- Author: Toni Greer
We left last month with Capitol Kitty, just to remind you.
Southwest of the Unruh Building is the Earl Warren Walk. The path he wore in the grass on his many lunchtime trips to the Sutter Club was named in his honor.
There are 10 Deodar Cedars on the west side of the Capitol. These Cedars are part of the Capitol's original 12, planted in 1872. There's even a Bunya-Bunya Tree! It's native to Australia and named by the Aborigines there. It was planted in 1887 and can reach 80' tall and produces a pineapple-like cone that can weigh up to 15 pounds!
The water-wise garden is a cooperative effort between several agencies and is meant to “educate the public about the importance of wise water use and demonstrate that low-water gardens do not necessarily mean low-color or high maintenance”. You will find Emerald Carpet Manzanita, Skylark Blue Blossom and Red Flowering Currant, all watered with a drip irrigation system. Just outside the west entrance I saw the large bronze Great Seal of the State of California and the Native American and Spanish-Mexican Commemorative seals.
Points of interest for me were the:
*English Hawthorn which marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts (yes, I was one)
*President Franklin Roosevelt's centennial birth is marked with a Japanese Flowering Cherry
* Also, a Japanese Flowering Cherry tree was planted and dedicated to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace with Japan
The “Mac” McKeown Rose Bed honors a man who, once a month for over twenty years, gave a rose to each female legislator as a reminder of their importance in bringing issues vital to women to the forefront in the male-dominated Capitol. Wouldn't that be wonderful had that happened at my job!?! A rose named “Mac Rose” is included in this bed in his honor.
In Section 3 (north) I found a Tulip Tree, Chinese pistache and Valencia orange which are numbered. The numbers are small round brass plates. My question was finally answered. These plates mean that these trees are the largest of their species. The Cork Oak in this area was planted in 1879. Also, I found the Pioneer Camellia Grove in this area. It was established in 1942 by the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West. Sacramento is now knows as the “Camellia Capital of the World”. The Civil War Memorial Grove was the first monument in Capitol Park. Trees from many battlefields and historic sites were once thriving here, but only a few are now surviving.
In Section 3 (South) there is a Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), which is the only deciduous Redwood and it changes colors throughout the seasons. It was thought to be extinct. A Chinese botanist found a surviving specimen in 1945 in a remote area of interior China. Did you know that both the Coast Redwood and the Giant Sequoia are the State Trees? That was designated in 1937. The name Sequoia pays honor to the Native American who developed the Cherokee Alphabet.
The “Insectary” was built in 1906/07 and housed researchers who explored methods of using good bugs to destroy bad bugs that were damaging California crops. I guess you could say that this was the days of the early IPM system.
During my walk, I stopped to take a break beneath a huge tree, and I mean HUGE tree! The light was shining thru its branches. This tree took my breath away. It is one of my two favorite trees, the Maidenhair tree, also call the Ginkgo biloba. I've never seen one this magnificent. This particular tree is the largest of its species and deserved the awe that I felt. Also in this area I found the “Senator Sheila James Kuehl” Native Plant Garden. It was created “to display the beauty and wisdom…of using native plants in landscaping applications”. This section is also the home of two memorials that touched me to my core—the Firefighters Memorial and the California Veterans Memorial.
The International World Peace Rose Garden was created by T. J. David in 1988. He was known as Sacramento's “Rose-man”. While walking thru the garden, stopping to smell the various blooms I noticed plaques which have been placed throughout the beds. On the plaques I found poems and thoughts from students from a range of grades and ages. Just the plaques themselves were worth the walk through the rose garden. Also in the same section as the rose garden is the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial. For me, just a touch of the wall said it all. The sculptures, like the many other sculptures throughout the park, looked as though they could converse with me, in many ways they were.
Section 5 is full of trees, flowers, plants and shrubs. It's also where our state flower the golden poppy, was cultivated within the California Native Plant Section.
While the trees planted in the Capitol Park range from the Algerian Fir to the Yoshino Flowering Cherry Tree, I'm positive that you will find your Favorite! And…a favorite monument…and shrub…and pathway…and bench!
It's worth taking the time to visit our State Capitol and journey back in time. You can do this as I did, simply by visiting the park at your leisure or on a tour. Whichever you decide to do, I'm sure that it will be informative, educational, relaxing, calming and awe-inspiring!