The Desert Garden in Balboa Park

by Loren · March 28, 2018

To survive harsh desert conditions plants must adapt resulting in some unique and fascinating plants. The Desert Garden in Balboa Park in San Diego, California was established at its current location in 1976. The garden is 2.5 acres in size and contains more than 1,300 plants. It has succulents and other drought-resistant plants from around the world.

Here is a group of Aloe in bloom.

Two different Aloe, one with a single bloom and the other with multiple blooms.

This Aloe has a variety of other plants nearby.

This large Candelabra tree (Euphorbia ingens) has sprawling and twisted growth which is not common. It is native to southern Africa. With a little imagination this can be something from a sci-fi movie with tentacles stretching out to capture unsuspecting prey.

Hope these people do not become victims.

The Golden Barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) has 2 small yellow flowers. The flowers typically appear only after the cactus has been growing for about twenty years.

A clump of the cacti.

A variety of cactus plants.

More of the plants in the garden.

Several different kinds of palms in the triangle between the walkways.

The tree on the right is a Bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris) and is native to Queensland, Australia. The name comes from the bottle shaped trunk mature trees have.

This Bottle tree’s trunk has been hollowed out which is not normal. One might imagine it as a hiding place for Hobbits or other small creatures.

The Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milli) in the background is aptly named for its nasty looking spines. It is native to Madagascar.

But it does have beautiful red bracts which resemble petals.

Some tall upright cactus plants.

Still more of the plants in the garden. One cactus has some red buds forming.

The Dragon tree (Dracaena draco) in one picture has an upright tree and the other picture has leaning trees. The tree is native to the Canary Islands and a few other places.

This is the Boojum tree (Idria columnaris) which is native to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. For some reason it reminds me of some of the cellular towers I’ve seen that are disguised as trees.