Alta Vista Gardens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alta Vista Gardens |
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The Welcome Garden Obelisk
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| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | Vista, California |
The Alta Vista Botanical Gardens is a cool botanical garden located in Vista, California. It's a special place in the United States. The main goal of the gardens is to "bring together people, nature and art." It also serves as an amazing outdoor classroom. Students from North San Diego County can learn here in a fun, hands-on way.
Contents
Discovering the Gardens' History
People in Vista had a dream of creating a botanical garden for over 35 years! A special group was formed in 1999 to help make this dream come true. In November 2005, the garden's leaders approved an exciting new plan. This plan, made by Todd Cure', Bryan Morse, and Ron Holloway, showed how the gardens would look. It included many themed garden areas and gathering spots. These would be built on 13 acres of city land. This land was at the top of a hill in Brengle Terrace Park.
Soon after, the Vista City Council gave their full approval. They called the plan "inspiring" and "magical." Council members knew the gardens had been a long-awaited goal for the city. "A lot of dreams went into this," said Councilwoman Judy Ritter. In April 2009, a final plan for the new Bugs, Birds & Butterflies Children's Garden was ready.
Who Helped Build the Gardens?
Many talented people helped design and grow the gardens.
- Ron Holloway, a civil engineer, was one of the first board members. He has helped with almost every part of the gardens.
- Landscape architect Todd Cure' and environmental artist Bryan Morse joined the board in 2003.
- Todd Curé and Bryan Morse worked together on the 2005 Master Plan. They also designed the Children's Garden, Welcome Garden, and other areas.
- Todd Cure' was the board president for two years. He helped start the "Art in the Garden" program. He also helped create the annual Vista Earth Day Festival.
- Bryan Morse was president of the board for six years. He spent thousands of hours working on the garden. He even donated four of his own sculptures! Bryan is an environmental artist. He often worked barefoot while building and taking care of the gardens. A newspaper article in 2012 said, "Bryan Morse... walks through the Gardens with bare feet. He can name most of the plants... because he planted most of them."
A Home for Butterflies
Alta Vista Botanical Gardens is a certified butterfly habitat. This means it's a special place for butterflies to live and grow. It's also a wildlife habitat, certified by the National Wildlife Federation. The gardens promise to be free of chemicals and pesticides. This helps keep the plants and animals safe.
"Everything at Alta Vista Gardens is done naturally," says Bryan Morse. "We don't use any bug spray. We don't use fertilizers unless they're 100 percent organic." This natural approach helps many creatures thrive. That's why you can see so many hummingbirds, butterflies, and ladybugs here!
Monarch Butterflies
Visitors love seeing the many butterflies flying around the gardens. The garden staff made a special effort to plant foods that butterflies love. This has led to large groups of butterflies making the gardens their home. Over the years, thousands of milkweed plants have been planted. Milkweed is the main food source for the amazing monarch butterfly. You can find different types of milkweed here.
A big part of the Jungle Garden is a "food forest." This area helps create a home for butterflies and birds. While the Children's Garden is a main spot for monarch butterflies, you can now find them all over the gardens!
Exploring the Gardens
Alta Vista Botanical Gardens has many different themed areas. Each garden offers a unique experience.
- Australasia Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Birds, Bugs and Butterflies Children's Garden
- Jeffrey Stein Children's Music Garden; Designed and Installed by Naomi Stein
- Dino Digs; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Kite Plaza; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse and Todd Cure'
- Totally Tubular; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Butterfly Teepee; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Incredible Edibles; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse and Todd Cure'
- Lowe's Plaza; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse and Todd Cure'
- Jungle Garden
- Ponds and waterway; Designed by Bryan Morse and Todd Cure', built by Bryan Morse
- Unusual Fruit Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Jungle Shade Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Sub Tropical Garden, Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Mediterranean Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Labyrinth; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Sharon Kern Culinary Herb Garden; Designed by Naomi Stein and Bryan Morse, built by Bryan Morse
- Poet's Patio; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Ceremonial Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Medicinal Herb Garden; Designed and Installed by Naomi Stein
- Prehistoric and Cycad Garden; Designed by Bryan Morse and John Voss, built by Bryan Morse
- California Native Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Arid Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Oasis in the Desert; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Medicine Wheel: from Native American tradition; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Dry Stream Bed
- Aloe & Agave Collection; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Opuntia Collection; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- South African Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Madagascar Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Pan-Asian Garden; Designed and installed by Bryan Morse
- Heritage Rose Collection; Designed by Ivy Bodin and Bryan Morse, installed by Bryan Morse
Art in the Garden
One of the main goals of Alta Vista Gardens is to "bring together people, nature and art." This means you'll find beautiful sculptures and artworks throughout the gardens. Patrice Dunn gave the first sculpture to the gardens. Since then, many other artists have added their amazing creations.
Here are some of the artists and their works you can see:
- Melissa Ralston: Tail Spin (2009), Blessing Tree (2010)
- Charles Bronson: Sea Breeze (2009), Born to Run (2010)
- Steve Bundy: Calla Lily (2009)
- Anthony Amato: Broken Link (2009)
- Lia Strell: A Creative Bloom (2009), Golden Torsion (2011), Sacred Ginko (2015)
- Buddy Smith: mosaic table top (2009)
- Mindy Rodman and Paul White: Miro Kite (2010)
- Benjamin Lavender: Kite of Paradise (2010)
- Fritzie Urquhart: The Constellation Tree (2010)
- Bryan Morse: Chanson Joyeuse patio (Joyous Song) (2010), I Raggi Crescenti di Amore patio (Expanding Rays of Love) (2010), Three Easter Island Statues (2012), "Mushrooms" (2012), "Tree of Life Bench" (2014) The Mouth of Truth (2015)
- Robert Rochin: Piano Pebble Chime (2010), Baobab Tree (2014)
- John Dole: Arborescence (2011)
- Morris Squire: Lamed (2011)
- Phillip Galshoff: Five fun sculptures in the Sharon Kern Culinary Herb Garden: Chef "D", Shari Chef, Penelope Hoop, Silly Boy Trey and Flying Chef (2012)
- Dan Peragine: Transpersonal (2013)
- Anne Little: Human Sundial (2014) and over forty mosaic signs
- Quilted Glories of the Garden - Linda Bannan: "Horse Sculpture", Melanie Chang: "Banana Leaves", Carol Clarke: "Water Lily", Lendia Kinnaman: "Dragon Fly", Carole Lee: "Kite Tail Sculpture", Cheri McClow: "Front of the Garden House", Sue Ramos: "Succulent" (2015)
- Ricardo Breceda: Tyrannosaurus, Tricerotops, Velociraptor, Scorpion, Two Giraffes, Agave, Spinosaurus, Serpent (2015)
Gallery
See also
In Spanish: Alta Vista Gardens para niños
