By 43-foot lily pond (originally called Las Lagunas de las Flores or The Lake of the Flowers) that rolls out like a liquid carpet before the entrance to the Botanical Building. The water lilies and lotus bloom spring through fall.
The Botanical Building houses more than 2,100 tropical plants plus changing seasonal displays. Garden fanatics go ga-ga over impatiens, ranunculus, cycads, gingers, palms, hydrangeas, orchids, camellias, white and pink amaryllis, white Easter lilies, anthurium and tree ferns that tower close to the peak of the arched enclosure.
Designed by renowned East Coast architect Carleton Winslow for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, the steel-frame building was the largest lath structure in the world when it opened and remains one of the largest in the world today. It measures 250 feet long by 75 feet wide and 60 feet tall. Inside, gentle sunlight filtered through cross-hatched redwood makes a comfortable environment ? for plants and people ? enhanced by the moist atmosphere created by all those big green leaves and sprinklers.
Note: A good place to start, especially if you're not familiar with the gardens is the Visitors Center in the House of Hospitality, just across the promenade.
Getting There:
Botanical Building and Lily Pond
1549 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101
Click here for map
More Information:
Phone: 619-239-0512
Open Fridays-Wednesdays (closed Thursdays and City holidays) from 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
|
