Those of you who enjoy traveling and viewing gardens might be surprised to learn that you can combine this pastime with an enjoyment of sports. But that’s exactly what you can do when you visit Padres Stadium in San Diego. Aside from serving as the home of our Major League Baseball team, the San Diego Padres, the stadium also boasts some of the best landscaping of any US ballpark.
Designed by Spurlock Landscape Architects as a “garden ballpark,” the Padres Stadium and its surrounding gardens serve as a centerpiece of downtown San Diego. The renovation helped to rejuvenate Park Boulevard and provide continuity between Balboa Park gardens and the Bayfront.
Home Plate Plaza, the main entry to the park, features a waterfall down the facing of one wall, surrounded by beautiful landscaping. The design team created open-air concourses, accented with coral trees and palms. Flowering plants hang from the edges of walkways and trellises.
For those who love a large, grassy lawn, there’s plenty to learn from the landscapers at Padres Stadium. In winter, the field is planted with a rye grass, and then the team transitions to a Bermuda grass in summers. The field must be irrigated, due to the lack of sufficient rain in Southern California, and landscapers apply treatments to remove salt and chemicals that are present in the water. If you want to see for yourself how brilliantly green a lawn can be with the right care, check out the field at Padres Stadium.
But if baseball isn’t your thing, you don’t have to visit on game day. Gallagher Square, adjacent to the main stadium, is free and open to the public on non-game days. Or you can catch a concert in the park, at the new venue, Sycuan Stage. Be sure to bring a picnic blanket and basket or take advantage of the stadium’s nearby food vendors (including beer). Kids will enjoy the playground or pick up a game of baseball in the kids’ diamond.
If you work up an appetite while visiting, head over to the Gaslamp Quarter, a 16-block neighborhood bordering the west side of the park. There you will find plenty of shopping and restaurants to round out your visit.
And if you’re feeling inspired? Give us a call when you get back. We can help you incorporate new elements into your existing landscape design.
