Friday afternoon found me in Encinitas, meeting up with Karen for my first visit to this horticultural haven! Again, armed with my SD County Museum Pass, it was a perfect opportunity for an introduction. I can't believe it has taken me this long.
Each year San Diego Botanic Garden is visited by thousands of people from around the world who enjoy the scenic trails and inspiring vistas of this nationally recognized botanic garden. The history of Encinitas would not be complete without mention of this crown jewel and the visionary people behind the 37-acre urban retreat.In the early 1900s, the Garden’s roots consisted of two parcels of land on a sandstone ridge with a view of the Pacific Ocean, and canyons and mesas covered primarily in southern maritime chaparral. Those parcels were never part of a Mexican rancho but occupied uncontested land available to homesteaders after California won independence from Mexico. Barley was grown in some sections of the land by early residents.In 1917, the first parcel of 16.5 acres was purchased by Donald and Nan Ingersoll, who built a small ranch house on its hilltop. Ingersoll was in partnership with developer J. Frank Cullen, who built much of Cardiff-by-the-Sea in Encinitas. The next occupant, Holland immigrant Anton van Amersfoort, was a successful landowner and avocado farmer who lived here from 1923 to 1943. The second parcel of 10 acres was owned by German immigrant Herman Seidler.In 1942 and 1943, Ruth Baird Larabee acquired both parcels, and she and her husband, Charles, brought their love for Latin cultures and their Midwestern aesthetic to the homestead. They were a well-educated, independently wealthy couple in their 40s who abandoned their privileged lifestyle in Kansas City for a taste of adventure. This slice of rural San Diego, with its ideal growing climate and rustic ranch house, probably perfectly suited the couple, whose shared passions included gardening and exploring the Southwest.
After she and Charles divorced in 1950, Ruth remained alone at the ranch until 1957, when she generously deeded her 22.3 acres of land to the County of San Diego as a park to preserve the habitat of the resident California quails. Its potential as a botanic garden was later realized by a group of committed founders, opening to the public in 1970 as Quail Botanic Gardens.
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