Fullerton Arboretum

Welcome to the Arboretum

ACCORDING TO NIKA, GUARDIAN TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE FULLERTON ARBORETUM, a lot of people visit the 26-acre site where lots and lots of plants grow.

I’m not a botanist, but I know when I see lots of plants.

“During the week, we get dozens of people taking walks, jogging or studying specific plants for a class at the university,” Nika said.

The arboretum is located on the northeast corner of the California State University, Fullerton.

Sure enough, as I was chit-chatting a moment with Nika, a woman jogged by pushing those three-wheeled contraptions that always looked perilous to me.

Give me four tires on the ground when I push a baby around. Three wheels – that is an accident waiting to happen.

An older couple strolled by holding hands – it was sweet.

“During the weekends, we really get crowded,” Nika said.

“How busy?” I asked.

“I don’t have a specific number of people coming here but it is busy. Everyone seems to love this place.”

I bade Nika adieu and wandered down the dirt path into the arboretum.

Walking through an arboretum had not been on my schedule, but I had business to complete in Fullerton and arrived two hours early for my appointment unintentionally.

Driving from the High Desert to Fullerton is approximately 75 miles, and should take an hour and a half, unless Laureen is driving. Then, perhaps forty-minutes would do the trick.

Any person who has driven south on the Cajon Pass in the last hundred years, realizes that suspected times of travel to a place ‘down the hill’ is merely a suggestion.

“Waze says we’ll be there in thirty minutes,” a friend will tell another friend as they are driving happily along Interstate 15.

Suddenly, red taillights by the millions erupt out of nowhere just at the summit of the Cajon. Waze then reroutes and advises the trip to Rancho Cucamonga now will be three days.

“Are there accidents? A fire ripping across the roadway? A Sasquatch sighting?”

“None of those on the screen.”

“Then what?”

It is a Caltrans mystery.

So, when driving down the Cajon, which I do quite often, I pack an overnight bag, my favorite foods and let Laureen know if I will be coming back any time soon.

But, on this day – I was two hours early for my appointment.

No traffic along Interstate 15 or 210.

What was I to do?

Find someplace I had not visited before.

And that is how I found myself at the Fullerton Arboretum.

The concept of the arboretum was conceived by Dr. David Walkington and Dr. Eugene Jones, along with some other staff and students at the university in 1970. It would be a great place for students to study botany and for the locals to enjoy walking through.

An orange grove, on the northern end of the campus, had a disease known as quick decline.

I personally know this disease – occurs each morning as I tumble out of bed.

The grove had once been part of the Gilman Lands.

Richard Hall Gilman came to this part of

Southern California in the 1870s and wanted to be involved in agriculture. The lands he found to be just right for planting citrus were in the vicinity of Placentia.

In 1872, he purchased acreage and five years later planted the first five-acre grove of Valencia oranges.

In fact, he is known as the father of the Placentia citrus industry.

Richard Gilman, along with his wife and four children lived on the lands where he grew the oranges, and it was a happy time for all of them being surrounded by such beauty.

His daughter, Helen, wrote about life there. ‘Pomegranates wound a big horseshoe yard where grass billowed so deeply that children could hardly navigate. Cypress swooped out from the shoe to a willowed ditch, forbidden. It was the terror of every mother living on Placentia Avenue. Dark red roses ran along the walk that centered the yard. Among them were narcissuses that, with the winter rains, set yellow cups to white saucers. In the spring, blue iris joined the roses and peacocks paraded.’

That was some detailed prose, which reminded me of my own yard in the High Desert.

Soon a group of folks formed the Arboretum Committee about creating a wonderful place where people could enjoy the outdoors while also learning about protecting the environment. The effort was noticed by some big mucky-mucks and the committee won a Disneyland Community Service Award.

In 1971, the Associated Student Body started a fund raiser to try and protect the dying orange trees.

The trees were doomed, so they were cut down, roots removed, and a new project began.

This one planned to start organic gardening plots to demonstrate the environmental values of this sort of gardening.

As with most things, the plan enlarged and the current Mission Statement for the arboretum explains it fully:

‘The mission of the Fullerton Arboretum is to support the academic mission of CSUF with a world class living and historical collection and to provide learning opportunities for every stage of life, extending our resources into the local community and around the globe to foster an appreciation for plant conservation, botanical research and horticulture.’

This mission statement is plain to see as I wandered the 26 acres and took in an awesome array of different plants and trees being cared for at the arboretum.

Seems there were hundreds of plants – California Copperleaf, San Diego Ambrosia, False Indigo, Indian Milkweed, Coyote Brush, just to name a few.

And speaking of coyotes. There was a sign Dr. Clark’s home and office, 1894

warning the visitor about possible coyotes in the vicinity and what to do if you encounter one.

Being from the High Desert – I scoffed.

There are also a lot of trees to walk beneath – White Sapote, African Yellowwood, Yunnan Wintersweet, Mangrove Date, Oak, and so many more I got tired of craning my neck to look at the height of them all.

Wide dirt paths allow the visitor to saunter within the grounds. Waterfalls pouring over large boulders into a deep and cooling pool. A bubbling creek winds its way through the shade covered grassy knolls where there are ample picnic tables and benches to relax upon.

It was easy to understand why so many locals and non-locals would drive to this oasis within a large suburban area. Though there was a large university next door, the quite of the arboretum was not disturbed.

Large tables were set out with all sorts of scientific equipment next to the potting shed. No one was around so I peaked at what was being studied beneath the microscopes.

I have no idea. Probably something to do with plant life.

But not everything is on the exterior.

There is the OC Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum which has various exhibitions throughout the year that include lectures, photography/art exhibits, guided tours, and the like.

The visitor center where the arboretum’s purpose is discussed through photographs, history writings, quotations from present and past folks who worked there, and maps showing the paths around the site.

A beautiful old home, the Heritage House, is located on the grounds.

It was built in 1894 by Dr. George Crook Clark, one of Fullerton’s pioneer doctors. Originally located at Amerige and Harvard in the center of Fullerton, it was painstakingly moved to the arboretum in 1972.

The reason? It was going to be demolished for something new and probably 70ish. How gauche.

The home was built in the Eastlake style. I had to look that up.

It was a 19th-century architectural and household design reform movement created by British architect and writer Charles Eastlake. Part of the Victorian period in terms of broad antique furniture designations.

No idea.

In short, it is also referred to as the Queen Anne style.

No idea.

I did love the house and the wrap around porch where the doctor probably sat in a reed rocking chair yelling at his patients as they strolled down Harvard Street.

“Yeah, I went to Yale,” he may have wailed. “I just happened to get a good price on this Queen Anne on Harvard.”

The arboretum is a spectacular place to wander and so I did. Past this garden and past that garden showcasing plants and trees from this location to that location from around the globe.

Desert gardens, Australian gardens, Palm tree gardens, and one caught my fancy and that was the Children’s Garden.

Walking beneath an arbor of some sort of plant, I found myself in a place that would be loved by children. Things to walk through. Things to study. And just a great place for the growing mind.

There were also nice benches for parents to rest while their children ran around growing their minds.

My appointment was nearing, and I was disappointed the time was upon me to leave.

This unexpected adventure was more than worthwhile.

For further information visit: https:// fullertonarboretum.org/about.aspx