I’ve just returned from a whirlwind tour of San Diego and of course Balboa Park was on my travel agenda for its amazing gardens, architecture and botanical garden. Balboa Park also houses many more venues including the San Diego Zoo, Automotive Museum, Air and Space Museum and Natural History Museum to name just a few, and I really do mean just a few as there are many more museums, theatres with ever changing performances, shops, dining, music, classes and even a gym. If you go parking is free and so is walking on the grounds of Balboa Park but many of the venues have admission fees so it’s best to pick a few for the day so you can enjoy them fully.
El Prado pedestrian walkway
The Botanical Building was unique in that it is made out of wooden lathe and not glass. Although it’s a small building it houses an amazing collection of orchids and some bog plants. Many of the gardens near the buildings were Persian style with a formal layout and water at the center.
Botanical Building with formal garden and pool
Here’s a small sampling of the plants in the building
orchid
orchid
orchid
orchid
Swirls
Pink and dainty
koi fish
bog plants
bog with lathe pattern from building
These photos are absolutely fantastic!!
That Koi fish looks huge – how big was it?
Hi Xine, the Koi was about a foot long, thanks for dropping in!