By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt.
Photos by Maurice Hewitt.
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| A giant dragon by Ricardo Breceda, whose large-scale metal animals you may have seen in the Anza Borrego Desert. It’s the first piece you’ll notice after entering the Garden, and only part of the 5-piece Dragon, whose other parts you will find as you stroll along. |
If you’ve never heard of Alta
Vista Botanical Gardens, let us introduce you to a place you’ll be thrilled to discover.
Its 14 acres of international plants, trees and flowers are intermingled with
distinctive sculptures and other artworks by over 20 contemporary artists. The
Garden’s motto: Bringing together people, nature and art. And
with only two exceptions--a full-time gardener and a part-time garden manager--the
entire place is run by devoted volunteers.
The Garden Manager is Rusti
Dixon, whose family has lived in the area and loved the garden for 15 years.
After three decades assisting high-level executives, she says she is now
pursuing her passion: “nurturing connections and ensuring a greener future for
generations to come.”
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| Garden Manager Rusti Dixon enjoying a shady moment in the Grape Arbor. |
Besides overseeing day-to-day
operations, maintenance, and construction in the Garden, she writes all the
content on the attractive website which her husband manages. Last month, she had a new
meditation space installed, and this month she organized a gala for the
Garden’s 25th anniversary. Her favorite part of the job? “Creating
an amazing experience for our visitors so they will visit us again.”
The Garden is available for
weddings, classes, and other special events. There was an art class in progress
when we were there. It’s open every day, and entry is affordable: $5 for
adults. San Diego Magazine recently called it “The Best Use of Five Bucks” and
it’s less for children, and free to very little ones.
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| Mouth of Truth by Bryan Morse, on the Ceremonial Lawn. This piece was inspired by the ancient Roman original whose mouth should only attract the fingers of truth-tellers since it’s said to lop off the hands of liars. |
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| In the Ceremonial Pond: Golden Torsion, by local artist Lia Strell. |
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| One of five culinary-themed sculptures by Philip Glashoff in the Culinary Garden. |
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| A super-sized Scorpion by Ricardo Breceda in the Cactus Garden. |
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| Cotton Horse. Originally an ivy topiary, when the ivy died it became an “organic living horse topiary” filled with cotton balls from bushes in the Children’s Garden. |
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| Inspirational Garden, where visitors can create their own inspiring rock art. |
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| The newest addition: A Healing Garden, where visitors can re-stack the stones as a personal prayer or meditation. Carefully stacking stones in a Zen garden is a meditative and artistic process meant to create a delicate balance and a feeling of serenity. |
Every October, there’s an
annual Fall Fun Festival at Alta Vista, including a contest which all interested
creatives are invited to enter: Make
your own life-size scarecrow out of found materials, see it hung on the fence
in the Children’s Garden, and maybe win a prize. Even if you’re not a winner,
all the scarecrows remain on view for visitors to admire until the next year’s
contest. Interested? For details on the 2024 contest, contact
Nancy Jones (aka Farmer Jones)
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| The 2023 Scarecrows |
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| A two-scarecrow close-up. |
Alta Vista BotanicalGardens
1270 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084
760-945-3954
Pacific Daylight Time Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday/Sunday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Admission: $5 adults, $3 for
children 3-12, free to 2 and under.
Lonnie Burstein Hewitt is an
award-winning author/lyricist/playwright who has been writing about arts and lifestyles
in San Diego County for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net
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