Quail Botanical Gardens Photo Tour

On your way to San Diego stop off on Encinitas Blvd. in Encinitas to see this beautiful public garden in Northern San Diego County, just south of Carlsbad.   Go inland a few blocks and turn left. Nominal admission, parking fee. Their gift shop, hours 10-4 pm has many nice gifts and has a huge assortment of exotic plants for sale, living cactus wreaths, t-shirts with the gardens name, gardening books and more. They are open every day but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day. 

Click here to visit QBGARDENS official site for events calendar, hours, more.  There's always something interesting going on here.  Local and international botanical societies of many interests hold meetings, shows, educational seminars in the buildings here.  Recently new areas have been added to the garden.  There's tropicals from all over the world, and also large areas of native plants with trails plus a raised overlook on the ridgetop to see the view.

Cool things to see at Quail Gardens checklist:
(underlined text has photos associated, .gifs 256 color, 150-225k), click on your 'back' key to return here after displaying photos:
Visit the gift shop & plant sale area, cactus for sale by gift shop

Animals at the gardens

• bird watchers will see hummingbirds and many others. See display of birds at gdn on way in.
• jungle fowl pic 1, pic 2; this friendly fellow comes right up to cars in parking log

Bamboo Grove:

• bamboo grove with many species, this one has a gold stem; bamboo is used as structural timber in the tropics

Cactus Gardens:

• agave, compact highly symmetrical form
• Baja cactus garden
• golden barrel cactus, cluster
• 'Boojum' tree, grows in southern Baja, very unusual looking tree shown in photos of Baja
• Bursera, low succulent bush with fattened water storing stem grows on islands off Baja
• cactus garden picture with many species
• candelila, a columnar cactus with waxy red flowers and short white fur
• columnar cacti, geometrizans stems forms interesting patterns when very large
• columnar cacti, another variety with silvery stems
• rare colletia, alternating spiny flattened stem is highly unusual
• cristate columnar cactus; a virus or genetic mutation spreads out the growing bud
• euphorbia; a large clumping columnar variety
• Joshua tree
• old man cactus, grows high in the Andes where the fur prevents sunburn, ,
• saguaro, the huge cactus is protected by law
• xeroscythos, a madagascar plant with leaves like green coins
• yucca flower bud shooting up 25 feet

Interesting or Spectacular Flowers:

• 'Angel's Trumpet' tree in flower
• camelias around the gazebo
• Pretty flowering maple,
• poppies, poppies, fields of poppies were up by the building last time we were there
• protea, from Australia and Africa; these grow only in very poor sandy soil, found in florist arrangements; this specimen is on side of parking lot by native plant walk that has vernal pools, and a self guided brochure
• tropical tree with flowers

Tropical Fruit grove:

• tropical fruit trees: in the grove include macadamia, sapote, cherimoya, tropical berries and many unusual fruits
• carob, the chocolatey pods are ground to a powder
• cassava, which is what tapioca pudding is made of

Palm trees, cycads spread around the garden:

• cycad cone,
• cycad seeds
• fishtail palms, tops shown here, they grow to 60-80', flower over several years then die
• exotic triangle palm
• and other palms,
• zamias, 2nd one

Unusual Trees:

• African aloe trees of many kinds in cactus garden, aloe tree sending up flower spike; aloe trees in bloom; in cactus area
• aralia tree
• giant bananas from above, banana flower,
• Spanish 'cork' oak trees. Wine corks are made from the bark, stripped off every 3-5 years in large plantations.
• huge dragon trees from the islands off Africa. The sap is red like blood.
• norfolk island pine; close up of needles
• Australian melaleuca, 'paperbark' tree, bane of the everglades, soft papery bark peels off
• sausage tree, African tree with seed pods heavy like bowling balls, a favorite food of elephants

Waterfall & area around & above it: (overlook, water ponds, palm trees & tropicals)

• tropical anthurium in grove below dragon trees
• tiled fountain in walled garden by house
• a raised platform (not shown) overlooks the ocean, and greenhouses of the area, dome home
• waterfall (multiple falls) planted with lush vegetation, view from above, walkway down
• water garden at bottom of falls with water lilies, papyrus, which Egyptians used for paper thousands of years ago
• jungle below falls, an area where orchids, more orchids, bromeliads grace tree branches
• coral tree in bloom with no leaves
• propagation greenhouse volunteers work at to pot up plants for annual sale

Other events at Quail Gardens:

• You can rent out the gazebo for weddings.

• During the holidays they have a festival of lights during which they open up from 4-8pm with festive colored lights on many trees around the garden.

• Annual plant sale, contact the gardens for dates.

• Garden societies hold meetings here, in a large meeting hall, as do other groups.

To visit the gardens: exit the 5 Freeway at Encinitas Blvd in Encinitas. There is a sign on the freeway marking the garden. Turn inland and drive about half a mile. Turn Left across traffic onto a bumpy little road with alot of plant nurseries (a sign to Quail marks the road), drive to the entrance on the left then up a hill to the parking lot. They are open almost every day 9am to 4 or 5pm. If you get hungry bring a picnic or stop at the Carls Jr. one exit south at Santa Fe avenue. After a couple hours if you still need to fill up the day visit Torrey Pines State Park, about 10 miles further south in La Jolla.

Return to DDC index to photo tours of California Parks and Museums & other botanical gardens