Thrive | Balboa Park

Balboa park is home to a number of Moreton bay fig trees and these are my amongst my favorite in the park. The fig trees are also known as Australian Banyans, and as you can tell from the name they are not native to California but rather come from (eastern) Australia. I believe most of the trees in Balboa park were planted around the time of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition which would make them over a hundred years old.

I think these banyans are apt metaphor for Californians. I know many people, myself included, who've moved here for various life reasons and decided to make this place home. We love living in California and can’t imagine being anywhere else. Likewise the climate and soil must be just right for the banyans as they have thrived developing huge root systems and giant canopies. They are simply marvelous trees completely at home in the park.