Offset by a striking blue sky, the natural colourscape stands out. Away from the breezy shores of the Monterey Bay, where the Pacific Ocean glistens only to be interrupted by para surfers, this wonderland reveals its secrets slowly, just like Alice’s wonderland.
The Santa Cruz Arboretum, in Santa Cruz town and a part of the University of California, encompasses much of the Southern hemisphere in its undulating landscape. As much as this arboretum is the knowledge hub and playing ground for the botanist and the horticulturalist, to the novice’s eye it is almost at par with the Garden of Eden—where trails lead to groves and forests with enticing fruits and flowers that might just have thorns and poison concealed in their charms.
Except that this Garden of Eden is for real, without the trappings of sin but alluringly beautiful, creating a strong desire to just wander around to become lost. As spring, summer, fall and winter lend their colours to the arboretum, for the hiker, the bird watcher, the lepidopterist along with the environmentalist, the flower enthusiast and the tourist, it is a garden of solace, awe and of mystery catering to various individual fascinations.
As one of the largest arboretum’s in the world with one of the finest collection of plant species, the Santa Cruz Arboretum until the early 1960s was just a grassy, uneven, sun-kissed hilly terrain. A photographer, a geographer, two architects and a varsity dean saw to it that this stretch of land turns into a seemingly wild-looking garden but with a method to its madness. It was the photographer’s eye of Ansel Adams, a conservationist who loved the camera, which spotted the potential of the place. With the support of Founding Chancellor of UCSC, Dean MacHenry and the stamp of geographer Collet declaring it as perfectly suited for such a project not just in the whole of California but even in America, the arboretum started taking shape with a bunch of 90-odd eucalyptus in 1964.
Its enthusiasts were pretty sure that the place had promise; that it was going to be much more than just a grove of trees as the terrain had remarkable climatic and topographic diversity. It was naturally blessed with a variety of soils and with underlying rocks such as granite, schist, limestone and several standstones capable of hosting a plethora of mostly Mediterranean plant species.
Slowly and steadily over 40 years and many helping hands, gardens within this garden came up as plants from native lands travelled several miles and seas; from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some closeby to make up the California Garden. The Santa Cruz Arboretum staff makes sure that in a few hours one gets familiarised with the flora and fauna of many countries (without the trouble of visiting them), not only curated painstakingly but also nurtured to thrive and bloom just as they would in their homelands.
Right at the entrance, one realises that the Santa Cruz Arboretum tries its best to convert visitors into ‘explorers’ as most of the trails are self-guided. Guided ones are only on request or if one signs up for many of the tour trails. With bird books and binoculars in tow, the eager birders flocking the arboretum are vocally ecstatic that avian life is in plenty. But it is the Hummingbird Trail that motivates even non-birders to perk up their ears for the whir of wings and stealthily steal a glance at the flash of colour as the tiny bird flits hither and thither. Capturing it on camera instinctively results in congratulatory self-pats.
But before one heads into the thicket of the main gardens, the slight breeze carries whiffs of fragrances that arouses curiosity. One realises from studying the map that the sensory treats are possibly from the Aroma Garden, located close to the entrance. On the approach itself, the mint family dominates the air till lavenders, oreganos, thyme and an array of salvias make it a heady mix with the butterflies and bees keeping the place busy. Norrie’s gift shop nearby stocks up arboretum memorabilia and books, including interesting cacti and succulents in small pots to take home.
The trail leading to the Australian Garden at the arboretum is known as the ‘world’s largest shrub land’ as it does seem that one is transported Down Under in a flash, as suddenly large shrubs bursting with flowers and foliage of acacias and wattles greets the visitor. The 2,000-plus species of plants in the section is believed to be the largest collection of flora outside Australia which impresses even visitors from Oz.
Meandering on, a trail leads to another garden which the staff of the arboretum call a “magical paradise”. The reason is soon evident as the South Africa Garden hosts the most exotic flowers; some really large and rare ones that preen in vibrant colours. The variations of Protea are numerous. An arboretum enthusiast fills in that the name Protea was inspired by the Greek god ‘Proteus’ who was the master of disguise. Aptly, the South African Garden dazzles with a variety of deceptive-looking, almost bird-like feathery large flowers, odd-looking fruits, thick foliage along with colour bursts that give the place a surreal atmosphere. Wooden benches are invitingly placed around to sit and just soak in the dazzling colours and scents.
Trailing ahead, the topography changes again as the New Zealand Garden approaches. One of the plaques along the trail informs that the plants of the country are extremely unique as the place was not an island always but a fragment of Gondwana —the ancient super continent that contained Australia, Antarctica, partly South America and the Indian subcontinent approximately 80 million years ago. The name Gondwana instantly rings a bell—of the popular train ‘Gondwana Express’ chugging along across the northern-central lands in India, parts of which were forests inhabited by the eponymous Gond tribe. With this fleeting thought, one passes through unusual-looking plants and a variety of can’t-take-your-eyes-off lilies in bloom. Soon, one is suddenly in the middle of a recreated Kauri forest, where the trees seem eager to touch the sky and spread their girth proudly—the Kauri tree can grow up to a height of 150 feet and spread its trunk a good 20 feet.
But the conifers complete the picture of the picturesque arboretum. Visible from a distance, their conical tops serve as the perfect backdrop to the arboretum. Here grow almost all known genres of conifers—a usually touchy and wilty environment-sensitive member of the green tribe.
It is quite evident that one cannot grasp the wondrous secrets of the Santa Cruz Arboretum in one visit. It is a surprise that awaits the nature lover who dares to travel along the winding roads of Santa Cruz. And sure enough, the mystical flowers, foliage, birds, bees and butterflies make this Garden of Eden quite an enticing trap of hopes of unending trails as old as the first myth.