If you’re like many people these days (May, 2020), you’re sheltered-in-place, tired of Netflix and looking for something to do besides your essential job. And you’d really like to make up for those travel plans you cancelled. Why not tour the largest urban park in the United States without leaving your living room? Balboa Park … Continue reading Balboa Park in Bloom: May, 2020
Author: South Park SD Blogger
I adore South Park San Diego (SD), the San Diego Symphony, and much more!
Balboa Park in Bloom: Stop and Smell the Roses
Balboa Park is home to an award-winning rose garden, free and open to the public year-round. The Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden is situated on the eastern edge of Balboa Park’s Central Mesa, along Park Boulevard. It was built in segments, beginning in 1973, and has been recognized multiple times for its beauty. Nationally … Continue reading Balboa Park in Bloom: Stop and Smell the Roses
Happy Mother’s Day, Kate Sessions!
She referred to plants as her children and used to say that a fifty cent tree should be planted in a five-dollar hole. Kate Sessions (1857-1940) is the “Mother of Balboa Park.” She earned the title by decades of labor, care, and support that transformed what was once City Park, a 1,400- acre tract of … Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day, Kate Sessions!
Lemonade out of Lemons
You’ve heard the saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” It means you should try to make the best of a bad situation. For example, if you’re sheltered in place during a global pandemic, you can use the opportunity to read easygoing, light-hearted books like Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, or Signs Preceding … Continue reading Lemonade out of Lemons
Balboa Park in Bloom: April, 2020
Have you ever wanted to know a little more about trees? Not all the fancy technical stuff. Just enough so you can lord over your friends that you're smarter than them... and a better, more flora-conscious person. A simple yet rewarding way to start is to learn species while they're flowering, and then grab a … Continue reading Balboa Park in Bloom: April, 2020
Balboa Park in Bloom: March, 2020
Do you ever wish you knew a little more about trees? Not all the fancy technical stuff. Just enough so you can lord over your friends that you're smarter than them... and a better, more nature-conscious, person. The easiest way is to learn to recognize species while they're flowering. And grab a couple fun facts … Continue reading Balboa Park in Bloom: March, 2020
Compost Day
Isn't every day compost day? Yes, but today was different. We have a week of heavy rains ahead in San Diego, so today was a good one for our annual tree composting. All that rain will soak the nutrients into the soil and "feed" the trees. ** Compost Bin Before Compost materials are: DirtLots of … Continue reading Compost Day
Adopt a Banana Pup
San Diego, ever wanted to grow your own bananas? My wife and I "installed" 2 bananas plants in February, 2016. They looked like this... One Manzana (left), one Cavendish (not left) Now they look like this... You'll note there are several more than one Manzana and one Cavendish... The bananas grow off of a stalk, … Continue reading Adopt a Banana Pup
100 Years Ago Today: The More Things Change…
A brash Republican leader with real estate expertise, questionable ethics, a gift for snarky nicknames, and a stunning political victory over a heavily-favored opponent three years earlier, sued a liberal newspaper for libel in a fit of pique after the publication mocked the leader’s failed business dealings. Sound plausible? It happened one hundred years ago … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today: The More Things Change…
Balboa Park: The San Diego Tree Man’s Hidden Treasure
Have you ever wished someone would write a step-by-step guide through Balboa Park so you could learn its plants and trees? Chauncy Jerabek, known as "The San Diego Tree Man," made that wish come true... over 80 years ago. In beautiful Balboa Park there are crowded many interesting plants from nearly every country of the … Continue reading Balboa Park: The San Diego Tree Man’s Hidden Treasure
