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Posts Tagged: botanical gardens
Discover Solano
For several years my sister and I made a point of visiting botanic and public gardens during our annual trips to Hawaii, until we succeeded in visiting all the gardens on all the islands. They were lush, beautiful, fragrant, and we loved seeing some very unique native plants. But recently I discovered you really don’t need to travel outside of the county line to see some botanic wonders and beauty offered by our own Golden State. Solano County is home to several gardens and sites awaiting your visit. And now is the time to visit many of these wondrous places, many of which are only open to visitors for limited periods of time.
Forrest Deaner Native Plant Botanic Garden
During these years with lower than normal rainfall, you’ll hear and read a lot more about the benefits of planting California native plants. If you want to see what a garden of California natives looks like before taking the plunge to plant or replant your garden with natives, make a visit to the Forrest Deaner Botanic Garden.
Located in the Benicia State Recreation Area, this native botanic garden offers over 300 native trees, shrubs, plants and bunch grasses for your viewing pleasure. The three and a half acre garden hosts several demonstration gardens including a hummingbird/butterfly garden. For more information go to http://tinyurl.com/bn79t2m.
Vernal Pools at Jepson Prairie Preserve
Designated by the National Park Service as a National Natural Landmark, the vernal pools of the Jepson Prairie Preserve are located south of Dixon. The vernal pools are rare and formed when an impermeable layer of soil prevents rain water from seeping into the ground, thereby forming temporary pools of water. The vernal pools at the Jepson Prairie Preserve provide a habitat for threatened and rare plants such as the dwarf Downingia (Downingia pusilla) and Solano Grass (Tuctoria mucronata).
Two hour docent led tours are provided every Saturday and Sunday through May 12th. For more information, go to http://www.solanolandtrust.org/JepsonPrairie.aspx.
Pleasants Valley Iris Farm
Nestled in Pleasants Valley, just outside of Vacaville, this farm grows 400 different varieties of tall bearded irises. During blooming season the owners open up their farm to the public, allowing visitors to stroll through an acre of dazzling irises. If you don’t already have irises in your garden, you’ll want to grow some after wandering among their rows and rows of irises in bloom.
The farm is open to the public this year from April 20th through May 12th. For directions and more information, visit www.irisfarmer.com/info.html.
Native Garden at the Rush Ranch
A small native garden can also be found near the Visitor Center at the Rush Ranch located near Suisun City. Visitors to this tranquil 2,070 acre ranch also have the option to take several trail hikes. For more information, go to www.rushranch.net.
So the next time you feel like an outing on a nice day, hop on your bike or pack up the kids in the car and head over to one of these sites to enjoy the greenery growing in our area.
'Dangerous Mood' iris photo by Jennifer Baumbach
Garden Art
Garden art definitely enhances any garden no matter what is planted within in its boundaries. Over the years, we have enjoyed the art in garden tours, botanical gardens, friends gardens and even in our own garden. Garden art can consist of fountains, statuary, vertical planted walls, containers, metal signs, ceramic artwork, birdhouses, and unusual designed yard furniture.
In Italy, some of the elaborate gardens have magnificent fountains with different spray patterns, huge statuary or monuments of saints, famous people and angels. Often cathedrals have small walled in gardens that hold carved crosses and statuary that honors deceased priests or conquerors of the town. Fontarronco, a garden near Arezzo, in Tuscany, has exquisite tiled water fountains and tiled walkways. This garden is highlighted with flowers to cut for the house, vegetables for the table and artistic arbors providing shade from the intense heat. It is a simple garden that is breathtaking due to the colors of plants and tile work.
Often Botanical gardens will have hand made wooden or iron gates, windmills, carved benches and waterfalls. Around every corner there will be a surprise. One of my favorite Botanical gardens is in Fort Bragg. It is divided up into “rooms” and if you stay on the 3 mile path, you will end up at the ocean. The dahlia garden is my favorite spot. The hand made benches are to sit upon while surrounded by a rainbow of color in this sea of dahlias. A three sided gazebo anchors the dahlia garden where occasional weddings are held. The gate leading to this garden is a statement itself.
In our yard, the garden art is mostly cement faces, angels, and rabbits. Occasionally metal dragonflies can be found scattered throughout, In the winter when the garden is sleeping, the artwork still allows us to appreciate the views from every window.
Ornate garden gate. (photos by Sharon Rico)
Dahlias enhance beauty of the garden gate.
Borage! Borage! Borage!
A recent trip to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Fort Bragg, yielded spectacular views of the ocean, but something else also proved...
Honey bee foraging on borage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yellow-face bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) takes a liking to borage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bottoms Up
A recent visit to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden found honey bees making a...yes...beeline...for the pink oxalis (Oxalis herta), a native of South...
Pink Oxalis
Bottoms Up
