As part of the second leg of the International Palm Society’s biennial group trip, Singapore was the next stop after Sarawak, Borneo. The IPS had planned three palmy locations to visit while we were in Singapore. Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Botanic Garden (topic of next week’s post) and McRitchie Reservoir. Gardens by the Bay was first up. Before…
Having spent the the entire trip down RN7 away from the rainforest, it was time to drop off the high plateau for a few days. Destination? Ranomafana National Park, a place loaded in biodiversity and a must-see location for anyone visiting Madagascar. Ranomafana National Park is made up of 161 square miles of tropical rainforest that is literally located just…
Thanks to the creative requirements that using airline points can produce, my trip to Madagascar involved flying Delta there and Air France back. This gave me the opportunity to spend two full days in Johannesburg, South Arica, as I waited for my connecting flight to Madagascar. The first day would be spent visiting the Apartheid Museum, the Mandela House…
Last week I found myself in Encinitas, so, having a little extra time, I figured it would be a great opportunity to do a tour of the Self Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens. For such a magnificent little garden, it is amazing how few people living in Southern California actually know about it. The Meditation Gardens themselves are part…
My wife wanted to do something different from our yearly routine this 4th of July weekend. I told her that if she wanted to plan something, I would temporarily relinquish my role as the Family Event Coordinator. So what does she plan for her first family trip with the new title? Palm Desert. In the middle of July! Not sure…
This post is a continuation of last week’s Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden tour. As promised, I will now focus on the amazing plants of Nong Nooch. I mentioned last week that I had taken over 400 photos during my visit. With great effort I was able to filer that amount down to 40 for this post….
When the wife and I knew that we would be going to Thailand to celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary, I immediately began working on her to include a quick side trip to the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden. The palm tree lover in me could never be forgiven if I missed the Mecca of palm tree botanical gardens. A visit…
Every late spring the San Diego Botanical Garden has a Palm, Cycad, Bamboo and Tropical Plant Sale. This year it was held May 31st. Because I enjoy going to the San Diego Botanical Garden so much I try to time one of my visits with this sale. It really is a great time to see a bunch of rare flowering trees in…