Today: Sonoma Botanical Gardens

 Botanical gardens are kinda hit and miss for me.  I think I've been to some pretty great ones (Fort Worth and Albuquerque, for example) and some pretty blah ones.  My FAVORITE two are the Huntington and the South Coast Botanic Garden.  South Coast is probably my favorite, hands down.  It's a managable size, has a great deal of diversity, and has amazing events hosted there. 

This was not that.

I really was hoping for a garden that had both highly cultivated spaces and more natural spaces.  How a people arrange their decorative gardening says a lot about the people, and is as exciting to me than more wild spaces.  In this garden, there were basically two nearly equal size spaces: an area with assorted Asian imported trees, which were not placed according to Asian aesthetics, and a "wild" California Oak area. 

While this was not what I had expected or hoped for, it was not unpleasant.  There were a variety of small paths to meander around,  and apparently a rose garden along the entrance road that's part of the park, although it was difficult to discern at first glance which areas belonged to the Gardens and which the surrounding vineyards (which were absolutely off limits) 

Some quick notes before getting into photos:

• the trails were extremely difficult to navigate with a walker.  the whole garden is basically up the side of the hill, and the main trails were gravel or pea gravel, which caused a lot of sliding.  Side trails were stepping stones or mossy trails, too narrow to get even my smaller walker on, and I actually had to carry my walker across the narrow stone path and bridge to get to the Ting (small pavilion).  It would have been better with a cane.  
• The map is pretty deceptive when it comes to distance.  It makes the Garden seem much larger than it actually is, and  some trail intersections are separated with a greater distance on the map, probably for clarity.
• the restrooms are across from the parking lot.  There are porta-potties near the main Pavilion (which is labled as an arbor on the map.
• There is some random statuary, fountains, and memorial plaques throughout the Garden, some off the main trails. 
• There are some seriously aggressive squirrels in the garden. I had about 7 or 8 of them charge down the hill screaming warning barks when I was down photographing the bridge and waterfall.  It was on a narrow, steep path, and I couldn't get away from the darn things fast enough. One literally ran up against the toe of my shoe, sat in the brush inches away, and screamed at me.  As I walked up the hill some ran in the brush parallel to me until I was on the main path again.  I don't know if they were expecting to be fed, or there were nests nearby, or what.  

One problem with my trip was that I was also between seasons.  The magnolia was just ending their blooms, and most other flowering tree and shrubs had yet to bloom.  I did get a few photos of color.  I am thinking the best time to come would be June or July, when the lotus are blooming on the little lakes. 

the bridge above the waterfall

looking at the upper pond

at the edge of the lower pond (the scene of the wild squirrel attack!)

the Ting along the creek

the little bridge and the Ting

some of the smaller paths were moss covered and had stone stepping stones.

the Prayer Flags at the top of the gardens

the view from the top of the gardens.

a brilliant white magnolia along the path

a memorial fountain

the main pavilion ("arbor")

I have no idea what this plant is. It opens into clusters of bright yellow flowers.  Very unexpected.

I was so worried about the hill coming in, that I didn't even notice this lion towering over the path until I was on my way out!

Although it wasn't what I'd been looking forward to, it does seem like a great place to just amble along the many paths and little side turns.  Much of the area is shady, so it's not like some of the walks I've been on where you feel like you're being roasted alive regardless of the actual temperature. It has the perfect (IMHO) blend of shade and sunny areas.  There is also a large lawn (which wasn't actually "terraced" but does have a slight slope to it) where I saw a family picnicking, and apparently there are activities held there on occasion.