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Fun Botanical Stuff
Posted on Apr 20, 2011.
With kids out of school and universities on break, it’s an awful shame ocean water temperatures are still so cold. What to do? What to do?
Well, if you are looking to fill your basket this Easter week, Balboa Park will put you hot on the trail of some of the finest gems (better than eggs) San Diego has to offer. Whether you are hunting for the prettiest spring blooms or a spectacular museum exhibition, here are a few suggestions to get your snouts pointed in the right direction:
Easter Lily Display. Nothing says Easter like a brilliant display of over 300 white Easter lilies, and once again, for the 52nd time to be exact, the Botanical Building is providing a colorful backdrop. In other words: go for the lilies, stay for the orchids.
All that Glitters. Speaking of gems, how about a jewel-encrusted Faberge egg. Or better yet, a Faberge pig? From natural mineral crystals to sparkling jewelry and fine art, this exhibition at the Natural History Museum is filled with enough bright and shiny objects to hold any pup’s attention.
Thomas Gainsborough and the Modern Woman. Consisting of 11 of the British painter’s finest portraits, this remarkable display at the San Diego Museum of Art is the definition of good things come in small packages. But you better catch it soon; it closes on May 1.
Counter Cultures: The Secret Lives of Games. Though searching under shrubs for plastic eggs filled with candy may be the game du jour this weekend, this exhibition at the Museum of Man surveys the entire world history of non-chewable board games and card games.
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Posted on Mar 09, 2011.
Harry and Mr. Bibbs write: Dear Cosmos, While there always seems to be something blooming in Balboa Park any time of year, with spring just around the corner, can you share with us your unique view of this season’s florals?
Cosmos: It will be my pleasure. In fact, making my rounds the other day, I couldn’t help but notice the seamless transition the Park’s grounds make as we go from winter to spring thanks to San Diego’s typically mild winters.
From the Rose Garden to Botanical Building to Alcazar Garden, and all the landscaping in between, I found an unending feast for all the senses (for all but my taste buds, anyway). Instead of just writing about it, however, I will set aside my keyboard and rely on my canine-friendly digital camera to do the barking:
Early risers from the award-winning Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden:
The Cherry Tree is one of the few trees I bother to look up at in springtime:
Keeping my nose at ground level along the Prado, I was rewarded by the sight of these orange beauties:
A new planter bed at the south end of the Lily Pond gives me a picture-perfect foreground element for a photo of the historic Botanical Building:
The elegant angel trumpet flowers and pink azaleas still make the Alcazar Garden a must-see while its central beds get some TLC:
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Posted on Feb 23, 2011.
I never know where my super-sniffer will lead me as I make my rounds through Balboa Park. The other day I decided to sneak behind some buildings in the Pan American Plaza area to explore some new aromas when my snout made a beautiful, yet prickly discovery.
You see I had managed to wander into the Park’s original, and often overlooked, cactus garden. Now dubbed the Old Cactus Garden—in light of the expansive newer Desert Garden on Park Boulevard—it was a pet project, if you will, of Kate Sessions, who designed it for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.
And being the “old” garden, it has had ample time to grow some of the largest succulents this side of Yuma. This is also the time that many of them, particularly the aloes, are in full bloom.
The Old Cactus Garden offers anyone who ventures behind the Marie Hitchcock Theatre and Balboa Park Club a secluded respite from some of the more heavily trafficked areas of Balboa Park. Gravel pathways wind through thoughtfully laid out cactus beds that serve up plenty of fresh ideas for weekend xeriscapers. There are even three picnic tables that provide dramatic views of the Cabrillo Bridge and downtown skyline.
Not one to sniff in one place for any length of time, it wasn’t long before I discovered a hidden pathway through a densely wooded canyon heading south and embarked on a new adventure…
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Posted on Dec 22, 2010.
While the holidays bring many presents to pups both naughty and nice, there is no substitute for those gifts that everyone in your pack can enjoy together. Fortunately, San Diego’s massive cultural theme park, Balboa Park, doesn’t require your out-of-town guests to sit up and beg for the kinds of treats that will ensure they remember their holiday visit fondly.
Poinsettia Display — With this week’s Poinsettia Bowl in town, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the best place to pay homage to the venerable holiday flower is in Balboa Park’s always free Botanical Building. Boosters of any team will enjoy seeing hundreds of red and white poinsettia plants ornately arranged amid hundreds of other botanical treasures.
The Park Multiplex — Looking for some of the most innovative technologies in filmmaking? Then you’re in the right place. For instance, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (open Christmas Day) boasts a recently upgraded domed IMAX screen, the Natural History Museum presents gargantuan dinosaurs and exotic excursions in eye-popping 3D, and the Air & Space Museum adds an immersive 4D experience to family-friendly animated 3D shorts.
LEGO Train Exhibit — Though it may not be the region’s largest LEGO display, it is certainly the most affordable way to view an expansive and elaborately detailed model train environment, colorfully created in the popular building block. Families will also enjoy exploring the Model Railroad Museum’s many other miniature railways.
Passports and Day Pass — If you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the choices 14 different museums all clustered together pose, fear not! The Balboa Park Passport lets each person sample all of them in a week’s time for $45 ($24 for children) at a 50% savings, and the Stay-for-the-Day Pass grants entry to five different museums on the same day for only $35.
Happy holidays from your favorite canine blogger!
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Posted on Aug 11, 2010.
Anyone who has followed this blog should be well aware that Morley Field is not only home to one of three great dog parks in Balboa Park, but also to the Bud Kearns Memorial Swimming Pool, 25 tennis courts, an archery range, and an 18-hole disc golf course.
On a recent visit, however, I made a point of probing past the dog park and other major facilities to discover much more than meets the snout. For instance, I noticed that each time I enter the dog park’s parking lot, I pass a little gem of a garden featuring native, drought-tolerant plants of California. While I consider myself quite an aficionado of all the lush gardens around Balboa Park’s Central Mesa, I was pleasantly surprised to find this nicely landscaped hillside filled with a variety of blooming plants.
Venturing southeast of the dog park, behind the tennis courts and swimming pool, my head was spinning as I watched several cyclists, who looked as though they had just returned from the Tour de France, going round and round the Velodrome track. It didn’t take long, however, until my attention 
was diverted once again by balls flying around the nearby baseball fields, which drew me even deeper into Morley Field’s vast sporting facilities.
While I will leave further discussion of these and other recreational amenities to future blog posts, I would like to remind everyone that as part of Balboa Park’s expansive grounds, Morley Field is another great place to scout the location of your winning shot for my Top Dog Photo Contest.
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Posted on May 11, 2010.
Indie writes: My family’s yard needs some serious TLC. Is there some place in Balboa Park where they can get ideas on the best trees to plant for my benefit and theirs?
Cosmos: Funny you should ask. I just took advantage of one of Balboa Park’s free Offshoot Tours and gained valuable insight into some of the best types of flora that thrive in San Diego’s climate.
This particular tour, offered on the second Saturday of the month, focused on the Park’s majestic palm trees. The volunteer tour guide, Steve Wichmann, was a landscape designer by trade and served up a wealth of information on the dozens of varieties of palms around the Park’s Prado area and Botanical Building. In addition to showing us how to identify the different palm trees and their parts, he discussed growth rates, maintenance requirements, and ideal growing environments.
Though they all suit our canine purposes equally well, I can now tell the difference between a Californian and Mexican palm and a King and Queen palm, among others.
If your family would like to branch out even more, there are also Offshoot Tours that explore other types of trees in Balboa Park (third Saturday) as well as the cactus and succulents housed in the Desert Garden (fourth Saturday).
These pet-friendly tours, which meet in front of the Balboa Park Visitors Center each Saturday morning at 10am, are a great way for you to exercise your legs while your family members exercise their brains.
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Posted on Apr 06, 2010.
It doesn’t take a smart dog like me to know that spring is alive and well in Balboa Park this year. Spring traditions abound as the San Diego Museum of Art prepares to celebrate the 29th year of Art Alive (April 30-May 2), the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden bursts with colorful roses, and the Botanical Building presents its annual Easter Lily display.
Though the holiday is past, the scent lingers on as hundreds of fragrant white lilies encircle the Botanical Building’s central planter. On view through April 21, the time-honored flower’s symbolism is rooted (so to speak) in Mediterranean cultural traditions dating back thousands of years.
While gorgeous in their own right, these stark white beauties cannot help but set off the brightly colored orchids surrounding them. Thanks to a major grant, over 100 new orchids were added to the Botanical Building’s collection last year, resulting in what can almost be termed an embarrassment of floral riches.
Dozens of different varieties of orchids in full bloom can now be found grouped in ornamental arrangements throughout the building. Some of the more beautiful species 
on view include the wine-colored Cymbidium orchid, the aptly named Lady’s Slipper orchid (pictured), and the animal-print-looking Zygopetalum orchid.
Given the amount of time I enjoy spending in the Botanical Building, the Park’s gardeners will be happy to know my days of digging in flower beds are long past.
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Posted on Mar 24, 2010.
Doggone it if San Diego hasn’t broken into Orbitz.com’s top 10 list of spring break destinations for 2010! Joining such traditional hot spots as Las Vegas, Cancun, and Miami Beach, San Diego has the ideal spring break profile: plenty of sunny beaches, a downtown nightlife, and of course the largest urban park in North America, Balboa Park.
While I don’t suspect many college students will be flocking to Balboa Park’s many world-class museums to research upcoming term papers, there are still plenty of reasons for them and vacationing families to visit.
Where else are you going to see such a variety of picturesque gardens at the height of seasonal bloom? You could spend a whole day exploring the award-winning Inez Parker Grant Memorial Rose Garden, the Desert Garden, the Zoro Garden, Palm Canyon, and the Alcazar Garden, just to name a few, without spending a single penny of beer money.
For the more active set, the resort-like park offers miles of scenic hiking trails, a championship golf course, lighted tennis courts, a swimming pool, and even a disc golf course and archery ranges.
In addition, for well less than you might spend at a trendy Gaslamp nightclub, the Passport to Balboa Park will give you admission to 14 different museums, while the Zoo/Passport combo includes a trip to the World Famous San Diego Zoo—where the real party animals hang out.
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Posted on Mar 10, 2010.
Logan and Roxy write: Dear Cosmos, we know you’re privy to insider knowledge about Balboa Park’s gardens. So tell us what this spring’s hot spots are?
Dear Logan and Roxy: Since every garden in the Park would pretty much qualify as a “hot spot” during the spring, I’ll try to limit my response to floral features that may not get as much attention for their springtime beauty.
First I’ll point out that Balboa Park is fortunate to have several varieties of coral (Erythrina) trees, which are native to the tropics, thanks to our mild climate. There’s of course the Naked Coral Tree near the Desert Garden kiosk mentioned in a recent blog post; another variety in the same area by Village Place; one by the House of Italy; and a spectacular Coastal Coral Tree near the Lawn Bowling Green. These colorful trees will bloom through May and their nectar attracts a diverse range of birds, my sources tell me.
Speaking of the Lawn Bowling Green, my sources also inform me that the ornamental peach trees south of the green will be blooming through April. In addition, ten Hong Kong Orchid Trees are being planted west of the Bowling Green and several Crape Myrtles to the east, promising even more blooms for seasons to come.
Lastly, thanks to all the recent rains, Florida Canyon will be lush and green this year with native coastal sage scrub and California Poppies blooming throughout. As you hike the canyon’s trails, be sure to enhance your coat’s natural scent by brushing up against the sweet-smelling sage.
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Posted on Feb 10, 2010.
While my super-sniffer snout prepares for the abundance of fresh blossoms this spring in Balboa Park, I actually find wintertime to be the best season to visit the blooming succulents in the Desert Garden.
More than just a Southwestern-style collection of garden-variety cacti, the Desert Garden spans 2.5 acres between Park Boulevard and Zoo Place to present a vast assortment of arid-climate plants from around the world. From the familiar aloes and agaves to the truly otherworldly looking Candelabra and Dragon Trees, the Desert Garden comprises approximately 1,300 plants arranged in picturesque formations overlooking Florida Canyon.
A handy colorful map you can print out before your visit will help you locate such oddities as the Quiver Tree, Boojum Tree, Pencil Tree, and the (gasp) Naked Coral Tree.
You are even encouraged to stray from the main paved walkway to fully explore this thoughtfully designed landscape. But be careful—especially bipeds wearing sandals and shorts—as you are liable to graze a prickly barrel cactus if you aren’t watching your step. (I’ve personally had more than one sticker plucked from my hide.)
Whether you are passing through on one of three marked trails that crisscross Balboa Park or enjoying a leisurely visit, keep an eye out for the blooming aloes this month and many additional blooms in March. This is also a great time to take your pack on a guided Off-Shoot Tour on the fourth Saturday of the month, which highlights the Park’s desert vegetation.
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