Garden Spots- Southern California

Have had a small hiatus from blogging this month due to the need to do a bit of family visiting.
Many of you have heard me speak of my daughters, Christine and Carolyn who are now well on their way into adult adventures. I was reminded as I drove down to L.A., to visit Christine, that there is a superb Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara. I wanted to pass along a plug for this lovely
location to all of you if you are down that way. This public garden is broken up into sections displaying different flora from the various regions of California. Needless to say that this is a great place to see native plants. Its also a peaceful location to walk with shaded creek areas and woodlands. There are enough trails to get a good walk in. The garden is up at the top of Mission Canyon and is easy to find following the signs for the Historic Mission Site (also an interesting stop). Nestled at the top of the canyon, the garden has great views and is set out of the city sounds.
When the girls were little we really enjoyed the Santa Barbara Zoo too. Caroyln is now studying Biology up at Chico State and has always had an interest in the big cats i.e. lions, tigers and cheetas. Hence, we spent part of many vacations visiting various zoos. This was not so bad because it turns out that zoos have a lot of interesting plants too! I guess they do call them Zoologic Gardens.
Christine is down in Glendale teaching now. She took a break from the whiny 8th graders to give me a tour of the L.A. Arboretum. Like most Arboretums the garden is broken out into regions of the world and has acres of astounding flora with a definite feel of tropical environs. Christine and her fiance, Carlos, found a lovely inner hidden garden filled with fragrant roses and citrus trees to have their wedding in next April. Guess she is a chip off the old block. It is a beautiful place and was lovely this month with less heat and clear skies. Good views to the mountains after a short rain the day before I arrived. This garden also has some interesting sculptures, water features and masonary areas. This is a vast place so if you visit bring comfortable shoes. There is a tram for tours also.
I hope you liked this mini travel log. I love to explore and spend lots of time finding hiking spots, public gardens and cool old stuff so will incorporate some of these areas in the blog from time to time.
Happy travels!