February 2023 trip to San Diego

I just got back from a quick trip to San Diego. Well, it seemed quick to me, but it was actually five days, including two full days of driving. 1426 miles in total. Since I was by myself, I packed as much as I could into every day. I came home with 700 photos, I don’t even know how many plants, and one rock. I’m exhausted, but that’s how it usually is. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Private aloe garden, Los Angeles

My first stop was at a Facebook friend’s house in Los Angeles. He has an epic aloe collection featuring species I hadn’t even heard of before. Unfortunately, our plans for a personal tour didn’t materialize because he had urgent out-of-town business to attend to, but he invited me to poke around by myself. I’ll have a separate post eventually, but I’ll need his help identifying the aloes I photographed. There’s no way I would even venture a guess, considering the rarity of many of his plants.

Aloe cramscaping at its best

Aloidendron pillansii surrounded by many equally rare species

Aloe rivierei

Aloe volkensii ssp. multicaulis

The drive from Los Angeles south turned into a grueling stop-and-go marathon. Given the time of day (mid-afternoon), it wasn’t really surprising. What was a surprise, though, was the temperature: 84°F according to my car’s dashboard display! When I left Davis that morning, it had been 40°F.

Before I go much further, here’s a handy map with this trip’s major destinations:

Look what greeted me when I checked into my hotel in San Diego:

Agave attenuata print in hotel lobby. That has to be a good omen!

Devon Boutte’s aloe garden, San Diego

➤ Click here to read my post about Devon's garden

My first stop in San Diego County was at Devon Boutte’s extraordinary aloe garden. I had visited Devon a year ago (see here), and it was great seeing how much his plants have grown. Here are just a few teasers:

The way Devon weaves succulents and rocks into tapestries of color and texture is inspiring.

Balboa Park, San Diego

Like last year, I timed my trip to coincide with the San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society’s Winter Show & Sale, held at Balboa Park. I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting for such an event—the SDCSS is truly blessed to have such a spectacular venue as their home base.

Casa del Prado Theater

The Show & Sale was held at Casa del Prado

This year, the sale was inside while the show tables were outside. I would have much preferred to have it the other way around. It quicky got crowded—uncomfortably so.

I made an effort to be in and out and fast as I could, but the line to the cash registers ended up being very long.

Balboa Park is San Diego’s crown jewel—a 1200 acre “cultural oasis” in the heart of the city. After I was done with the sale, I grabbed my camera and took a leisurely stroll through the park, snapping photos of whatever caught my eye.

El Prado Arcade, unchanged since the construction of the El Prado complex in 1915

Aloidendron barberae

Aloe rubroviolacea

Dragon trees (Dracaena draco) in the Desert Garden

Old Town San Diego

Old Town is the oldest settled area of San Diego, dating back to the 1820s. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park preserves 19th century homes and businesses that provide a glimpse into what life was like when California was a Mexican province. A number of shops and restaurants cater to the four million people who visit each year. Museums and art galleries are within walking distance.

Of course I was focused primarily on plant-related sights, of which there are many:

I’ve never seen so many Agave attenuata in flower at the same time

Euphorbia ingens, the all-green form on the right and the white form on the left

Aloes, cactus, and euphorbias

For San Diegans, Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’ is a common sight. Not to me!

OASIS Water-Efficient Gardens, Escondido

➤ Click here to read my post about OASIS

OASIS Water-Efficient Gardens in Escondido was my first nursery stop. It’s essentially the retail outlet of Altman Plants and sells a variety of their succulents in a no-frills environment. Larger plants are outside on the ground...

...smaller plants are on tables in a hoop house:

I like stopping at Oasis for their small but beautiful demonstration garden, especially at this time of year when the aloes are in bloom:

But who can resist the siren song of the plants for sale. Prices are less than at the big box stores, and many plants I’ve never seen anywhere else but here.

Echeveria ‘Love’s Fire’ (left), Aloe ‘Swordfish’ (right)

This time I also discovered a table with clearance items priced at $0.75 for 2" and $1.50 for 3". I didn’t hold back.

Rancho Soledad Nursery, Rancho Santa Fe

➤ Click here to read my post about Rancho Soledad

While Oasis is all about small plants (2" to 1 gallon), Rancho Soledad Nursery specializes in large plants, everything up to 48" boxes. This is the place to go when you want a 15" tree aloe or a 25" palm—and have the requisite budget. While the nursery is open to the public, it caters mainly to landscape designers and contractors.

I wanted three specific plants, and to find them, the sales rep drove me around the 25-acre grounds on an electric golf cart. In the process, I found out that the guy who owns one of the adjacent properties has a private car wash, gas station and race track for his car collection. Yeah, Rancho Santa Fe is what you would call “exclusive.” The property the nursery sits on must be worth tens of millions. Kudos to the family who owns it for resisting the siren call of the almighty dollar!

Aloidendron barberae silhouettes

Aloidendron ‘Hercules’

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ (sold under the old name Furcraea gigantea ‘Striata’)

Agave vivipara ‘Woodrowii’ in one of the display gardens

Growing grounds

Solana Succulents, Solana Beach

Solana Succulents is owned by Jeff Moore, author of books like Under the Spell of Succulents and Agaves: Species, Cultivars, and Hybrids, not to be confused with Jeff Moore in Tucson, who operates Arid Adaptations Nursery (read my recent post here). Solana Succulents is small, but it’s jam-packed with treasures and begs to be explored. Jeff knows most backyard growers in San Diego County and has access to a huge range of cool plants. It was good catching up with Jeff and poking around the nursery.

This beauty is a spectacular variegate of Agave ‘Blue Glow’. Needless to say it came home with me. Oops, that’s wishful thinking; I couldn’t afford the $280 price tag.

Tree euphorbias and the bulbil-laden flower stalk of Agave desmetiana

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® (the name is a registered trademark of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, I kid you not) encompasses almost 600,000 acres of the Colorado Desert, the western extension of the Sonoran Desert. It occupies 1/5 of San Diego County and reaches into Riverside County to the north and Imperial County to the west. It’s immense, and immensely beautiful, but most of it can only be reached on dirt roads, which my car was ill equipped for. Someday I’ll rent a 4WD vehicle.

Anza-Borrego is one of the best places in California to see cacti and other succulents in habitat. It’s home to 16 cactus species, including the iconic California barrel (Ferocactus acanthodes), as well as Agave deserti, one of three agave species found in California. As much as I love seeing succulents in gardens, it pales in comparison to encountering them in their natural environment. It’s a thrill like no other.

Agave deserti and Ferocactus acanthodes (previously Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Cochemiea dioica (previously Mammillaria dioica) in flower

My main reason for visiting for Anza-Borrego—not that I really needed a reason—was to catch the tail end of the winter wildflower display. I was worried the warm weather in the week prior to my visit would put an end to it, but fortunately my worries were unfounded.

I picked up a wildflower map at the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABDNHA) store in Borrego Springs and drove to the prime areas. (You can also download the map from here.) As you can see in the photos below, the winter bloom is still going strong. The main colors are purple from sand verbena (Abronia villosa) and white from dune evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides), with occasional pops of yellow from desert sunflower (Geraea canescens). There are other wildflowers, too, but they’re not all that showy.

Dune evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides)

Sand verbena (Abronia villosa)

The weather was changing fast while I was there, and in the early evening it began to rain. I felt the first sprinkles when I took the two photos below:

“African Elephant,” one of 130 metal sculptures by Ricardo Breceda found in multiple places around Borrego Springs

“Indian Head” at the intersection of Borrego Springs Road and Henderson Canyon Drive

Safely ensconced in my motel room, I heard the rain pounding down on the metal roof. The next morning, the day I drove home, was overcast, with an occasional break in the clouds. This made for dramatic displays that begged to be photographed:

Palomar Mountain Range in the clouds

I thought it was a fitting end to another wonderful trip.

RELATED POSTS:

• Shopping at OASIS, Altman Plants’ retail outlet in San Diego County
• Size matters: Rancho Soledad Nursery in San Diego County
• Return to Devon Boutte's San Diego aloe garden

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