San Diego Botanic Garden
The San Diego Botanic Garden is the best I’ve ever visited.
As a crazy plant lady, this was a dream walking through the 29 differently themed gardens. They also have benches scattered throughout the property to sit and enjoy the scenery.
I took way too many photos, so I tried to narrow it down to my favorites.
Make sure to grab a map so you don't accidentally miss anything!
There are temporary art pieces in some of the gardens that are for sale to the public. It's an interesting contrast to have these man-made objects/materials blending into the nature of the gardens. They were all so unique and gorgeous!
This particular sculpture (below) was my favorite! It definitely stole the show once the sun hit it.
Just so you get an idea of how completely enveloped you are once inside these gardens, here's me looking like a small child in comparison to the thick greenery.
It's hard to pick just one favorite part of these gardens, but the Mexican garden is definitely in my top 3. Coming from a family with Mexican heritage I have a soft spot for Mexican style. These succulent people are SO creative and incredibly well done. The Mariachi band is just perfect. File these under "absolutely want for my future backyard." Oh, and that colorful mosaic fountain? I want that too.
The Bamboo garden was one of my favorites. Bamboo is such an interesting plant and I had never seen Black Bamboo before!
This was one of the most impressive art pieces and it had a plaque in front of it with the title and meaning.
The most colorful plant in the whole place was this HOT pink bush. I wish I had taken a photo of the plaque, because I'm not positive about what kind of plant this is. Even googling around it is hard to find a plant that matches close enough to be 100% sure. My guess is Alternanthera.
Up next, the fruit bearing plants! The banana grove was the best part- I felt like I was in a completely different country (or maybe just Hawaii!).
There were live turtles at the pond in the bamboo garden! It took me a minute to notice all 3.
I saved the best for last. THE LIZARDS! I have loved all bugs, reptiles, rodents, and everything else since I was a kid. I have photos of me kissing giant, yellow banana slugs and trying to catch lizards. The San Diego Botanic Garden has dozens of lizards running around. If you go on a warm, sunny day, then I guarantee you will see them out sunning themselves.
This particular little guy was SO curious. He noticed me as I inched closer to get the perfect shot and took an interest in the clicks from my camera. He turned to face me and tilted his head side to side, LIKE A PUPPY, trying to figure out what the sound was. Click through the slideshow below to see him striking poses for me!
This was another blue belly lizard, but twice the size and a bit less into the camera than the other guy. He was still worth a photo. I won't bore you with the 12 other lizards I took photos of, but just know they exist!
If you made it this far, thank you! I appreciate the time it took to scroll this far and the patience it took for all the photos to load (I hope it wasn't too bad!). If you're in the San Diego area or are planning a trip, this is a must see!
More info about directions, prices, parking, and more can be found on their website: http://www.sdbgarden.org/
