UC Davis Arboretum
Davis,
California
June 2008
The 100-acre arboretum was
established on campus in 1936.
The plantings are concentrated along a creek with walkways
on both banks.
A series of bridges connects the two
banks. It's a beautiful layout for an arboretum, with
plenty of great scenic views across the water.
The collections are primarily
laid out geographically, with collections representing
Australia, South Africa, South America, the Mediterranean,
the southwest United States and California. There are also
a few taxonomic collections, including conifers and
Acacias.
One of the highlights is a small grove of Coastal Redwoods.
The trees are young, and small by redwood standards, but
the tall, straight trunks and beautiful colors make an
impressive statement.
There are also excellent
interpretive signs telling about redwoods and their
importance.
The Australian area has a
very nice collection of Grevilleas which were in full
bloom. Sadly, the labeling on them was very poor so I
learned the name of only one, this beautiful 'Ruby
Clusters'.
Another favorite display is a
Mexican Elderberry bush with an interpretive sign
explaining its importance in the lifecycle of an endangered
Longhorn Beetle. I like interpretation that reminds us that
plants are not only beautiful, but also an integral part of
the web of life.
I really enjoyed this
arboretum. The site along the creek is fantastic and the
interpretive signage is very good. The labeling of plants
was poor, but I imagine loss of labels is an ongoing
problem. The arboretum is free and unfenced so disappearing
labels must be a common occurrence. I was pleased to see no
other signs of vandalism. The arboretum seems heavily used
by visitors. We saw lots of joggers, walkers and
bicyclists. It's a fine place to spend a leisurely few
hours.
Click here
to see more photos of the
UC-Davis Arboretum.
To visit the official website of the Davis Arboretum,
click here.