We didn’t plan to visit the SBBG, and had I known we would find ourselves with a free day in Santa Barbara I would have schemed another visit to Lotusland (just 5 miles away from the SBBG). However it was Memorial Day and Lotusland does require reservations in advance, and after all there is something to be said for branching out and visiting new places! So we set out for the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden…
The most important thing for you to know is the SBBG has an emphasis on California native plants. As a lover of most everything Californian this sounded like a good thing, however some in my party weren’t so impressed, comparing our outing to a walk we could have taken anywhere. Just warning you…
Agave shawii, beautiful! There were many more of these along the path so don’t worry I’ve got a couple more pictures to share.
There was a nursery right near the gift shop; we took a peek in there before beginning our treck. So many good things...
I really wanted to bring home one of these Nolina parryi, and I should have. Hindsight is so much clearer...
We started out in the Desert Section: “This section features species that thrive in California’s coastal or interior desert regions, such as California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), the only palm tree native to the state”... (from their brochure).
I don’t know for sure but I’m guessing these are Agave celsii…
Opuntia oricola, Chaparral Prickly pear. It's kind of amazing how the green pads are growing out of what looks to be dead wood.
I can’t help it, I love these signs telling you what plants have been used for over the years. I still hope to try some Yucca soap or shampoo someday.
Here are the other Agave shawii I promised you…
That Nolina parryi I should have bought, planted out.
Yucca brevifolia, better known as the Joshua Tree.
Epipactis gigantea (Stream Orchid)
Arctostaphylos glauca (Bigberry Manzanita). At the end of the garden there was an entire section devoted to Manzanitas, but I found the most interesting specimens (like this one) dotted throughout the garden.
Look at that bright green new growth! (I believe it's a Sequoia)
Andrew found this adorable little caterpillar…
Now we come to the Dudleya Collection, I had no idea how beautiful these plants are! Why are they called “Live-forever?” because they are extremely long lived plants and with the right care can live to be 100 years old. “Dudleya is a genus of succulent perennials, consisting of about 45 species in southwest North America. Many plants in the Dudleya genus were formerly classified as Echeveria… The genus is named after William Russell Dudley, the first head of the botany department at Stanford University. In horticulture, Dudleya should be planted at an angle. This allows accumulated water to drain from the nestlike center of the plant, thus preventing microbial decay” (source).
Dudleya abramsii, San Luis Obispo Live-forever
Dudleya viscida, Sticky Live-forever
Not a Dudleya but very cool…Coreopsis gigantea
Dudleya albiflora, White-flowered Live-forever
Dudleya cultrata
Aesculus californica (California Buckeye)
And the flowers…
In the Meadow Section…Solidago canadensis ssp. elongata (Canada Goldenrod)
And Eriogonum giganteum (St. Catherine's Lace)
Next we walked over to the Ceanothus Section; however since we were there after they’d finished blooming they weren’t terribly prominent. However the blooming Yuccas were…
Yucca whipplei
A Fremontodendron
Anyone able to identify this ground cover?
Arctostaphylos glauca x 'Canyon Blush' (Canyon Blush Manzanita)
And some late blooming Ceanothus behind the Poppies…
I think Andrew was was practicing his Pinocchio impersonation...
Here’s what it looks like to stare up into a massive group of Yucca flowers…
And the tiny plant producing such a monster…
With that our visit comes to an end, hope you enjoyed it! In my book Santa Barbara is a plant mecca, and I enjoyed visiting the SBBG where it isn't all glitz and glam but rather lots and lots of hardworking native plants.
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