Alta Vista Gardens

The Alta Vista Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in Vista, California, in the United States.[1] The mission of the gardens is to "bring together people, nature and art". The purpose of the garden to provide an interactive living classroom for North San Diego County students.

Alta Vista Gardens
The Welcome Garden Obelisk
Alta Vista Gardens
Alta Vista Gardens
TypeBotanical garden
LocationVista, California
Coordinates33°12′36.63″N 117°13′9.82″W
Opened1999 (1999)

History

"Plans for a botanical garden in Vista go back more than 35 years, and a nonprofit formed in 1999 to oversee the project".[2] In November 2005, the gardens' board of directors adopted a new master plan[3] created by Todd Cure', Bryan Morse and Ron Holloway, for a collection of themed garden spaces and gathering spots that were to be built on 13 acres (5.2 ha) of city-owned land at the top of a hill in Brengle Terrace Park. Shortly after, the Vista City Council unanimously approved the plan. Council members called the plan "inspiring" and "magical" and acknowledged that the gardens have been a long-awaited goal of the city. "A lot of dreams went into this", Councilwoman Judy Ritter said after the vote.[4][5] In April 2009, a final plan for Alta Vista Garden's new Bugs, Birds & Butterflies Children's Garden[6] was submitted to the board for approval.[7][8]

The garden owes its design and growth to many talented individuals.

  • Civil engineer, Ron Holloway, a founding board member and current board president, has promoted and nurtured nearly all aspects of the gardens.
  • Landscape architect, Todd Cure' and environmental artist, Bryan Morse joined the revamped board in 2003.
  • Todd Curé and Bryan Morse jointly created the 2005 Master Plan, the 2009 and 2016 Children's Garden Plan, Reception Garden, Obelisk Monument, Welcome Garden, Tailspin Kite Plaza, Lowes Discovery Plaza, Jungle Pavilion, and Upper Jungle Waterfall/Pond.
  • Todd Cure' was board president for two years (July 2008 - July 2010). While Todd was president his vision helped guide the start of the Art in the Garden outdoor sculpture program, the annual Vista Earth Day Festival, and the annual Vista Fall Festival.
  • Bryan Morse tirelessly donated thousands of hours, four original sculptures and materials to the garden while president of the board for six years (July 2010 - July 2016). His vision and creativity were instrumental in branding the gardens and evolving the New Master Plan (with landscape architect Kristina Marder) which was adopted in the fall of 2013. Bryan is an environmental artist and contractor who worked barefoot while building and maintaining the majority of the gardens. A San Diego Union-Tribune news article in 2012 states, "Bryan Morse, the president and CEO of the group, walks through the Gardens with bare feet. He can name most of the plants spread throughout the various themed areas because he planted most of them. 'Everything's a work in progress', he said." [9]
This is the complete Master Plan for Alta Vista Botanical Gardens that was approved by the board of the gardens and subsequently submitted to the city of Vista in the fall of 2013.

Butterfly habitat

The gardens are certified by the North American Butterfly Association as a butterfly habitat and as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Part of this is a pledge to be chemical and pesticide free. "The Garden utilizes only natural solutions toward the maintenance and health of the Gardens. Everything at Alta Vista Gardens is done naturally", Bryan Morse said. "Here, we're totally organic," he said. "We're a nature habitat. We don't use any chemicals at all. We don't use any bug spray. We don't use fertilizers unless they're 100 percent organic. Everything is done that way. That's why we have more hummingbirds and more butterflies and more ladybugs and everything else. The nature is coming to the place." [10] Of special interest to visitors is the incredible array of butterflies that fill the air all over the gardens. Early on, a conscious effort was made to plant the primary food sources of many different butterfly species. The result, large colonies are making their home at Alta Vista Gardens. Over the years the gardens have planted thousands of milkweed plants; this is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. The dominant variety is Asclepias curassavica however, Asclepias eriocarpa may be found in the California Native and the Desert Gardens. A large part of the Jungle Garden is dedicated to the creation of a sub-tropical food forest which creates habitat for butterflies and birds. Although the Children's Garden is the central home of the monarch butterfly colony, butterflies can now be found in all corners of the gardens.

Gardens
  • 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

Alta Vista Garden's mission is to "bring together people, nature and art". Patrice Dunn donated the first sculpture to Alta Vista Gardens and others followed. Below is a list of artists in the order that they joined the garden.

  • 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)
    A replica of the Mouth of Truth, created by Bryan Morse
  • Robert Rochin: Piano Pebble Chime (2010), Baobab Tree (2014)
  • John Dole: Arborescence (2011)
  • Morris Squire: Lamed (2011)
  • Phillip Galshoff: Five whimsical sculptures grace the Sharon Kern Culinary Herb Garden Chef "D", Shari Chef, Penelope Hoop, Silly Boy Trey and Flying Chef (2012)
  • Dan Peragine: Transpersonal (2013), located just below the Cycad Garden
  • Anne Little: Human Sundial (2014) and over forty mosaic signs created with a grant from the Kenneth A. Picerne Foundation
  • 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)
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See also
  • List of botanical gardens in California

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-03-27. Retrieved 2009-07-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. cross@nctimes.com, CIGI ROSS. "VISTA: Alta Vista Gardens blooming in Brengle Terrace Park".
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2014-02-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Vista Botanical Gardens a Long Time Coming" North County Times Newspaper, January 7, 2006
  6. "Data". Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  7. Vista: "Festival to highlight Alta Vista Gardens" North county Times Newspaper April 23, 2009
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-03-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. cross@nctimes.com, CIGI ROSS. "VISTA: Alta Vista Gardens blooming in Brengle Terrace Park".
  10. "Gardens reign atop hill in Vista's Brengle Terrace". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
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