When most people think of Terminal Island, located between the Los Angeles Harbor and the Long Beach Harbor, they picture shipping cranes, cargo containers, fish-processing plants, and the infamous Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution. It is a landscape of industry, concrete, and utilitarian grit. Few would ever associate this 4.5-square-mile spit of land with delicate, vibrant, tropical orchids.
Where else can you smell a Brassavola nodosa while watching a massive Maersk cargo ship glide silently behind a chain-link fence? Where else can you discuss cattleya hybrids with a retired longshoreman who has calloused hands and a PhD in plant pathology? lustomic orchid garden terminal island
Because the garden was constantly bathed in warm, slightly mineralized air from the harbor, Lustomic selectively bred orchids that could thrive in coastal conditions that would kill standard varieties. When most people think of Terminal Island, located
Have you visited the Lustomic Orchid Garden? Share your photos and stories in the comments below. And if you know of other hidden botanical wonders in industrial zones, we want to hear about them. Where else can you smell a Brassavola nodosa
If you want to see this unique piece of orchid history, do not wait. The garden’s leadership is aging, and funding is perpetually tight. By visiting, buying a plant, or donating to their "Heat the Domes" campaign, you are preserving a weird, wonderful slice of Southern California.
Yet, hidden behind the chain-link fences and the salty sea breeze lies one of Southern California’s most unexpected botanical treasures: the .
