Santa Cruz drive-by garden

Driving the streets of Santa Cruz, CA, on our way to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, I caught sight of an interesting home. Andrew was behind the wheel, and he requires plenty of warning before making an unscheduled stop, so I mentally filed the location away for after the Arboretum visit.

You'd be curious if you saw this too, am I right?

When we returned, we parked on a side street, and the back of the house was visible. I started snapping photos as soon as I got out of the car.

I later learned (doing a little research, which I'll share below) the home's address and main entrance used to be on this side.

But somewhere along the way this corner spot became the address.

Curious what the sign on the door says? I feel a little like they were inviting me in.

Instead I just peeked through the cracks...

Moving on... wowsa, that's a nice Echium.

Another Echium, and Agaves...

Beyond the charming entrance, these are what told me I needed to stop and take a closer look.

Hmmm, another entrance!

These days everyone has security cameras, I was pretty sure I was being recorded as I scanned with my eyes, and pointed my camera. 

Are you looking at me?

More Agaves...

More Echium...

Backtracking along the oddly rustic fence.

Back past the front entrance...

And to where I started, but in the five or so minutes since my first photo, the light has changed enough that you can better see a few details, like the pond and the conservatory off the back of the house.

Rock-edged bridge.

Kind of a jumble...

Zoomed in.

The best shot I could get of the conservatory.

Online sleuthing is where I found this, the property's Historic Building Survey. The home was built for Aloysius G Finn, a Santa Cruz insurance firm owner in the fall of 1926. Estimated costs of permitting and building were $7,500.

The "small" house is listed as 2,170 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. I know that's not McMansion sized, but still, I don't think over 2,000 sq ft qualifies as small? Perhaps it was enlarged after this survey was done. If you click on this link and then on the words Fly Around you can take an aerial cruise over the property. I just wish you could see more of the garden!

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden... everything else

The night before our visit to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden, we stayed at the Seacliff Inn, in Aptos, just 10 miles away (I want to say south, but the way the coast bends it actually ends up being east). Anyway, there were tree ferns...

I thought this meant I'd be seeing them at the UC Santa Cruz Botanic Garden. Nope. Not a single one. Dicksonia antarctica (which I think these are?) are from Australia, and there's an entire Australian section at the garden. Curious.

Also at the hotel, mounted staghorns under a roof overhang in the outdoor dining area.  At a distance I thought they looked fabulous.

Up close I realized they were fake.

To the garden now, and the area designated as the Succulent Garden...agaves, and aloes and yucca... oh my!

This area was very light on identification signage, which was fine. It was kind nice to just enjoy the plants without cataloguing their names.

A Dasylirion maybe? Perhaps D. wheeleri?

A gnarly old Kumara plicatilis (aka Aloe plicatilis).

Agave victoriae-reginae

Agave shawii

Agave macroacantha

From the Succulent Garden we could see the Future Garden exhibit. We didn't venture any closer since I wasn't sure this part of the garden was open, and I wanted to spend the time we had looking at plants, not worrying about the future.

Looking out at the ocean...

Blooming Mangave? Agave? Not sure.

Another Kumara plicatilis.

Venturing into the New Zealand Garden now...

Rhopalostylis sapida, I believe. The only palm native to mainland New Zealand.

Cordyline, with the remnants of a phormium bloom coming in from the right side.

Astelia! This was interesting, seeing them so overgrown and grass-like.

Interesting happenings off in the distance...

Suncatchers, by John Hylton (more info here).

Colorful cordylines in the distance.

And I'm wrapping up this week-long series with another suncatcher, or maybe sunbather is a better term?

I've long wanted to visit the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden and I'm so happy to have finally had the opportunity.

The Bit at the End

Enjoy this delicious blog post (from Panayoti Kelaidis director of outreach at the Denver Botanic Garden) chronicling Jon Kaplan's Berkeley, CA, garden; here. I have not been, but hope to visit sometime soon. If you've visited Dan Hinkley's Windcliff booth at Hortlandia the last couple of years then you may have met Jon, as he's driven up to help Dan sell plants.

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.