The South African Garden at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden

We're back in Santa Cruz, California, at the University's Arboretum and Botanic Garden—Andrew and I visited last January. After touring the Australian garden, we've now wandered into the South African Garden.

Leucadendron argenteum, the silver tree.

I've seen several of these gems in other Botanic Gardens, as well as a few private gardens, but I've never seen any as large as the ones I saw growing here in Santa Cruz. They were AMAZING!

Of course really they're spectacular no matter the size.

Okay, let's admire some Protea flowers (with a few Leucadendron mixed in)...

Protea 'Red Ice'

Protea magnifica 'Empress'

Thamnochortus insignis, a species of grass-like restio of the family Restionaceae. This one is female (so said the signage).

Protea neriifolia 'Late Mink'

Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red'

Protea longifolia—pink (long-leaf sugarbush).

Leucadendron 'Inca Gold'

Protea cynaroides, King Protea.

As I mentioned in Monday's post, this garden is a little wild and natural, labeling was sometimes a little hard to find, so I can't tell you the names of many plants.

No ID restio

Leucadendron salignum 'Red Gem' 

No ID Protea

No ID Protea

Phylica pubescens

Protea magnifica 'Empress'

Puya berteroniana—which were in the South African Garden, but are actually native to the Andes Mountains in Chile

Leucospermum glabrum 'Helderfontein'

Into the South African Succulents section now, where we finally saw blooming aloes!

Aloe cryptopoda (Geelaalwyn) 

No ID Aloe

Euphorbia enopla

Another tall Leucadendron argenteum.

Protea obtusifolia (limestone sugarbush)

No ID Leucadendron

No ID Leucadendron

Protea 'Susara'

Ending with a Leucadendron argenteum close-up, so much beauty! Come back on Friday for the final post from this series.

The Bit at the End

Want to grow some of these plants in your own garden (conditions willing)? I was going to share a link to the shopping page on Norrie's Gift and Garden Shop at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden website (I guess I just did), but they don't ship! Instead visit Troy McGregor's nursery Waltzing Matilija, where there are South African plants available, Australian plants, and just a whole bunch of cool things.

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The Australian Garden at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden

This week we're going back to our January '26 visit to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Today I'm sharing photos from the Australian Garden, Wednesday we'll walk the South African Garden. Friday's blog post will be a catch all, with a couple photos from the hotel we stayed at in Aptos (just before Santa Cruz proper on California State Route 1) and back at the Arboretum we'll visit the Succulent Garden, the Future Garden, and wrap it all up at the New Zealand Garden.

Going into our visit, the South African Garden is what I was really looking forward to, however in hindsight it was the Australian Garden that captured my imagination big time. The many blooming Banksia are what did it. I knew they were other-worldly fabulous but I had no idea just how much so...

I did my best to accurately record the names of what I saw, and then to back up my documentation by looking them up online to see if the inflorescence matched what I photographed. Still, I know very little about the genus, so there may be errors.

Banksia spinulosa var. collina

Banksia ericifolia 'Fireworks' 

Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', so many blooms!

I'd been warned the garden was a little wild, not manicured, so I was prepared and loved the natural feel.

No ID on this one.

Grevillea 'Mason's Hybrid'

Banksia spinulosa 'Thanksgiving'

Allocasuarina verticillata, aka drooping she-oak.

A small dioecious tree endemic to south-eastern Australia. This one is female.

It was terribly bizarre, in the best way.

Moving on...

No ID

Banksia integrifolia, the coast Banksia,

Banksia blechnifolia, the fern-leaved Banksia. 

Banksia proteoides, king Dryandra (Dryandra was a separate species until 2007 when they were transferred to Banksia).

Banksia spinulosa 'Stumpy Gold'

I couldn't find any ID on this eucalyptus.

Banksia spinulosa 'Coastal Cushion'

Labeled as Astroloma foliosum, now going by Styphelia foliosa and also known as candle cranberry.

Such small, bright, flowers. Hard to photograph.

Banksia speciosa

Fuzzy seeds that no doubt have inspired a few designers.

This was a sad specimen, but one with very cool leaves.

Banksia baueri, aka possum Banksia.

Now a whole slew of photos with no ID. I could guess, but instead let's just admire how crazy cool they are...

This is also where I should mention the Big Bad Banksia Men, in case you're not familiar. "From the tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie The Big Bad Banksia Men are the villains of the Gumnut stories and are based on the appearance of aged Banksia “cones” – dark, hairy, knobbly, many-eyed creatures." (source)

Grevillea longistyla x johnsonii

Cordyline petiolaris

Seeds of Cordyline petiolaris.

Pimelea nivea

Xanthorrhoea australis

And another unlabeled (as far as I could see) eucalyptus.

That's it for Australia, come back Wednesday and we'll be off to South Africa.

The Bit at the End

Found in Austria (not Australia) an adorable small rooftop garden, here.

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