Balboa Park in San Diego boasts 13 separate gardens. They are all free to walk through, with the exception of the Japanese Friendship Garden. The gardens are spread throughout the park and you could easily spend the majority of a day walking through them. I will be highlighting the Desert Garden, the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden and the Palm Canyon trail.
Aeoniums
The Desert Garden is located across Park Blvd at the far end of the park. It is 2.5 acres and filled with walking paths that lead through more than 1,300 succulents, cacti and drought resistant plants.
The Desert Garden
The trail is an easy loop. It does connect with longer trails that go down into Florida Canyon. It was over 100 degrees on the day of my visit, so I opted out of wandering down into the canyon.
The Desert Garden
The garden is filled with many unusual plants. This one piqued my interest and I had to look this tree up when I got home, it is a Bottle Tree. I had never seen anything like it before.
The Desert Garden
This monstrosity was my favorite. It is a type of Candelabra Tree.
The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden
Next up is the Rose Garden, which is located next to the Desert Garden. The best time to visit would be in the months of April or May to see the roses at their peak.
The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden
The Rose Garden is three acres, filled with easy walking paths, and contains over 1,600 roses.
The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden
There are more than 130 different varieties of roses with new types being introduced each year. It is a beautiful place to spend some time. There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy the view and amazing fragrance that wafts over the garden.
Palm Canyon
My last walk of the day was through Palm Canyon, which is a trail which leads behind many of the buildings in the park. It stretches from the Cactus Garden to the House of Charm. It spans 2 acres and is an easy trail to navigate.
Palm Canyon
The most photographed trees, the Moreton Bay Fig trees, are near the entrance closest to the Spreckles Organ Pavilion.
Palm Canyon
The canyon has 58 different varieties of palm trees, with more than 450 trees located in the canyon.
If the gardens hold the most appeal for you, visiting the park in May or June would be best. My visit was in September so many of flowers were well past their prime. The next post will be dedicated to the Japanese Friendship Garden, which was my favorite and deserves a page of its own. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
Balboa Park Posts
Art and Architecture in Balboa Park
Things to See and Do in Balboa Park
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