Gardens at Mission San Juan Capistrano

When most Californians think of Mission San Juan Capistrano, they think of swallows. Every spring, legions of American cliff swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano after spending the winter in Argentina 6,000 miles away. Local legend claims that once upon a time a local innkeeper chased the swallows away by destroying their nests, and they took up refuge at the mission nearby,

In 1910s, a savvy priest at the mission used the public’s interest in the swallows to generate support for his restoration efforts. Without Father O’Sullivan the mission might not be what it is today. In 1939, composer Leon René wrote a song called “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” that has lived on until today.

I had wanted to see Mission San Juan Capistrano for a long time. There hadn’t been an opportunity to visit until this April when on our way home from our spring break trip to San Diego we drove right through the town of San Juan Capistrano. I expected a sleepy mission, but much to my surprise, it turned out to be far more beautiful and interesting than I had imagined.

Ruins of the Great Stone Church (destroyed by an earthquake in 1812)

Founded in 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano is the 7th of the 21 Spanish missions established by Franciscan priests in what was then Alta California. If you’re interested in the history of Mission San Juan Capistrano, this Wikipedia article is a good place to start.

 

Since we only had an hour to spend, I focused on the 10 acres of gardens. I would have loved to explore the interior of the buildings that are open to the public, but that will have to wait until my next visit.

 

The gardens are lovingly maintained by a group of 35 volunteers called the Gardening Angels. The meet at the Mission every Wednesday, “pruning, mulching, fertilizing, planting and doing whatever else is necessary to make the Mission gardens look their best for visitors.” (1) The plantings far exceeded my expectations; they are water-wise and complement the architecture of the mission perfectly. (The big lawn you see a little later is another thing, but I understand the rationale for having it in a public site, what with so many school classes visiting.)

 

 

California poppies adding pops of color

Closer look at the ruins of the Great Stone Church

Entrance to the Sacred Garden in the courtyard next to the ruined stone church

Sacred Garden

Giant euphorbia

Dragon tree (Dracaena draco)

Euphorbia ingens fruit

Euphorbia ingens fruit

Bougainvillea

Prickly pear

Agave americana? after flowering

 

Ghostly Euphorbia ammak ‘Variegata’

More opuntias

Flowering Dasylirion longissimum

Agave potatorum

Crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii) in front of blue chalk fingers (Senecio mandraliscae)

Outside the mission wall, on the south side, you’ll find a row of beautiful columnar cacti:

The tall inflorescence with the yellow flowers is from an agave inside the mission wall

 

Palo verde in front of the Mission Store

What a great way to end our trip to Southern California!