Due to COVID we had to buy tickets online ahead of time, which was no problem. We spent about 1.5 hours at the botanical garden. We particularly enjoyed the Japanese garden, which had lots of water features and koi.
It’s a nice garden even without much blooming. We did see some flowers, even in January.
There were nice examples of bonsai.
Interesting cactus and succulents.
The Prehistoric Garden, complete with dinosaur statue, was another highlight. And they had a dawn redwood, so we can see what ours might someday look like.
Manmade hardscape included a pergola that once topped a schoolhouse now used as a gazebo, stone walled rose gardens, walls and gates, and cleverly camouflaged trashcans.
And there was natural hardscape too.
The children’s garden featured whimsical art and structures.
We liked these ferny plants, the fearless squirrel, the kale used as an ornamental plant, and this water feature right outside the entrance. Surprisingly we saw our first tiny lizard here. We’d expected to see more of them.
All that and you can see the city skyline through the trees. (And the bamboo.)
