Some Trees At The Huntington, Xeric and Otherwise

A Memorial Day visit to the Huntington.  I was expecting the Desert Garden to look drab without winter's Aloe flowers, but I was completely wrong.  Many beautiful trees outside of the Desert Garden also caught my eye.  
Cape Chesnut, Calodendrum capense:
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The flower clusters are quite showy:
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This towering giant of a tree is in the Rose Garden.  I can't remember what it is.  It is an Agathis robusta, an Australian conifer.  This photo is taken from afar, so the whole tree is visible.  It must be at least 100 feet (30 m) tall. The tree was moved to its current location about 1907, when it was a wee bitty 40 footer tall.  Not only were they able to move a 40 foot tree, but over 100 years later, it's still alive and growing.  Wow. 
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A fan palm for all you palm fans, lending a tropical look to the pond:
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Cannas with a Papyrus backdrop nearby:
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Cordyline australis(?) in bloom  continue the tropical theme:
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Tarzan should be around here somewhere...
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The Palm Garden looks good:
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But we spent most of our visit in the glorious Desert Garden.  Dracaena draco, with a little baby Beaucarnea recurvata in the mid foreground:
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An older Beaucarnea:
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The Palo Verdes were in bloom:
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Are Yuccas considered trees?
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Didn't get the name of the flowering small tree, but the Agave is macroacantha, I think.
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Massive Yucca trunk (okay, they are trees), another Dracaena draco, and the flowering tree on the right is a Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis:
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A Chilopsis selection:
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A Coral Tree (Erythrina species) was the center for hummingbirds this visit:
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Another Beaucarnea is the backdrop for gorgeous Golden Barrel Cacti and a blue Agave.
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I've not visited the Desert Garden at this time of year--usually it's already unbearably hot there by the end of May.  This year, with a cool day for our visit, it was a surprise and great pleasure to see so many flowering trees.  It added a dimension of which I was unaware.  
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The Boojum is blooming up at the top, though the flowers are not overly showy.  Reminds me so much of Hoover's tail.
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Something from the Pea family, what I know not:
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The Yucca rostrata in bloom was dazzling--but those pictures will be for another day.  I hope you enjoyed these!




Comments

  1. Spectacular looking place, and love the lush tropical planting by the pond. Good that it was still cool and comfy at the time you visited, a nice bonus which made it more enjoyable for you guys!

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  2. Great photos as always. Those Dracaena draco and massive yuccas are stunning.

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  3. You've brought back wonderful memories as it was last Memorial Day weekend that I was wandering the paths of the Huntington Desert Garden.

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  4. What a tropical luxuriance, beautiful. The tree with the pink flowers, the Calodendrum capense, I have never seen before. The Erythrina with the hummingbird, a magnificent photo.

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  5. So beautiful! Thank you for posting these photos. Now I want to go to the Huntington even more. I've never been there...

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  6. Fabulous collection and gardens. Love the photos, thanks for sharing. It is always a treat to see gardens from such a different growing zone than were I live.

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  7. Wonderful photos dear Hoover,so many great plants, trees and ponds. The canna lilies planted with the papyrus look wonderful, I have a Cordyline Australis in my garden, it is a great architectural addition , the flowers are pretty and the bees love them but the fragrance is sickly and overpowering.
    xoxoxo ♡

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  8. Trunked yuccas = trees! Great scenes, especially all the fresh green...looks like spring is still there. But summer awaits...

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  9. Lovely palms and yuccas - thank you! And a blooming cordyline - another revelation. I understand the Huntington's Jungle Garden was used as a location for some of the Tarzan movies. Maybe an ancient Johnny Weismuller is still shuffling around in there somewhere?

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