Wrigley Gardens: Catalina Island, California

Habitat, nursery/collection and show tours.
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CoronaCactus
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Wrigley Gardens: Catalina Island, California

Post by CoronaCactus »

I've posted a link to this photo album before, but buried in another thread. Figured i'd give it it's own thread and offer a little more info about the gardens.

Back in August (8-9-2008) our local C&S club (www.gatescss.org) had a field trip to Catalina Island and the Wrigley Botanical Gardens. The garden has been around since 1935!

My wife and i had visited the gardens back in 2006 and noticed a few of the larger Aloe trees were gone, as with some other large cacti.

Photo Album Link
Wrigley Gardens Aug 2008

Here is some info about the Garden and the Memorial from www.catalina.com
Catalina.com wrote: The Monument
The Wrigley Memorial honors the memory of William Wrigley Jr., who lived from 1861 to 1932. Although best known as the founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, largest manufacturer of chewing gum in the world, he also played an instrumental role in the history of Catalina Island. He truly loved the island, and with undying enthusiasm and energy, he brought numerous improvements: public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, The Casino building, and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers. William Wrigley Jr.'s greatest legacy was his remarkable vision and plan for the future of Catalina Island -- that it remain protected for all generations to enjoy.

With its commanding view of Avalon Bay, The Wrigley Memorial is the centerpiece of the Botanical Garden. It was built in 1933-34 with the goal of using as much Catalina materials as possible. Quarried Catalina stones can be seen in the reinforced concrete construction -- the facade having been sandblasted to hide the cement and highlight the native crushed stones.

The blue flagstone rock on the ramps and terraces comes from Little Harbor, on Catalina's "back" side. And the red roof tiles and all the colorful handmade glazed tiles used for finishings came from the Catalina Pottery plant, which was in operation from 1927 to 1937. The marble inside the tower was quarried in Georgia.

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The Garden
The idea for a garden came from Mr. Wrigley's wife, Ada. In 1935, she supervised Pasadena horticulturalist Albert Conrad, who planted the original Desert Plant Collection. Catalina Island's temperate marine climate made it possible to showcase plants from every corner of the earth.

In 1969, the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation expanded and revitalized the garden's 37.85 acres. Along with the new plantings came a new attitude. In the same way that the Wrigley Memorial uses primarily native building materials, the Garden places a special emphasis on California island endemic plants. (Plants, which grow naturally on one or more of the California islands, but nowhere else in the world.) Many of these plants are extremely rare, and some are on the Endangered Species list.

The Memorial Garden is particularly concerned with the six Catalina endemics - plants, which grow naturally only on Catalina Island. The Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation maintains a special interest in the preservation of all Catalina endemics, including the rare Catalina Ironwood.

In 1996 the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation merged with the Catalina Island Conservancy. This was a natural combining of two important ecological organizations, both dedicated to the protection and restoration of Santa Catalina Island.
Darryl
Zone 10 - Southwest USA
CoronaCactus.com

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kaowinston
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Re: Wrigley Gardens: Catalina Island, California

Post by kaowinston »

Great tour - I enjoyed myself. Thanks Darryl.
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