservatory, during the annual orchid show in March.
Pink jasmine and blue sky!
The conservatory.
Flowering plant.
Clay wattle is so cute!
Clay wattle, from Australia.
Queensland Bottle Tree, with its fat trunk.
The children's garden has these clay pot characters!
Toddlers walking up to the rope ladder that leads into the tree house.
There's a tree house in the children's garden.
Another clay pot friend.
The tree house for kids.
Purple trailing ice plant.
Canary Island Dragon trees and purple flowering plants.
Euphorbia plant. I love it!
Canary Island Dragon trees.
Canary Island Dragon tree and its wonderful shape.
The trunk of a Canary Island Dragon tree.
A clay pot person in the children's garden!
San Diego Botanic Garden is located at the corner of Quail Gardens Drive and Ecke Ranch Rd, Encinitas, CA 92024. There is free parking in a big parking lot.
Entrance is $18 per adult, $12 for students, military, or seniors 60+, $10 for children aged 3-17, and free for children under 3 years old.
Last Updated: Fri, 05 Jan 2024 23:48:16 GMT
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