Sunday, August 30, 2020

Touch and Smell the Plants

On the way to a beach walk with a couple of friends, we stopped for a stroll at the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park.

We went through the small "Garden of Fragrance"...

...where there were plenty of pungent plants.

Because the majority of signage in the Gardens is restrictive and prohibitive, it was delightful to see an encouraging one.

Some of the colors were stunning...

...and there were even Hydrangeas in bloom.

There was a succulent sale at the bookstore entrance, and we were so amused by the phallic nature of the Mammilaria Elongata (4 inch) that we bought two of them, one as a gift for our friends.

Ocean Beach at the end of Lincoln Boulevard is a recent discovery for me, even after living for 40-plus years in San Francisco.

Having been raised on Southern California beaches, with warm weather, warm water, public showers and bathroom facilities, San Francisco's western border at the Pacific Ocean has always struck me as inhospitable, with cold weather, cold water, and no public facilities at all.

However, fleeing from the crappy air of the current wildfires surrounding the Bay Area to Pacific fog and breezes has been a lung saver over the last couple of weeks. The beach also feels like a safe place to mingle with others at a distance, with and without a mask, in the midst of a pandemic.

The wild succulents, by the way, are now sharing my work-from-home living room window where they look very happy.

3 comments:

careybell said...

Thank you for the lovely posts, as always. The GG Park Botanical Gardens are the jewel in the diadem. I used to live on Irving and 10th and went in there as often as possible. Good for contemplation before stressful concerts! BTW, those pink rhodies are actually Hydrangeas.

Civic Center said...

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the Hydrangeas correction. I know next to nothing about plants so I was careful not to identify any of them other than the rhododendrons. Whoops, I'll fix it now.

careybell said...

Absolutely! Your blog is a must. As far as plant ID, it took me years in that park to start recognizing the classics. Still see something new and unknown to me every time I go.