Earlier this year I was at Natural Products Expo West to do a book signing. There's not much in and around Anaheim besides that mammoth conference center, but I did manage to take a cab out to the closest botanical gardens, which is the Fullerton Arboretum—a 26-acre green space which can be found on the premises of California State University, Fullerton.
It was an oppressively hot day; the sun was at the highest point in the sky and it was super dry, so the images are probably a little on the overexposed side, and even some of the plants were likely not as "lush", had they been doused with a generous rain. As it were, however, California is going through an epic drought, and that surely showed, though the cacti and succulents that were found interspersed throughout the campus didn't seem to mind one bit. Despite the heat and parched climate, the jaunt around the sprawling grounds was pleasant, particularly when I could manage to find some shade under the Ficus trees. Groups of students walked through on occasion, speaking of the latest going-ons at school; and there were at least two tours of the grounds whilst I was there and I did my best to eavesdrop on both. 🌿
Tulipa clusinia on a woodland path at the Fullerton Arboretum. Photo: Summer Rayne Oakes, Homestead Brooklyn.
The ombu tree (Phytolacca dioica) is native to the pampa of South America and is just about the only tree that will rise about the grasses.
Germander sage (Salvia chamaedryoides)
Cat thyme (Teucrium marum)
Albany woollybush (Adenanthos x. cunninghamii)
The aptly named "Blue chalk sticks" or Senecio-mandriliscae
