Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

A month ago, I finally took a trip to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. I had been told that this is the best place in LA to see native plants, and it lived up to the promise. Every few steps, we exclaimed at another amazing plant in flower or with a dramatic form. It was the second week in May and many annuals and perennials were still in bloom, and some trees were as well.

We loved this mass planting of Artemisia tridentata, Great Basin Sagebrush. The soft, silvery foliage is dramatic against the blue sky:

What a creative container garden! These hanging containers were made from chicken wire wrapped around metal hoops. They had nestled groups of 4" pots inside:

Some scruffy palms and a row of native buckwheat. The dry palm "skirts" always remind me of costume you might see in an African dance.

A shady path

Heuchera in bloom, under a native oak tree: