The Heliotropum (Heliotrope) is looking beautiful this month. In Adobe Days, Sarah Bixby Smith lists the plants she remembers from Temple’s garden. She ends with, “… and heliotrope made a heaven of fragrance.” Honoring that list, Ralph Cornell – the 1930s landscape architect at RLC – installed six heliotropes, and our horticulturist, Marie Barnidge McIntyre,[…]
Plants and Birds of the Moment
By Rancho Staff Gardens Oct 01, 2020
Garden Updates
By Rancho Staff Gardens, Visitor Information Sep 10, 2020
Grass Resodding Our grass is being resodded so that it will look great for when we can have in-person events in the future. This means that starting September 11th portions of the grass will be roped off so that the new grass can take root and grow lush and healthy! You can enjoy all the[…]
Plant of the moment: Princess Flower!
By Rancho Intern Gardens Jul 30, 2020
Plant of the moment: the Princess Flower The princess flower (pictured above) or the Tibourchina urvillean, has 3-4” leaves that can be green, yellow, or even red during weather extremes. Its flowers are clustered near the branch tips, and they bloom in succession. Each bloom is 3” across and has violet stamens that stand[…]
Plant of the Moment July
By Rancho Staff Gardens Jul 06, 2020
Plant of the Moment: Hydrangea macrophylla – Hydrangea. The shrub next to the veranda in the backyard gardens is having a stellar season, with large clusters of flowers that seem to make an “oldfashioned” statement. In the early 1900s, immigrants to California planted hydrangeas in the shade of their Southern California homes. This was[…]
“Say It with Flowers” Victorian Style on May 18th
By Rancho Staff Events, Gardens, history, Upcoming Events May 06, 2019
“Say it with Flowers” has been a tag line used by florists since the early 1900s. But flowers have been used to express sentiments for centuries across multiple cultures. How did flowers come to form a “language” and who used it? Was it a universal language, or did different regions apply unique meanings specific to their culture? While[…]
Bird Lovers Flock to RLC this Valentine’s Day for Monthly Bird Walk
By Rancho Staff Events, Gardens, Long Beach, Upcoming Events Feb 12, 2019
Rancho Los Cerritos’ February Bird Walk is this Thursday, February 14th, from 8-9:30 a.m. (weather-permitting). Mating season is coming, and we already see pairs of birds spending time together. Bird walkers also might see migrant birds steal our fruit, fortifying themselves for their northward trek. Another bird visitors might see is the California Scrub Jay.[…]
Plant of the Moment: October
By Rancho Staff Gardens, Long Beach Oct 03, 2017
Apache Plume, Fallugia paradoxa, is October’s plant of the moment. Our is located in a pot by the Visitor Center. An evergreen shrub native to the deserts, this member of the rose family displays lovely white flowers that look like a mini version of an old-fashioned single rose. Rather than developing a typical rose hip or even[…]
A Sonoran Bumblebee Buzzes Through our Long Beach Gardens
By Rancho Staff Gardens, Photos Sep 15, 2017
We were recently visited by a Sonoran Bumblebee (Bombus sonorus), a fuzzy insect native to the Sonoran desert and much of the western United States. Typical ground dwellers, the female workers forage for pollen and nectar to take back to the nest for storage as food for the young. Like many North American bees, the population[…]
Plant of the Moment: September
By Rancho Staff Gardens Sep 03, 2017
Osage Orange, Maclura pomifera, is September’s plant of the moment. Native to Arkansas and eastern Texas, this unusual tree first came to Rancho Los Cerritos in the 1840s, when it was planted by John Temple. The Osage Orange was brought west by early pioneers, but what attracts visitors’ attention today is the peculiar-looking fruit that drops[…]
Plant of the Moment: August
By Rancho Staff Gardens Aug 07, 2017
Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is August’s plant of the moment. These two trees were added by the City of Long Beach, which owns Rancho Los Cerritos, circa 1960. Hot summer temperatures encourage the best floral display, and with this summer’s heat, we are experiencing a spectacular bloom. Other plants in bloom in our Long Beach garden[…]
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