Tales of Trips & Tours by Patty Gaffney … A visit to the Niguel Botanic Garden!
On a surprisingly warm January 26 morning just a day after rain, sixteen members toured the 18-acre public garden exhibiting plants from the five Mediterranean climate regions of the world along with a rose garden, butterfly garden, world wide succulent display, and plantings from mixed regions. Being winter, the design bones of the garden clearly showed the terracing of the landscape with its many pathways and bridges.
The hillside terrain could be steep, but we were rewarded with clear views of Saddleback Mountain and the aesthetic line of homes blending into the mountainside, overlooking Crown Valley Parkway. There were eye catching specimen plants such as bottlebrush bushes with large upright blooms resembling corn on the cob, silvery-grey wooly foliage, the spongy texture of Cork Oak bark and the scent of sage as we took in the birdsong of goldfinches and hawks circling above.
Afterwards, lunch was at the busy and noisy but very tasty Mendocino Farms with so many healthy options to start the new year.
