San Diego Zoo: horticulture

On Thursday, May 3rd, I went to the San Diego Zoo with my niece Chrisha, my two great nieces Claire and Addie, and my great nephew Elliott. We met my friend Diane and her grandson Kieren at the zoo. The San Diego Zoo is famous because it's enormous. It is 100 acres in size and it is located within the even more massive Balboa Park. It is such an amazing place that you could probably spend weeks there and not see everything.

Today, I am sharing the first in a series of blog posts about the San Diego Zoo, presenting a variety of features about the zoo.

Today's post is a series of pictures of the flora of the San Diego Zoo.

The San Diego Zoo is not only famous for animals, it is also famous for its plants.

It has spectacular gardens that are cared for by a team of staff horticulturalists, as well as by volunteers. There is a great diversity of plantlife in the San Diego Zoo, thanks to the area's mild climate. 

The zoo was founded by Dr. Harry Wegeforth and his brother in 1916.

He and his brother Paul had served as surgeons at the Panama-California Exposition. He made a collection of animals, especially turtles and tortoises, and he also collected plant seeds from all over the world to create a natural habitat for the zoo animals.

Two horticulturalists were hired in 1926 to label the plant collection, and that effort continues to this day.

The zoo has been labeled a living museum by the American Alliance of Museums in 1993.

There are many endangered plant species living within the zoo, which serves as a plant rescue center.

Come back tomorrow and visit the Japanese and the pollinator gardens at the San Diego Zoo!