Botanical Encounters

Monthly Meeting

NEXT GENERAL MEETING: Growing Plant People - Horticulture Programs and Facilities at Southwestern College, With Holly McMullen, August 15, In-Person, Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, 1:30p -3:30p

Holly McMullen Holly McMullen is a tenured professor of plant science at Southwestern College and a field biologist with nearly a decade of experience working at the intersection of ecological research, habitat restoration, and higher education. Her expertise centers on the interactions between plants and animals, particularly within Southern California's diverse ecosystems, and she has conducted botanical and wildlife field surveys, managed large-scale restoration projects,

Jul 23

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Articles

BOTANICAL ENCOUNTERS: The Eye Dazzling Atacama Superbloom

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! August 2026. The Eye Dazzling Atacama Superbloom What more can we say? Once again the photos will tell it all. On another late September day in 2011 we headed out for more visual overload and fascinating minutia. Within the profusion there even were a few familiar plants from our gardens (calandrinias, cisthantes, encelias and alstroemerias) in unexpected places and unimaginable numbers. Just feast your eyes, as we di

Aug 1

BOTANICAL ENCOUNTERS: The Atacama Desert Superbloom of 2011

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2026. The Atacama Desert Superbloom of 2011 This month’s column illustrates the adage: “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”. What can we say in the face of the exuberance of nature? The flora of the Atacama was glorying in a 40 year bloom. The rains had come. We often found ourselves in quite forbidding landscapes. Someone had written in on the road sign “MALO CAMINO MA “, advising against making a left and taki

Jun 1

BOTANICAL ENCOUNTERS: The Atacama Superbloom, Chile 2011

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. The Atacama Superbloom, Chile 2011 Let’s return to the fog shrouded Atacama Desert coast in Chile… …and immerse ourselves in the abundance of tough desert flora that were exuberantly flowering in the aftermath of a rare phenomenon in the Atacama, rain. As we know, the plants survive on whatever moisture the perpetual fog offers. Each plant has strategies for waiting until the next time there is rain whe

Feb 1

BOTANICAL ENCOUNTERS: The Atacama Blooms - Copiapoa Cactuses

Words and pictures by Ida K. Rigby, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. The Atacama Blooms - Copiapoa Cactuses Let’s continue our quest for the marvels of El Desierto Florido, the Atacama super bloom of September 2011. Along this foggy Pacific coast, ... ... as is often the case in areas that outsiders might consider gloomy, everything is colorfully painted. Fishing ... ... and mining are the two main industries. We of course enjoyed delicious fresh fish. Nature’s fishermen

Dec 1, 2025