Tag: trees

The colors of Autumn in Balboa Park!

The colors of Autumn are beginning to emerge in Balboa Park. The days are shorter, temperatures are cooling, and some of the foliage is turning.

Enjoy photographs from my late afternoon walk today through the park.

First up, these were taken at the Japanese Friendship Garden…

Is blue really a color of Autumn?

It is, if you’re visiting the Blue Gold exhibition at the Mingei International Museum!

Inside the House of Mexico cottage at the International Cottages, Día de los Muertos decorations were being put up, including a beautiful altar!

Orange is not only a harvest color–it’s the color of marigolds!

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Newly planted trees on The Haunted Trail!

Newly planted trees can be spotted in the southwest corner of Balboa Park near Marston Point. By sheer coincidence I spotted them today.

In the late morning I walked from downtown San Diego up to Balboa Park, intending to see if any progress has been made on The Haunted Trail. The “trail” is a very spooky, outdoor, after dark attraction that pops up in time for Halloween.

But look what I discovered! What an interesting contrast! Many young green trees are growing among scary props, including a beat-up car and broken-down old shack.

I asked someone who was preparing other ghoulish props for The Haunted Trail, and he believes the trees were planted earlier this year. I don’t recall seeing them before!

How scary might this “forest” be after dark?

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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 X.

Plaque in La Jolla honors Kate Sessions.

Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park, originally named La Jolla Park, was established in 1887. The scenic coastal park has seen almost a century and a half of history, so it’s not surprising a variety of historical plaques can be found by visitors wandering around its 5.6 acres. I once photographed a couple of these plaques and shared them here.

An old plaque that honors San Diego’s beloved horticulturist Kate Sessions can also be discovered at Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park. The plaque is located near a New Zealand Christmas tree (metrosideros tomentosa) that was planted by the La Jolla Garden Club in 1939 on Kate Sessions’ 82nd birthday. She would pass away in 1940.

Katherine Olivia Sessions is widely known as the Mother of Balboa Park, but she planted hundreds of trees all over San Diego. She even has a park named after her in La Jolla. Her legacy will continue far into the future. Many majestic trees throughout our beautiful city were planted by her own hand.

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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 X.

Tree murals appear on Bay to Park Paseo!

Colorful murals depicting a variety of beautiful trees in Balboa Park have been installed at the north end of San Diego’s art-filled Bay to Park Paseo!

The colorful vinyl murals can be viewed on a Park Boulevard fence, just south of the bridge that spans Interstate 5. The murals welcome motorists to an amazing park that is overflowing with natural beauty.

An original description of the 1.7 mile Bay to Park Paseo, which runs from San Diego Bay up to Balboa Park, can be found here. A couple of the temporary art projects still aren’t completed, but those who walk along the Paseo will enjoy about a dozen finished installations.

This particular installation is presented by the Balboa Park Committee of 100 and Urban Interventions. The trees were photographed in Balboa Park by artist Perry Vasquez.

The Bay to Park Paseo is a unique walking experience created in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital. The idea is to eventually create a permanent Paseo–an inviting walkway from downtown San Diego to Balboa Park–filled with great public art. I definitely support this idea!

If you’d like to see photographs of the very first guided walk up the Bay to Park Paseo earlier this year, click here!

Do you like to walk? Free guided tours of the Bay to Park Paseo can be enjoyed on the first and third Saturday of each month through November 2024. The tours meet in the front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront and end in Balboa Park at Presidents Way, not far from these tree murals.

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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 X.

Natural History Museum’s nature trail opens!

The construction fences are down! The San Diego Natural History Museum’s new outdoor native garden has opened, and there’s a trail that follows the newly planted greenery around the museum!

Native plants, flowers and trees now abound, but since the garden is just getting started, most plants are small and the landscape appears a bit bare. Once everything is grown, the garden should be much more beautiful!

Right now there’s plastic fencing along the pathway, protecting the new plantings from careless visitors and dogs. It appears to be temporary.

Informative signs can be read along the looping trail, and smaller signs indicate the native species planted nearby. There’s a boulder-filled sitting area and short side trail, too, on the museum’s north side–you know, the side with the enormous Moreton Bay Fig.

The “Nat’s Nature Trail” features various themed segments. As you walk around the Natural History Museum building, you encounter Pollinator Paradise, Spiny Sidewalk, Boulder Garden, Discovery Path, Wildlife Walkway, First People’s Garden, and Container Corner.

What a great addition to an already amazing Balboa Park!

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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 X.

San Diego Bonsai Club’s Spring Show!

Fantastic examples of bonsai could be viewed by the public this weekend in Balboa Park. The San Diego Bonsai Club hosted their Spring Show and Sale in Casa del Prado’s Room 101.

A series of long, narrow tables appeared to be lined with tiny, ancient, wind-blown trees. It’s uncanny how the beautiful art of bonsai can trick and fascinate the eye.

These bonsai were carefully sculpted by members of the club. The show and sale also featured supplies like pots, soil and starter trees, and expert bonsai technique demonstrations.

Check out these photos. I felt like I was walking beside a miniature forest!

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A philosophical short story for Arbor Day.

Wooden footbridge along 26th Street leads to a little-used trail through USS Bennington Memorial Oak Grove in Balboa Park.

Today is Arbor Day. It’s a day when we think about the future and plant trees.

Early last year I published a very short story that mentions Arbor Day. Dale’s Tree is the title. You might enjoy this touching, slightly philosophical tale.

To read Dale’s Tree, click here.

Have an excellent weekend, and stay tuned for more photographs from walks all around San Diego!

(The above photograph was taken in Balboa Park, as I walked down a path from Golden Hill into the Bennington Memorial Oak Grove. The place inspired my story.)

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Spring blooms at Japanese Friendship Garden!

Spring is in full bloom at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park!

On this sunny day, many visitors were walking through scenes of lush natural beauty.

In the Lower Garden the cherry blossoms were still like clouds of pink through which anyone could serenely amble. Being the third Tuesday of the month, San Diego residents could enter the garden for free. Lots of families took advantage!

As I walked along the high path near JFG’s newest waterfall, I noticed that an azumaya is under construction. An azumaya is defined as a traditional arbor or summer pavilion found in formal Japanese gardens.

These photographs show how dreamy the garden now appears.

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Help make Balboa Park more beautiful!

Would you like to help San Diego’s world-famous Balboa Park become even more beautiful? There are many volunteering opportunities for you to explore!

Today I spotted a bunch of volunteers picking up litter in the park. I learned from a friendly lady at the Forever Balboa Park canopy in the Plaza de Panama that a similar cleanup is scheduled for next weekend! Get your coworkers and friends involved!

I also learned an Arbor Day Tree Planting event that you can join is coming up! It will be on April 26th, from 9 am to 11 am.

Would you like to learn more? Check out the Forever Balboa Park volunteer web page here! And to remain informed, join their email list!

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Art created from destructive Cedar Fire.

Some unusual art was recently moved onto the second floor of San Diego’s Central Library. Cedar Fire was created by local artist Timothy Murdoch in 2019.

The work is composed of collected burnt wood and house paint. Many communities throughout San Diego were affected by the historic, incredibly destructive Cedar Fire in 2003. The fire destroyed 2,820 buildings including 2,232 homes.

I still remember how all of San Diego County was disrupted as people coped with the fast moving, Santa Ana wind driven fire. I had to drive up Interstate 15 under a dark orange sky during the fire, and it seemed I was the only one on the freeway. It’s hard for me to believe that was over twenty years ago. Seems like yesterday.

Does this sculpture look familiar? Cedar Fire, part of the City of San Diego Art Collection, was previously displayed in the lobby of San Diego’s City Administration Building.

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!