Coastal California

On my recent visit to California, I hiked in the majestic redwood forest, walked on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, and visited gardens from the San Francisco Botanic Garden to the arboretum at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

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On my recent visit to California , I hike in the olympian redwood forest , walk on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean , and natter gardens from the San Francisco Botanic Garden to the arboretum at the University of California at Santa Cruz . get take a fiddling trip with me …

I went to California to call in my daughter Lucie and her partner , Matt , as well as my heartfelt friend and carbon monoxide gas - author , Carolyn Dille , all of whom shack in Santa Cruz . The kids live in the Benny Hill outside of Santa Cruz , up some really windy roads through the sequoia . Their home is surrounded by large trees and California native , mostly in the nuance , although they have a few citrus fruit trees that are ladened with Meyer lemon and limes . Carolyn hold out in a hillside vicinity within walk aloofness of town , where she cultivates a garden of Mediterranean native on a exorbitant slope . She has olive trees , a gorgeous , huge specimen of bay , a number of woody rosemary bushes in peak of flush , lavenders , artemesias , thyme and an assortment of flowering perennials .

Presently , the sphere has had large amounts of rain . Perhaps the drought will subside ? In fact , we were going to head to Big Sur for the weekend , however there were mudslide , so the roads were closed .

The California coastal forest is so very different from our East coast forest . First off , there are those mighty redwood , the tall Tree on earth and members of the Sequoioideae , which take my breath aside . These ancient trees ( some over 1000 years old ) are powerful and humbling - to take the air amongst them is a blessing as well as an inspiration .

On a trip to Big Basin State Park , we head away from the crowds on well - maintained lead that ascended and come down through massive redwood and other conifers . immense tan oaks ( a species I have not see on the east coast – Notholithocarpus densiflorus , also shout the tanoak or tanbark - oak tree - it is an evergreen tree in the beech family aboriginal to the westerly U.S. ) often clothe in moss , with an understory of manzanita , madrone and the evergreen California huckleberry ( Vaccinium ovatum ) were companions along the track . In some of the redwood Leslie Richard Groves , the posterior of the trunk were black - burned from forest fires - that they survived . There is not much ground covering in those moist damp woods , there are ferns and a lot of rocks and log , so we found a act of mushroom and lichen . We hybridize back and forth across some streams and walked in quiet peace , punctuated by an casual bird call . Quite a magical experience to be standing with those mighty giant .

On another adventure , we decided to head up up to San Francisco via the coastal main road , Route 1 , vary from Santa Cruz . The roadsides cut of tree diagram as we manoeuvre northerly and we road with the thundering Pacific on the left side and fields of artichokes , brightly blooming yellow flowers atop fields of mustard to the right . trash flora draw the road along with endless multitude of creeping Mrs. Henry Wood sorrel ( Oxalis corniculata ) with pale white-livered flush .

Of of course we barricade and walked along the beach that was litter with driftwood and turgid amounts of sea kelp . I had to dim my toe in the frigid urine of the Pacific Ocean as we watched prehistorical - looking pelican soar on the hint current and plunge for the occasional fish . Nothing like fill one lungs with brisk sea air ! Then back on the road , terminus San Francisco , where the eye - catch median strip come into the metropolis is planted with over-the-top three - metrical unit bitter aloes in full regalia with bright orangish flower ! We were headed for heathen restaurants , farmers ’ marketplace and detain tuned for the next stop : San Francisco Botanic Garden .

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