Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Arcadia,
California
March 2008
This 127 acre was opened to the
public in 1955. It showcases plants from Mediterranean climate
regions of the world, arranged geographically around a 4-acre lake.
There are large areas devoted to plants from Australia, Africa and
South America.
The first thing you encounter on entering are the resident peafowl.
You may see hear them before you see them because the peacocks are
pretty noisy in their attempts to impress the peahens.
On our route,
the first garden we reached was the Desert Display Garden, a small
but neat garden of North American desert plants.
Next is a
garden display called the 'Madagascar Spiny Forest', a planting of
treacherous looking plants from this island off the coast of
Africa.
As contrast,
there's a greenhouse full of orchids, bromeliads and other
tropicals. The greenhouse isn't large but it is packed full. The
plants are beautiful but there are almost no labels to indicate
what they are.
A large
Australian area features Eucalyptus, Acacia and other flowering
trees and shrubs. Most are mature and impressive. My favorites are
the grass trees, Xanthorrhoea, which I'd never seen fully
mature.
Another large
area is devoted to plants from arid Africa, especially Aloes. The
diversity of the Aloes is something to see, from ground-hugging
rosettes to massive trees.
A prehistoric
garden features a topiary dinosaur and cycads.
There are
also ponds, fountains, an Asian Garden and more. Everything is
well-labeled and the trails are well-marked so it's easy to find
your way around. We spent three hours and didn't see it all.
To see more photos of the Los Angeles County Arboretum,
click here.
To
visit the official website of Los Angeles County Arboretum,
click here.