Conejo Valley Botanic Center

Last Thursday we took the kids to the playground at the Conejo Valley Recreation Center, which was adjoined by the Conejo Valley Botanic Center. Needless to say, I couldn’t resist exploring the Botanic Center part of the time. I was surprised not only by the elevation gain, but by the extent of the garden. By the time I’d made a rather rushed trip through the area, I was afraid that Jen would be ready to leave.

The garden seemed to feature trees bearing huge flowers. like this Golden Trumpet Tree,

Golden Trumpet Tree

and this Hong King Orchid Tree.

Hong King Orchid Tree

I’ll have to admit, though, that my taste in plants is less exotic than most of what I saw. In fact some of the plants reminded me of Rappaccini’s Garden,

Exotic Flower

despite their obvious beauty.

Exotic Red Flower

Luckily, the local birds and animals seemed to be claiming these plants as their own.

Hummingbird on Unknown Tree