![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timesofsandiego.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Balboa-Park-pep-grove-Pic-2.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Take a trip to Pepper Grove and unwind for a while. (Photos by Cynthia G. Robertson)<\/p>\nWithin Balboa Park<\/a> is a place called Pepper Grove<\/a>, filled with trees in gorgeous shades of green.<\/p>\n Named for its Brazilian Pepper trees, the park offers shade and quiet for those seeking a romantic picnic setting, yet it is far enough away from the Tot Lot, which provides fun and laughter for families.<\/p>\n The playground includes swings for both children and adults. You\u2019ll find it tempting to get into a swing and start pumping up as high as you can.<\/p>\n When I did, I tried the old childhood game of pretending to touch the trees with my toes. <\/p>\n Jumping? <\/p>\n I never did and certainly not now, despite the safer rubberized matting in place underneath the swings.<\/p>\n As you stand at the edge of the canyon \u2013 but take caution because the slope is rather steep in places \u2013 take a look across.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see the back side of the Japanese Friendship Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sunday afternoons, you might also hear the organist play strong chords that echo throughout the canyon.<\/p>\n Notable history to cover<\/strong><\/p>\n Pepper Grove has a rich history.<\/p>\n In 1835, the Mexican government had set aside 1,400 acres of pueblo land for public recreation, which is now part of Balboa Park.<\/p>\n Back then, the area was noted for its natural beauty. Its diverse plant community and wildlife, including coyotes and wildcats, were a common sight in the landscape.<\/p>\n These days, a diversity of birds frequent the park.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen Nutmeg Mannikins, a breed of finch formerly captivated but escaped, and now included in San Diego\u2019s bird count. I\u2019ve seen crows and ravens also like Pepper Grove, often hanging out in the branches above. Western Bluebirds also frequent the park.<\/p>\n This time of year, Blue Plumbago, the robust flowering bushes with delicate flowers, line the northern edge of the park. <\/p>\n Tiny clover flowers dot the green grass around the trunks and roots of the Brazilian Pepper trees. The trees\u2019 roots look like long fingers trying to pluck the diminutive clover. <\/p>\n In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration<\/a>, along with the city of San Diego<\/a>, helped to develop Pepper Grove into the place it is now.\u00a0<\/p>\n These days, the Brazilian Pepper trees are far taller and grander, a testament to the work and dedication of earlier generations as well as today\u2019s park maintenance workers.<\/p>\n Pepper Grove is a sweet spot for a little getaway in the park, be it a sunny or cloudy day.<\/p>\n Cynthia G. Robertson is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer. She has composed interesting stories about SoCal people and places for more than 30 years. Her stories, essays and poems have also been published in \u201cAcorn Review,\u201d a literary journal, as well as several anthologies, including \u201cSix Feet Apart\u2026in the Time of Corona.\u201d She blogs about her observations of nature and spirituality, and in 2019, she penned her first novel, \u201cWhere You See Forever.\u201d She is working on her next book. Find out more at: cynthiarobertson.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overview: Pepper Grove has history In 1835, the Mexican government had set aside 1,400 acres pueblo land for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":172532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,8159,1582,276,1759,2824,98443,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-172531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-balboa-park","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-nature","13":"tag-outdoors","14":"tag-pepper-grove","15":"tag-san-diego","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115085574628937637","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Colorful flowers await on your visit to Pepper Grove.<\/p>\n