My husband Richard took me to San Francisco for my birthday at the  end of July.  We certainly had plenty to see and do but one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Golden Gate Park.  We spent almost an entire day there because there was so much to see.  We started out in a beautiful white building, the conservatory where in addition to butterflies we saw lots of interesting plants.  I particularly loved the bat flower and the white cactus.  The Dutchman’s pipes were easily 12 inches long.


After wandering (and drooling) in the conservatory for quite a while we headed outside where I saw the most fantastic dahlia bed I’d ever seen.  Now keep in mind I don’t particularly like dahlias since they have to be taken in for the winter here in Virginia, and so many other plants are more spectacular and less work, but these were not like any dahlias I’d seen before.  The colors, shapes, and sizes made them look like they weren’t even in the same plant family they varied so much.  I particularly like a pale starry looking one that reminded me of an early evening sunset with its soft oranges, pinks and yellows.


From there we followed signs to a Japanese Tea Garden.  This was a popular (and somewhat crowded) exhibit in the park and several times we waited for folks to pass us by so we could enjoy a particular feature or view.  In one of the ponds there were the loveliest copper statues of herons that had turned a beautiful shade of green.   There weren’t a lot of blooms but that seemed to make the few that were there all the more special.   Textures and colored foliage gave these gardens a formal yet relaxed feeling.  If there had been a way to do it, I would have moved the entire garden into my yard.  If I had a bigger yard that is.


Next we headed to the DeYoung museum (yes, we’re still in the Golden Gate Park) where we had lunch but didn’t take the time to look around  -- there was just too much outside I wanted to see. 


With tummies now full, we decided we needed to walk it off and walked the circumference of a good-sized lake, full of turtles and ducks.  There were patches of Bear’s Breeches larger than most of my flowerbeds.  We saw Blue Jays that looked completely different then our East Coast variety.  They were more of a royal blue instead of a crayola crayon blue.  A sea gull sat quietly in a group of ducks behaving as though it was a part of the flock, instead of being like the noisy, belligerent, greedy creatures I’ve seen in the past, getting it’s share of bread crumbs from an older man sitting on a bench.


Eucalyptus trees were everywhere and occasionally I’d get whiffs of a mentholated smell.  I had flashbacks of colds during my childhood when my mother would rub “Vicks” on my chest and feed me Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup.   The leaves of the trees were long and slender, not at all what I thought Eucalyptus looked like.  I was surprised to find out these were not a native plant since they were everywhere.


Finally on our way out of the park, we saw a Rose Garden.  The plump roses seemed to thrive in the San Francisco weather and I saw very little in the way of disease or pests on them.  The smell as I walked by (yes, drooling again) was intoxicating as though they had chosen which to plant by the way they smelled. 


I’m not sure how or when the park is maintained.  I didn’t notice anyone working in any of the garden areas… perhaps little fairies late at night weed and prune but whoever is taking care of Golden Gate Park should be commended for a wonderfully relaxing, beautiful treasure in the hustle and bustle of San Francisco.

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