My first time exploring the city of San Francisco was a few years ago with a bunch of architecture librarians, and now this time I had my eye on San Francisco Botanic Garden. Lucky for me it was a sunny and cool spring morning that day, creating perfect conditions for observing how the garden is … More San Francisco Botanic Garden
Another stop on the great 2016 California trip was Hanoke Gardens in Saratoga Springs. Hanoke is a classic Japanese style garden, an outward expression of many far east ideals coming out of Japan beginning with the emergence of Buddhism in AD 538. In short, these spaces seek harmony in the natural landscape and highlight natural materials … More Hanoke Gardens, CA
During my California trip I spent a day at the Huntington, a collections-based educational and research institution in Southern California. What I like about this institution is its equal parity with living and non-living collections. In this case the “living” is a great assortment of plants assembled into a botanic garden, and the “non-living” consists … More The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
Another stop on my California trip was Descanso Gardens, located northwest of Pasadena in greater Los Angeles. I was drawn to this property for the historical and cultural significance of the landscape over time, especially with the Native American people and Spanish colonization. In the botanic garden world, most east coast institution’s narratives begin sometime between … More Descanso Gardens, CA
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden was another stop on the California trip, and I was especially interested to visit this garden for its emphasis on California native plants as evidenced by its mission statement “to foster the conservation of California’s native plants through our gardens, research, and education, and serve as a role model of sustainable practices.” … More Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
I visited the Leaning Pine Arboretum both in March 2016 and now July 2017. Its situated on the Cal Poly Campus, and comprises five acres overlooking the campus- complete with fantastic views of the coastal mountains, the Santa Lucia mountains, in the distance. This garden, self-described as the Central Coast’s premier horticultural display garden, is … More Leaning Pines Arboretum – Cal Poly SLO
Joshua Meyer 