Home Of The Poinsettia

San Diego has a bounty of botanical gardens full of floral favorites, international exhibits and troves of tropical beauties. Located in Downtown Encinitas, San Diego Botanic Garden has 35 acres of numerous microclimates sprinkled with gardens of the Old World and New including plant varieties from South American rainforests, the Himalayas, Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean. A richly fragranced herb garden sits next to a subtropical fruit grove blossoming with mouthwatering produce.

In the early 20 century, the Ecke family of Encinitas became associated with the outdoor production of poinsettias for use as landscaping and as a cut flower. The Eckes’ technique made it possible to get every seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant, making San Diego home of the Poinsettia.

The gardens of Balboa Park make for a day spent in paradise. Over one thousand acres feature 20 gardens bursting with 5,000 species of flowers, trees and plants. Inside the award-winning botanical building, bunches of orchids, ferns and cycads cover one of the largest lath structures in the world.