San Diego Botanic Garden; random WIPs

With only about a week left of my trip home in California, I guess it’s time to share a few things here on the ol’ blog. I’ve been up and down the state these last four weeks, and I have a lot of wonderful photos I’ll share in the coming days.

Last week, Mom and I drove to the 37-acre San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas, which I hadn’t been to since a large renovation was completed some three years ago. We started our walk on the new side of the park, where there is a grand new conservatory housing exhibits that change seasonally. At this writing, there is a houseplant exhibit with some of the most incredible houseplant specimens I’ve ever seen, including many exotic bromeliads, orchids, and air ferns.

We explored for a couple of hours, wandering back towards the older part of the gardens, where there are a number of steams, waterfalls, and ponds. One of my favorite areas is the Mexican garden with examples of succulents and other plants that are hardy in arid climates. I also love the serene bamboo forest; I learned that this place houses the largest public bamboo collection in North America. So if you are really into bamboo, you need to make a pilgrimage here.

I have slowed down a bit on my crafting in favor of site-seeing, but I haven’t stopped. My main craft accomplishments have been to finish a shawl on my flight over, start the second sock of a pair, and to get about half-way through a beautiful alpaca poncho pattern. Once I settle back in Korea, I’ll pick up the poncho again and be able to wear it this Fall.

Thanks for checking in! I’ll post again soon with some more of my adventures in the homeland. Until then, stay well.