Wrigley Botanical Gardens, Botanical garden in Avalon Canyon, Santa Catalina Island, US.
The Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden covers 38 acres (about 15.4 hectares) near Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, off the Los Angeles coast. It is run by the Catalina Island Conservancy and concentrates on plants endemic to the California Channel Islands. The 130-foot memorial tower is built mainly of local materials.
William Wrigley Jr. bought most of Santa Catalina Island in 1919 with proceeds from his chewing gum business. After his death on 26 January 1932, he was interred in a 130-foot tower in the gardens, built mainly of local materials. The garden itself began in 1935, when Ada Wrigley oversaw horticulturist Albert Conrad's planting of the original desert collection. In 1969 the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation revived the garden, and in 1996 it merged with the Catalina Island Conservancy.
The garden's plantings centre on six species that grow wild only on Santa Catalina: Catalina ironwood, Catalina mahogany, St. Catherine's lace, Catalina live-forever, Catalina manzanita and Catalina bedstraw. The memorial tower honours William Wrigley Jr., the chewing-gum manufacturer who bought most of the island in 1919; his original grave marker remains at the tower site.
The gardens sit on a slope above Avalon town center and require either a walk of around 30 minutes from downtown or using local transport options. Wear comfortable shoes as you will be moving through planted areas on uneven ground.
The garden's six Catalina-endemic plants include Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus), Catalina mahogany (Cercocarpus traskiae) and St. Catherine's lace (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum). Its international botanical code is AVALO. The grounds appeared in Huell Howser's California's Golden Parks, episode 139.
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