San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, when completed, will be a 150 acre (60 ha) garden displaying the diverse plant life of five Mediterranean climate zones of the world; California, Chile, Australia, South Africa and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The grounds for the future garden are located in El Chorro Regional Park, in rolling hills on the central coast of California
, between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, California
, USA
.
The first idea for the garden began in 1989, and in 1991 the Friends of SLO Botanical Garden was incorporated. In 1993, a 40-year renewable lease for 150 acres (60 ha) was signed with San Luis Obispo County. The 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) Preview Garden was opened in 1997. The master plan was completed in 1998, as was the greenhouse and nursery. The 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) green, sustainably-built educational center was opened in 2007.
Work is now underway to build the entire garden. When complete, the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden will be one of the largest botanical gardens in the western United States, with the following areas:
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, California
Morro Bay, California
Morro Bay is a waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,234, down from 10,350 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The first idea for the garden began in 1989, and in 1991 the Friends of SLO Botanical Garden was incorporated. In 1993, a 40-year renewable lease for 150 acres (60 ha) was signed with San Luis Obispo County. The 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) Preview Garden was opened in 1997. The master plan was completed in 1998, as was the greenhouse and nursery. The 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) green, sustainably-built educational center was opened in 2007.
Work is now underway to build the entire garden. When complete, the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden will be one of the largest botanical gardens in the western United States, with the following areas:
- The California garden will be 47.40 acres (19.2 ha) with nine collections: oak woodland, mixed evergreen forest, grassland, coastal scrub, chaparralChaparralChaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, sycamore glen, agave-yucca rise, riparian forest and wetland. It will display specimens from Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
northward to a point about halfway between San Francisco and EurekaEureka, CaliforniaEureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
.
- The Mediterranean Basin garden 11.50 acres (4.7 ha) will be organized into three collections; oasis, Canary Island crest, and Mediterranean slope.
- The ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
garden 20.43 acres (8.3 ha) will be devoted to the flora of central Chile with seven separate collections; araucaria crest, southern beech forest, coastal matorral, puya palisades, Chilean arroyo, Chilean mixed forest and Chilean palm grove.
- The South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
garden 7.63 acres (3.1 ha) will contain three collections: Cape succulents (the Cape of Good HopeCape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
area is home to the richest succulent flora in the world), floral carpet of the Cape and a tapestry of diverse vegetation woven into a continuous shrub land.
- The South and Southern Western AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , 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...
garden 12.50 acres (5.1 ha) will hold four collections from two areas of Australia; a garden of the protea family, kwonganKwonganKwongan is a type of heathland found on the coastal plains of Western Australia. The name is derived from the language of the Noongar people. Kwongan comprises floristically-rich heath with dense thickets of sclerophyllous shrubs and isolated small trees...
(small groupings of eucalyptusEucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
woodlands and associated thickets), karri, marriCorymbia calophyllaCorymbia calophylla is a bloodwood native to Western Australia. Common names include Marri and Port Gregory Gum, and a long standing usage has been Red Gum due to the red gum effusions often found on trunks.It is distinctive among bloodwoods for its very large buds and fruit Corymbia calophylla...
, and jarrah forest (a display of giant eucalyptus trees that rank among the tallest trees in the world) and grass tree slope.
- The Orchard, Vineyard and Entry Plantings 12 acres (4.9 ha) will highlight plants of economic importance - orchards of grapeGrapeA grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, walnutWalnutJuglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
s, pistachioPistachioThe pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
s, oliveOliveThe olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s and other productive plants of the Mediterranean climate areas with naturalized flowering ground covers from each region. It will also include an avenue of Mediterranean cypressCupressus sempervirensCupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean Cypress is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southeast Greece , southern Turkey, Cyprus, Northern Egypt, western Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Malta, Italy, western Jordan, and also a disjunct population in...
intermixed with a broad leaf evergreen canopy lines the entry road.
- The Gardens of Exploration 11 acres (4.5 ha) will contain groupings of demonstration gardens. Five general areas have been identified: horticultural therapy, ecology, biology, cultural influences and horticultural opportunities.