Balboa Park Desert Garden at dusk (BalboaPark.org)

Did You Know…

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

…that the Desert Garden at the east end of Balboa Park flaunts more than 1,300 varieties of prickly cacti and other succulents? What might look to some like Arizona’s Sonoran Desert is actually 2.5 acres of city park land devoted to drought-resistant plants and trees, many of which appear otherworldly given their twisted shapes and forbidding spines and thorns.

The garden was established in 1976. It sits across the Park Boulevard foot bridge, which is near the Natural History Museum. Care-taking of the garden is a joint effort by personnel from San Diego’s Parks and Recreation Department and devoted volunteers from Forever Balboa Park. 

Word to the wise: Touching the plants or leaning too close to them can cause serious injury. Be sure to especially keep children and dogs at a safe distance.