Alta Vista Gardens
Encyclopedia
Alta Vista Botanical gardens
is located in San Diego County, CA, in the City of Vista at 1270 Vale Terrace Drive. Its mission is to ‘Bring Together People, Nature and Art'. It serves as a cultural botanical park/garden which is currently in development . The purpose of the project is to provide an interactive living classroom for North San Diego County students. In addition the Gardens have seen development of water features that branch into natural pools. At present, there are a number of completed sections including a 'Down Under Garden', a 'Welcome Garden' built around an Obelisk that is crowned by a gold covered pyramid, a Reception Lawn, the first phase of the Mediterranean Garden which is situated around a patio dedicated to the remembrance of the life of former Board President, John Futrell. Also, of particular interest is the upper jungle garden which is anchored by an observation patio that has an expansive view of the rest of the Jungle Garden. It sits nestled next to a babbling brook which connects some of the Garden's ponds. In the Spring of 2011 the new Jungle Shade Garden was opened. This garden was designed by Bryan Morse and includes a substantial collection of shade loving Cycads, three enormous Staghorn ferns, shade loving palms, bromeliads, dracaenas, ferns and other jungle floor plants. The Bugs, Birds and Butterflies Children's Garden has initiated a Capital Campaign to raise funds for its construction. It is anchored around a Kite Sculpture named ‘Tail Spin’ by local North County artist Melissa Ralston. Of additional note is the Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden. This Garden was designed by Naomi Stein who, along with her husband, donated and constructed this innovative Garden. Included are an Amandinda, Chimes, Kettle Drum and other percussion instruments. All this is anchored by a 'pebble chime' created by San Marcos, CA artist Robert Rochin. This instrument is powered by children placing single or multiple pebbles into any of the thousands of holes in the instrument. The pebble chime is two sided and is tuned like a piano so that the tone changes depending on the location of the pebbles' insertion into the instrument.
Alta Vista Gardens continues to gain acceptance and recognition in the Botanical Community. It was recently listed by the Open Directory
Project on their list of Gardens in North America.
The gardens are situated on over 14 acres (56,656 m²) and are solely tended by volunteers. The Garden opens at 7:00 a.m. weekdays (by 10:00 a.m. weekends) and closes promptly at 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Gardens is two dollars..
Future plans for the fenced ocean view Botanical Garden include a Jungle Garden, a Pan-Asian Garden, a Mediterranean Garden, a Ceremonial Garden, an Herb Garden, A Tropical Fruit Tree Garden, a Prehistoric Garden (including an expansive Cycad collection), a 'Down Under' Garden, an Arid Gardens, a Reception lawn area, a Classic designed Labyrinth, a human Sundial Garden, a Conservatory, an education center, two man-made lakes and an expansive children's garden. All of these will be clustered around the Garden Headquarters & library building.
.
Butterflies. The Gardens are a certified Butterfly Habitat. Of special interest to visitors is the incredible array of butterflies that fill the air all over the Gardens. Early on, a conscious effort was made by the Garden designer Bryan Morse to plant the primary food sources of many different butterfly species. The result, large colonies are making their home at Alta Vista Gardens. The Children's Garden is the home of a Monarch butterfly colony.
The Children's Garden has since grown with the addition of the Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden which features a selection of large child-safe instruments for children to learn and play on. In addition, a Dino Digs feature has been added as well as the sunrise discovery pavilion (donated by Lowe's) and the Kite plaza built around Melissa Ralston's 'Tail Spin' sculpture.
Art in the Garden. In keeping with their mission statement to "Bringing together people nature and art",since 2008 Alta Vista Gardens has increasingly become a magnet for local artists donations and placement of large sculptures for sale on consignment. Starting with Melissa Ralston's'Tail Spin' sculpture which was donated to the Garden by Board Member Ivy Bodin and soon followed by sculptor Charles Bronson's donation of his piece called 'Sea Breeze'. Over the following year, photographer Steve Bundy donated his photograph called 'Calla Lily'; Michael Vuytowecz donated a sculpture by artist Tony Imatto called 'Broken Link'; Lia Strell placed her sculpture 'A Creative Bloom' on consignment to be sold; Glass artist Buddy Smith did a mosaic table top; Mindy Rodman & Paul White donated their sculpture 'Miro Kite' and Benjamin Lavender placed his sculpture 'Kite of Paradise' on consignment to be sold. In September 2010 Fritzie Urquhart placed her sculpture 'The Constelation Tree' at Alta Vista Gardens to be sold on consignment. In December 2010 artist John Dole placed his sculpture called ‘Arborescence’ for sale on consignment with the Garden. This sculpture was formerly part of the ‘Urban Trees’ exhibit at the San Diego harbor. In 2010 Artist Bryan Morse was commissioned by Board member Ivy Bodin to design and build an artistic flagstone patio and bench on the border of the Jungle Garden and the Mediterranean Garden. This sculpture was named ‘Chanson Joyeuse’ (Joyous Song). This was followed shortly by another donated artistic flagstone patio designed and built by Bryan Morse called ‘I Raggi Crescenti di Amore’ (The Expanding Rays of Love). This sculpture was donated to the Garden by Donna Ray and Bryan Morse. The patio acts as the anchor of the ever expanding Cycad and Prehistoric Garden collection. Spring 2011 saw the addition of a new large garden sculpture named 'Lamed' created by the sculptor/philanthropist Morris Squire. For more information about the collection see Art in the Garden
, New Zealand
, Tasmania
and the Norfolk Islands
Birds, Bugs and Butterflies Children's Garden
Jungle Garden featuring an eclectic collection of plants from the tropical area s of the planet
Mediterranean Garden plants from around the Mediterranean basin
Prehistoric and Cycad
Garden
California Native
Garden
Arid Garden Featuring plants collected from the arid areas and deserts of the world
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
is located in San Diego County, CA, in the City of Vista at 1270 Vale Terrace Drive. Its mission is to ‘Bring Together People, Nature and Art'. It serves as a cultural botanical park/garden which is currently in development . The purpose of the project is to provide an interactive living classroom for North San Diego County students. In addition the Gardens have seen development of water features that branch into natural pools. At present, there are a number of completed sections including a 'Down Under Garden', a 'Welcome Garden' built around an Obelisk that is crowned by a gold covered pyramid, a Reception Lawn, the first phase of the Mediterranean Garden which is situated around a patio dedicated to the remembrance of the life of former Board President, John Futrell. Also, of particular interest is the upper jungle garden which is anchored by an observation patio that has an expansive view of the rest of the Jungle Garden. It sits nestled next to a babbling brook which connects some of the Garden's ponds. In the Spring of 2011 the new Jungle Shade Garden was opened. This garden was designed by Bryan Morse and includes a substantial collection of shade loving Cycads, three enormous Staghorn ferns, shade loving palms, bromeliads, dracaenas, ferns and other jungle floor plants. The Bugs, Birds and Butterflies Children's Garden has initiated a Capital Campaign to raise funds for its construction. It is anchored around a Kite Sculpture named ‘Tail Spin’ by local North County artist Melissa Ralston. Of additional note is the Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden. This Garden was designed by Naomi Stein who, along with her husband, donated and constructed this innovative Garden. Included are an Amandinda, Chimes, Kettle Drum and other percussion instruments. All this is anchored by a 'pebble chime' created by San Marcos, CA artist Robert Rochin. This instrument is powered by children placing single or multiple pebbles into any of the thousands of holes in the instrument. The pebble chime is two sided and is tuned like a piano so that the tone changes depending on the location of the pebbles' insertion into the instrument.
Alta Vista Gardens continues to gain acceptance and recognition in the Botanical Community. It was recently listed by the Open Directory
Open Directory
Open Directory may refer to:* The Open Directory Project , a human-maintained directory of websites also known as DMOZ* Apple Open Directory, an LDAP-compatible directory service for Mac OS X Server* The Sun Open Directory Service project...
Project on their list of Gardens in North America.
The gardens are situated on over 14 acres (56,656 m²) and are solely tended by volunteers. The Garden opens at 7:00 a.m. weekdays (by 10:00 a.m. weekends) and closes promptly at 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Gardens is two dollars..
Future plans for the fenced ocean view Botanical Garden include a Jungle Garden, a Pan-Asian Garden, a Mediterranean Garden, a Ceremonial Garden, an Herb Garden, A Tropical Fruit Tree Garden, a Prehistoric Garden (including an expansive Cycad collection), a 'Down Under' Garden, an Arid Gardens, a Reception lawn area, a Classic designed Labyrinth, a human Sundial Garden, a Conservatory, an education center, two man-made lakes and an expansive children's garden. All of these will be clustered around the Garden Headquarters & library building.
.
Butterflies. The Gardens are a certified Butterfly Habitat. Of special interest to visitors is the incredible array of butterflies that fill the air all over the Gardens. Early on, a conscious effort was made by the Garden designer Bryan Morse to plant the primary food sources of many different butterfly species. The result, large colonies are making their home at Alta Vista Gardens. The Children's Garden is the home of a Monarch butterfly colony.
History
In August 2003, a completely new group joined the Board of Alta Vista Botanical Garden in Vista, CA. Formerly known as Vista Botanical Gardens and dedicated to the Vision of Dr. Mardy Darian, the previous Board had resigned en masse over a dispute with the City which owns the land. Rocco Valuzzi was the only founding member of the Board left. Ron Holoway also stayed on to join the almost completely new Board of Directors to map out a new vision for the Garden. The new mission was to ‘Bring Together People, Nature and Art’. In November 2005 the Board adopted the new Master Plan designed by Todd Cure', Bryan Morse and Ron Holloway. Shortly after, the “Vista City Council unanimously approved the plan for Alta Vista Gardens, a collection of themed garden spaces and gathering spots that will be built on 13 acres of city-owned land at the top of a hill in Brengle Terrace Park. Council members called the plan "inspiring" and "magical" and acknowledged that the gardens have been a long-awaited goal of the city."A lot of dreams went into this," Councilwoman Judy Ritter said after the vote.” In April 2009, the design team of Bryan Morse and Todd Cure’ donated their time to do the design and submitted the final plan for Alta Vista Garden’s new Bugs, Birds & Butterflies Children’s garden to the Board for approval .The Children's Garden has since grown with the addition of the Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden which features a selection of large child-safe instruments for children to learn and play on. In addition, a Dino Digs feature has been added as well as the sunrise discovery pavilion (donated by Lowe's) and the Kite plaza built around Melissa Ralston's 'Tail Spin' sculpture.
Art in the Garden. In keeping with their mission statement to "Bringing together people nature and art",since 2008 Alta Vista Gardens has increasingly become a magnet for local artists donations and placement of large sculptures for sale on consignment. Starting with Melissa Ralston's'Tail Spin' sculpture which was donated to the Garden by Board Member Ivy Bodin and soon followed by sculptor Charles Bronson's donation of his piece called 'Sea Breeze'. Over the following year, photographer Steve Bundy donated his photograph called 'Calla Lily'; Michael Vuytowecz donated a sculpture by artist Tony Imatto called 'Broken Link'; Lia Strell placed her sculpture 'A Creative Bloom' on consignment to be sold; Glass artist Buddy Smith did a mosaic table top; Mindy Rodman & Paul White donated their sculpture 'Miro Kite' and Benjamin Lavender placed his sculpture 'Kite of Paradise' on consignment to be sold. In September 2010 Fritzie Urquhart placed her sculpture 'The Constelation Tree' at Alta Vista Gardens to be sold on consignment. In December 2010 artist John Dole placed his sculpture called ‘Arborescence’ for sale on consignment with the Garden. This sculpture was formerly part of the ‘Urban Trees’ exhibit at the San Diego harbor. In 2010 Artist Bryan Morse was commissioned by Board member Ivy Bodin to design and build an artistic flagstone patio and bench on the border of the Jungle Garden and the Mediterranean Garden. This sculpture was named ‘Chanson Joyeuse’ (Joyous Song). This was followed shortly by another donated artistic flagstone patio designed and built by Bryan Morse called ‘I Raggi Crescenti di Amore’ (The Expanding Rays of Love). This sculpture was donated to the Garden by Donna Ray and Bryan Morse. The patio acts as the anchor of the ever expanding Cycad and Prehistoric Garden collection. Spring 2011 saw the addition of a new large garden sculpture named 'Lamed' created by the sculptor/philanthropist Morris Squire. For more information about the collection see Art in the Garden
The Gardens of Alta Vista Gardens
Down Under Garden featuring plants collected from AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and the Norfolk Islands
Birds, Bugs and Butterflies Children's Garden
- Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden
- Dino Digs
- Kite Plaza
- Incredible Edibles
- Lowe's Plaza
Jungle Garden featuring an eclectic collection of plants from the tropical area s of the planet
- Ponds and waterway
- Tropical Fruit Tree Garden
- Jungle Shade Garden- featuring jungle floor- shade loving plants
Mediterranean Garden plants from around the Mediterranean basin
- Labyrinth designed along the lines of the classical five-ring labyrinth, the paths are defined by low growing perennials.
- Sharon Kern Culinary Herb Garden
- Ceremonial Garden
- Medicinal Herb Garden- coming soon
Prehistoric and Cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
Garden
California Native
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
Garden
Arid Garden Featuring plants collected from the arid areas and deserts of the world