Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens
Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens
I read an article recently (can’t remember which magazine it was in) about the botanical gardens at Santa Cruz. I checked their website and looked at the map to see where they were. I didn’t see the actual address but they were on Empire Grade and from its position on the map it looked like, traveling from Santa Cruz, they were on the left side of the road. As the gardens were part of the University of California Santa Cruz campus I expected that there would be signs from the university pointing us in the right direction.
We did see signs for the Arboretum and Norrie’s Gift Shop but it was on the right hand side, so we continued along scenic Empire Grade for several miles. Eventually we decided to turn around and head back to the arboretum and ask there where the botanical gardens were. Well, of course, they are one and the same thing. If only I had printed a map from the internet I would have known that. What threw me was the fact that I was expecting it to be on the left hand side.
We parked just inside and deposited our $10 in the post at the entrance. There is no entrance fee as such and donations are much appreciated. Near the post was a box with maps inside so I helped myself to one.
A short walk uphill took us to the gift shop where I wanted to pick up a leaflet on the Hummingbird Trail but it didn’t open until 10. It was almost 10 so I took a stroll around the Aroma Garden nearby. Tom also started in the same garden but he soon disappeared with his camera, on a mission of his own. There was one plant which overpowered everything with its perfume but it took me a while to discover exactly where and what it was. At first I thought it came from some white flowers growing over a metal archway. It turned out to emanate from yellow flowers on a small tree. Unfortunately I didn’t see a label near the tree which told me what species it was.
At 10.15 the gift shop still had not opened but I saw somebody inside. He opened the door and apologized but the volunteer had not arrived yet. I asked if there was a guide to the Hummingbird Trail. He looked but could not find anything and then went ‘up the hill’ to see if he could find one. While I waited I wandered around outside looking at the plants for sale. Was nearly tempted to buy one but thought I would wait until we left, as I didn’t want to carry it around with me. Ten minutes later the man came back but had no leaflet. Once again profuse apologies. He did tell me the best place to go to see hummingbirds though so off I trotted.
A short walk up the hill brought me to the Australian Garden and there I saw a sign pointing to the trail I wanted. Just inside was a big, red,
Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens
Bottlebrush tree. Or, to give it it’s proper name, Callistemon. It is a native of Australia but is a common sight in California. Hummingbirds are attracted to red blossom and there were certainly plenty of them flying in and out of the tee. There was a convenient bench nearby so I took advantage of it. Fortunately I had brought my binoculars with me and spent half an hour contentedly observing the little birds whizzing about. They were really aggressive and were chasing each other all over the place. I saw both Anna’s and Allen’s Hummingbirds. They are similar and it is only the red iridescent throat of the Anna’s and the more coppery sheen of the Allen’s which tells them apart.
Tom found me sitting on the bench and he told me that he had been on the Hummingbird Trail. I decided it was time to further explore the arboretum and we set off back the way he had come. I did not see a lot more hummingbirds but I did see lots of interesting facts about them on the information boards set out along the trail. Did you know that most of the hummingbirds weight less than a nickel; that their hearts are proportionately larger than any other animal on earth; that they have the most rapid wing beats in normal flight than any other bird, that they eat 50-100% their body weight every day and drink twice as much water a day; that some of them fly for 2,000 miles without stopping? I could go on and on but don’t want to bore you to death. I had never seen a hummingbird until I came to the USA and I’m absolutely fascinated by them.
From the Australian Garden we wandered into the South African Garden as as we were meandering around the man from the gift shop came up to me. He had found a Hummingbird Trail leaflet and had set out to hand it to me. Wasn’t that kind of him. I thanked him profusely. We had a short chat and he said that there are not many full time staff working there and there will be even less in a week’s time as he was retiring. I wished him the best of luck.
The Jan Beevers Path runs through the South African Garden and we ambled along the path to the New Zealand Garden, passing through a deer fence on the way. I wanted to look at the kiwi beds but we never did find it. We did walk down several paths which dead ended but getting lost is half the fun.
We had spent three hours in the arboretum and it was time to go home. There were several areas we hadn’t got round to investigate – the Redwood Grove, the Eucalyptus Grove, the Californian Redwood Grove plus, of course, the whole of the Hummingbird Trail. We will just have to come again to visit.
Related posts:
- UC Botanical Gardens, Berkeley
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- Santa Cruz Diner, Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz Wharf
- Cafe Brasil, Santa Cruz
June 16 2009 07:05 am | Special Places
