Gardens at Mission San Juan Capistrano
When most Californians think of Mission San Juan Capistrano, they think of swallows. Every spring, legions of American cliff swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano after spending the winter in Argentina 6,000 miles away. Local legend claims that once upon a time a local innkeeper chased the swallows away by destroying their nests, and they took up refuge at the mission nearby,
In 1910s, a savvy priest at the mission used the public’s interest in the swallows to generate support for his restoration efforts. Without Father O’Sullivan the mission might not be what it is today. In 1939, composer Leon RenĆ© wrote a song called “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” that has lived on until today.
I had wanted to see Mission San Juan Capistrano for a long time. There hadn’t been an opportunity to visit until this April when on our way home from our spring break trip to San Diego we drove right through the town of San Juan Capistrano. I expected a sleepy mission, but much to my surprise, it turned out to be far more beautiful and interesting than I had imagined.
Ruins of the Great Stone Church (destroyed by an earthquake in 1812)
Closer look at the ruins of the Great Stone Church
Entrance to the Sacred Garden in the courtyard next to the ruined stone church
Sacred Garden
Giant euphorbia
Dragon tree (Dracaena draco)
Euphorbia ingens fruit
Euphorbia ingens fruit
Bougainvillea
Prickly pear
Agave americana? after flowering
Ghostly Euphorbia ammak ‘Variegata’
More opuntias
Flowering Dasylirion longissimum
Agave potatorum
Crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii) in front of blue chalk fingers (Senecio mandraliscae)
Outside the mission wall, on the south side, you’ll find a row of beautiful columnar cacti:
The tall inflorescence with the yellow flowers is from an agave inside the mission wall
Palo verde in front of the Mission Store
What a great way to end our trip to Southern California!
Comments
There's a great nursery just nine-tenths of a mile south, too: Plant Depot.