Picturesque San Diego Botanic Garden

Bamboo groves, desert gardens and a tropical rainforest – all in one place! It can only happen in the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas.

San Diego Botanic Garden was once the private property of Ruth Baird Larabee. In 1957, she donated her estate to the County of San Diego. Earlier known as Quail Botanical Gardens; the garden name was changed in 2009.

Spread over 37 acres, it has got the largest bamboo collection in the United States.

San Diego Botanic Garden has miles of garden trails, palms and around 3,000 varieties of subtropical, tropical and California native plants. Come and explore the breathtaking bamboo groves, lush succulent gardens, check out the herb garden, view different plants from all over the world and enjoy picturesque views.

Other highlights include a subtropical fruit garden, California native plants, firesafe landscaping and Mediterranean landscapes. Once there, check out the beautiful fuchsias, cacti, hibiscus, cork oaks, wildflowers, perennials, brugmansias and lots more.

The spectacular variety of trees, diverse topography and the microclimates you see here is hard to find anywhere else. San Diego Botanic Garden can arguably be called the only place where you can transit from a tropical rainforest to a desert environment in minutes.

If you want to see plants that grow in the Canary Islands, the San Diego Botanic Garden has a garden devoted to it. Interested to know the plants and flowers that grow in the Himalayas? Check out the special garden dedicated to it.

Visit San Diego Botanic Garden on your Vacation to San Diego

The climate-specific gardens are based on different geographic regions ranging from Central America, Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and more.

San Diego Botanic Garden keeps hosting different events throughout the year. In December, the San Diego Botanic Garden will play host to Garden of Lights when the beautiful garden is transformed into winter wonderland with
dazzling lights illuminating the whole place.

If you are planning a San Diego vacation in the coming months, do spare a day to come and relax in this picturesque garden. As the holiday season is soon approaching, lots of San Diego accommodations are offering great discounts and offers on daily room stays and extended stays.

Located in Clairemont, California Suites Hotel is the Value Price Leader among budget hotels in San Diego. Strongly believing in customer satisfaction, California Suites Hotel’s motto is to make the stay for guests Convenient, Comfortable and Affordable. Our services include continental breakfast, large heated swimming pool, cable with HBO, high speed Internet access, free parking, laundry facilities and more.

Come and spend a day in the lap of nature at the San Diego Botanic Garden!

Photo Courtesy: sandiegan.com

Packed with plenty of exciting events during December, the city of San Diego sure knows how to celebrate the year’s end and begin the new one with hope and excitement. This month’s events include rocking parties, family friendly activities, parades and so much more. Let’s find out more about two popular events slated for this month:

San Diego Bay Parade of Lights 2010

Imagine the sight of a fully lit-up over 100 decorated boats cruising on the San Diego Bay! This magnificent spectacle will take place at the 39th annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights on 12th and 19th December, 2010.

Dazzling fireworks will light up the whole sky following which, the famous boat parade will kick off. This year the theme of the event is “The Sounds of Christmas”. The boat parade will begin from the east end of Shelter Island, and then move to Harbor Island and finally to Coronado areas. You can catch the best views from the shore along the Seaport Village, Harbor Island, Embarcadero and Coronado. Don’t forget to carry your camera. This is the event where you can click some of the best night shots. More than 80,000 people are expected to attend this extravaganza. Make sure you are also part of the attendees.

Garden of Lights at San Diego Botanic Garden

San Diego Botanic Garden lights up during December as the dazzling LED lights transform the beautiful garden into a sort of magical wonderland from 9th December to 30th December, 2010. Located in Encinitas, San Diego, more than 100,000 lights will illuminate the beautiful San Diego Botanic Garden renowned for the nation’s largest bamboo collection.

Take a stroll through the lit-up garden. You can enjoy the LIVE music or huddle around the campfire. It’s a wonderful experience listening and singing along with the Christmas Carolers. The beauty of the colorful Poinsettia Garden is a must see. Also, don’t forget to check out the Nutcracker exhibit and enjoy the wagon rides through the Garden.

A slew of entertainment programs are all set to make the evenings truly. Join your children in listening to stories narrated by interesting characters in colorful costumes or enjoy the Mariachi players performing live. In short, each day will offer something new and exciting for your whole family. And of course, Santa Claus will be around to make the children enjoy Christmas in its true spirit. This event is a must watch on your San Diego family vacation.

San Diego receives a large number of visitors in December. Make sure that you book your rooms in advance to avoid the last minute rush. Heavy inflow of tourists means parking problems too. Therefore, to avoid the traffic jams and the parking chaos, stay in a San Diego hotel from where you can commute to the above mentioned venues conveniently. This way you save plenty of time as well as money too.

Known for impeccable services, California Suites Hotel is a centrally located hotel from where major attractions such as Seaport Village, Embarcadero and others are nearby. And even the San Diego International Airport is just 15 minute away from the hotel.

Always believing in delivering the best to the customers, California Suites Hotel provides facilities at affordable prices. The services include complementary breakfast, free parking, laundry facilities and in addition the hotel is also offering awesome discounts and San Diego vacation packages during this holiday season. San Diego will play host to other several activities too apart from these two events. Make sure you are part of the holiday celebration!

Photo Courtesy: http://thephotogardenbee.com