On Sunday, February 18, ten members and friends of our club traveled to San Luis Obispo for a tour of the San Luis Obispo botanic "preview" garden.

The first seeds for the Garden were planted in 1989, with the support of San Luis County Parks Department. Incorporated in 1991, a grassroots group, the Friends of SLO Botanical Garden, began searching for an ideal site.

El Chorro Regional Park was chosen because it offered a convenient location between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, good soils, no horticultural limitations, and already was zoned as a public space. A 40-year renewable lease agreement was signed with San Luis Obispo County in 1993 for 150 acres.

We were greeted by docent and board member Gracia Bello and her husband Gene. Two members of the Central Coast C&SS were also in attendance. Gracia discussed the garden's beginnings, succulent plants, the Mediterranean climate, frost damage and answered questions. We then strolled among the plantings. One particularly nice aspect of the garden is it's hillside location, which shows off the plants attractively.

We then all met at Nick Wilkinsen's nursery, Grow, at Moonstone Gardens. Always personable, he visited with us, showed us around & gave us a club discount on our purchases. After a delicious lunch at the Moonstone Garden restaurant, we all drove north to observe the Northern elephant seals. It was a very windy day, but sunny and we all had a good view of the bulls, cows and very noisy pups. Coffee in Cambria fortified us for the drive home. It was a very enjoyable outing and I am pleased we had such a good-sized group.

Lynn

Aloe distans

Aloe ramosissima

Aloe glauca