On March 22, 2007, I went to Berkeley’s Botanical Gardens in Tilden Regional Park. I’ve been there once before, but going alone, I figured that I would be able to spend a lot of time studying the hundreds of named plants growing there. I could wander around the native plants reading the signs and photographing the scientific names. Or so I thought. More on that later….
On the way up the hill to Tilden, I pulled over to get some of the great views of San Francisco from the Berkeley Hills. We can see the City, the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and Yerba Buena Island. This is a good spot at night to see the City lights.
Nice views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge….
I have many shots of the City from the East Bay. I never tire of looking at this view and many of my screensavers are right here. On a clear day, you can see....well, you get the picture....
Driving on, I finally reach the famed botanic gardens. The botanic gardens are a nice place to walk around and see native plants. Spanning many acres, they have trails, paths, and bridges winding around with hundreds of labeled plants, trees, and flowers.
http://www.nativeplants.org/ You would think that this would be the perfect place to hang out and learn about plants.
One giant problem: the signs are not clear at all, and sometimes wrong. Coffeeberry? Which plant? The one on the right or left? I know the plant and it is on the left, but I spent most of the day guessing which sign went with which plant.
California Huckleberry…Which one? There are three plants in this photo. See the clover-like plant at the bottom? That’s Redwood Sorrel. The Ivy in the upper left? No, the huckleberry is in the upper right. Very frustrating.
Now, the day wasn't a total loss, and some of the plants you can figure out. Well, sometimes you can, sometimes not. OK, this is, in fact, Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry.
…but other plants, like this Manzanita, are unlabeled.
You do get to see some cool plants like this Fremont Silk-Tassel, but you have to either know what you’re looking for or ask the ever-helpful volunteers that work at the gardens.
So, worth a visit? Probably, if you’ve never seen it, and you do get to walk around the fun little creeks and paths. But, if you are expecting to really learn something about the local plants, you may be disappointed with the poor signage.
On the way up the hill to Tilden, I pulled over to get some of the great views of San Francisco from the Berkeley Hills. We can see the City, the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and Yerba Buena Island. This is a good spot at night to see the City lights.
Nice views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge….
I have many shots of the City from the East Bay. I never tire of looking at this view and many of my screensavers are right here. On a clear day, you can see....well, you get the picture....
Driving on, I finally reach the famed botanic gardens. The botanic gardens are a nice place to walk around and see native plants. Spanning many acres, they have trails, paths, and bridges winding around with hundreds of labeled plants, trees, and flowers. http://www.nativeplants.org/ You would think that this would be the perfect place to hang out and learn about plants.
One giant problem: the signs are not clear at all, and sometimes wrong. Coffeeberry? Which plant? The one on the right or left? I know the plant and it is on the left, but I spent most of the day guessing which sign went with which plant.
California Huckleberry…Which one? There are three plants in this photo. See the clover-like plant at the bottom? That’s Redwood Sorrel. The Ivy in the upper left? No, the huckleberry is in the upper right. Very frustrating.
Now, the day wasn't a total loss, and some of the plants you can figure out. Well, sometimes you can, sometimes not. OK, this is, in fact, Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry.
…but other plants, like this Manzanita, are unlabeled.
You do get to see some cool plants like this Fremont Silk-Tassel, but you have to either know what you’re looking for or ask the ever-helpful volunteers that work at the gardens.
So, worth a visit? Probably, if you’ve never seen it, and you do get to walk around the fun little creeks and paths. But, if you are expecting to really learn something about the local plants, you may be disappointed with the poor signage.
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