This is a great time of year to visit the University of Santa Cruz Arboretum. They have a wonderful collection of Mediterranean plants from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Many of them bloom between January and April, because of the winter rains. I say “alien plants” because many of them are so exotic, fun, startling, and completely different from plants we are used to in the Bay Area. Australians may call our plants “alien” as well!
Here are a few of my favorites from my last visit:
 |
| Eucalyptus caesia ssp. magna Silver Princess Australian collection |
 |
| Protea neriifolia Pink Mink African collection |
 |
| Banksia ericifolia Heath Banksia Australian collection |
To find out how to visit the Arboretum: http://arboretum.ucsc.edu/. You can help support the Arboretum through donations, membership, and volunteer work. You can also purchase items from Norrie's, the gift store, and from plant sales. The plants have been tested for growing in the Bay Area.
No comments:
Post a Comment