Balboa Park

Balboa Park

At 1200 acres, it’s one of the largest and best city parks in the world.  It’s called an Urban Cultural Park which is an apt description.  The San Diego Zoo may be the most famous component but there’s also a mind boggling assortment of other goodies: 15 major museums, numerous performing arts venues, and several impressive gardens, each with a different theme.  Depending on your interests, you could easily spend a week or more here.  If you’ve never been, put it on your bucket list. 

 

International expostions were held here in 1915/16 and 1935/36.  Named respecitively the Panama-California Expo and the California Pacific Intl Expo, virtually all of the buildings were built for those 2 events.  The older group is Spanish Renaissance, the newer group Southwest, architechturally speaking.    

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Yesterday, we visited the botanical building and a few gardens.  Given the pleasant weather, we weren’t inclined to spend time in the museums or other indoor attractions.  Besides, we’re cheapskates; most gardens are free, museums and shows are not.  The pix below include several impressive plants, most of which I’d seen before, few of which I can name.  Most plants have little name tags stuck in the dirt nearby, but I neglected to make note of them.  Shame on me.

 

Lily Pond and Botanical Building

 

Inside Botanical Building, split leaf philodendron or monsterosa plant?

 

I've seen smaller versions of this around LHC.  It's a desert plant, don't know its name.

 

 

I beg your pardon..........

 

 

Willie S said a rose by any other name..........

 

Works for me.

 

This is a petunia.

 

Southwest desert garden, hundreds of fine specimens of cacti and succulents.