I was introduced to the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) group by a local landscape designer, and joined as a student member.
Their national conference was held in San Diego this year, lucky for me!
I signed up for everything available. The pre-conference day did not disappoint:
- 1st stop: Jim Bishop’s Mission Hills Garden
- 2nd stop: Balboa Park’s trails and canyons and the newly renovated Botanical Building
- 3rd stop: a private tour of the the San Diego Zoo’s gardens
Jim Bishop’s private garden was a true masterpiece. It was amazing to see what years of time, dedication, (and funds) could accomplish.
Even though I’ve hiked through Balboa Park many times, seeing it through the lens of out of town folks, and learning from local experts about the history and plants there was fascinating. The tour was led by Restoration Ecologist Jonathan Appelbaum and Clayton Tschudy from San Diego Canyonlands, a nonprofit that “works to mitigate climate impacts and enhance ecosystems to ensure clean water, fresh air, and resiliency from floods and fires”. I learned that San Diego’s microclimate is what makes our region the most biodiverse county in the continental United States. Mesa tops in our area have seasonal vernal pools that provide habitats for endangered species such as fairy shrimp. And while our region gets an average of 6–15 inches of rain per year, it has high inter-annual variability that causes what’s called “hydrologic whiplash” (periods of intense rain followed by dry spells, which increase fire risks).
Lastly, when else would I be able to take a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the Zoo’s plants? Whenever someone asks me what makes our zoo so special, my response has always been the plants! Learning more about them and seeing it through the eyes of experts was an amazing experience.
Here’s a little recap video of the day:
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