A hidden garden in Old Town San Diego.

Most people visiting Old Town San Diego State Historic Park will not see the spring flowers now blooming in one beautiful but scraggly garden. That’s because the garden is a bit hidden, located near a walking path that is seldom traveled.

The garden can be found behind historic buildings that line the west edge of the State Park’s central plaza. If you walk into Old Town from the nearby trolley station, you’ll likely pass the path that leads behind these modest buildings, including Casa de Wrightington, San Diego House, U.S. House and Casa de Machado y Silvas.

I saw roses today and many other flowers!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Gazebo at Balboa Park rose garden vanishes!

What happened to the big gazebo in Balboa Park’s rose garden?

During a walk today, I was surprised to discover that most of the circular structure has vanished!

As you can see in my photos, members of the Balboa Park Rose Garden Corps were busy working in the award-winning Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden. I asked a smiling volunteer what had happened to the gazebo.

I learned the wooden part of the beautiful shady structure was in bad shape due to years of rot and termite damage. It had begun to pose a safety hazard.

So the old, damaged wood was recently removed. The roses climbing up it were saved. A new structure will be built at some point in the future that will hopefully be more resilient. The flowering plants that remain at the center of the disassembled gazebo will be transplanted to Balboa Park’s Alcazar Garden.

Any comments with more specific info would be interesting!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Learning to prune roses in Balboa Park!

A small army of rose lovers converged on Balboa Park this morning. The Balboa Park Rose Garden Corps and members of the San Diego Rose Society demonstrated to the public how to prune roses!

As I walked through the award-winning Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, I saw enthusiastic volunteers who are dedicated to gardening and beauty. And I was grateful to them.

A couple of experts told me no other rose garden in San Diego can compare with our treasured one in Balboa Park.

If you want to help maintain Balboa Park’s incomparable rose garden, check out the next photo, or click that first link!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Plein Air painters interpret Balboa Park’s beauty.

A group of plein air painters were at work today in and near Balboa Park’s rose garden.

As I wandered through the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, I peered over a couple of shoulders to see how different eyes might interpret the nearby beauty, including Balboa Park’s Desert Garden and Florida Canyon. A couple of the artists kindly let me take photos close up.

I learned these are students enjoying the Plein Air Painting: A Working Method workshop offered by the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. Perhaps one day I’ll sign up.

Plein air artists have endless material in beautiful Balboa Park. Set up your easel anywhere!

Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Photos of beauty at the Lindo Lake Boathouse.

Lindo Lake in Lakeside is a very beautiful place.

Near the center of Lindo Lake stands the Boathouse, originally built in 1887.

I walked around the charming boathouse last weekend. It was like strolling through a gentle, pastoral painting.

The canvas was painted with water, trees, white roses, mountains, blue sky and many birds, including Canada and domestic geese, egrets, and mallard ducks.

Enjoy these photographs of tranquil beauty on a winter’s Sunday.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

History and beauty at Magee Park in Carlsbad.

Magee Park in Carlsbad is a special place where both history and beauty thrive.

I enjoyed a walk through the park recently, pausing frequently to admire its several historical structures.

Everywhere I walked, it seemed, beds of roses greeted me. Magee Park’s rose garden is so beautiful and extensive that the American Rose Society called Carlsbad “An American Rose City” in 2002.

The centerpiece of the park is the 1887 Magee House, a handsome Craftsman-style house built by Samuel Church Smith, one of the founders of Carlsbad Land and Water Company. Today it is home to the Carlsbad Historical Society and their museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed when I walked past. Read more about the Magee House’s history here.

Other historic structures in Magee Park include the Shipley-Magee Barn, Heritage Hall, the Twin Inns Granary and the Twin Inns Gazebo.

During my meandering walk, I photographed many of the informative signs and plaques that I came upon.

During Carlsbad’s agricultural past a variety of barn styles were constructed.
The barn at Magee Historical Park is the oldest Carlsbad barn in existence. This sign on the barn’s side details its history, and tells a little about the life of Florence Shipley and her husband Hugh Magee.
Vast areas of present day Carlsbad were once used to raise cattle and horses.
Heritage Hall in Carlsbad, California.

HERITAGE HALL

HERITAGE HALL WAS BUILT IN 1926 AS THE ORIGINAL SANCTUARY OF ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH. IN 1952 IT BECAME CARLSBAD’S FIRST CITY HALL AND POLICE STATION; IN THE 1960’S THE FIRST LIBRARY, THE FIRST CHILDREN’S LIBRARY AND LATER A BALLET STUDIO. IN 1979 THE HALL WAS MOVED TO ITS PRESENT SITE WITH THE HELP OF FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, THE CARLSBAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND VOLUNTEERS. IT IS NOW A COMMUNITY MEETING HALL.

The Twin Inns Granary.

THE TWIN INNS GRANARY

ORIGINALLY BUILT BY EDDIE KENTNER, PROPRIETOR OF THE WORLD FAMOUS CARLSBAD TWIN INNS, THIS GRANARY WAS DONATED TO THE CITY OF CARLSBAD BY NEIMAN’S VILLAGE FAIRE AND MOVED TO MAGEE PARK IN 1985. IT WAS RESTORED THROUGH THE GENEROUS ASSISTANCE OF THE CARLSBAD EVENING ROTARY CLUB.

Now I’ve begun to walk around the Magee House…

A time capsule in front of the Magee House placed by the Carlsbad Historical Society. It will be opened July 4, 2076, our nation’s Tricentennial.
Roses by the Magee House’s welcoming veranda.
Circular patio with birdbath beside the Magee House. More roses.
The old Twin Inns Gazebo nearby.
Continuing my walk around the Magee House.

As I walked through wide, grassy Magee Park, I noticed it has several trees with dedication plaques.

I found three of them…

25 years of friendship with sister city Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
In loving memory of Doris A. Gordon.
Mary Jane Joseph. Proud resident of Carlsbad.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Spring roses in Old Town San Diego.

Today I went for a slow, easy walk through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

After turning down a path behind several historic buildings, I noticed bright spring colors in a garden that few visitors see. A straggly, uniquely beautiful rose garden can be enjoyed behind the reconstructed La Casa de Machado y Wrightington, which today is home to the Tafoya and Son pottery shop.

For lovers of roses, this a wonderful little place to seek out. The roses even have signs that identify the varieties.

I took a few photos of the newly opened roses.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

A rush for Valentine’s Day roses!

It’s Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air! The rush was on this morning to find red roses!

Fortunately, Dave’s Flower Box in North Park had trucks full of them! Their parking lot appeared to be a bustling flower drive-thru!

This beautiful red rose on the nearby sidewalk is for anyone who finds it.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Sunrise at the Balboa Park rose garden.

Early yesterday morning I took photographs of the sunrise from Balboa Park’s beautiful Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.

This world-class rose garden overlooks Florida Canyon and offers views of San Diego’s mountains in East County.

Should you ever visit Balboa Park, look for the many flowers next to Park Boulevard. This small bit of heaven can be enjoyed south of the pedestrian bridge at the east end of El Prado.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Photos for a very Happy Mother’s Day!

With these flower-filled photographs from all around San Diego, I wish all the Moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day!

Hummingbird and flowers.

Field of Diamonds quilt, about 1860. The design is achieved by creatively combining hexagons.

Lady of the Garden, Veronica McFarland, acrylic. San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!