Cal State Cactus Flowers

No need to go to the Desert Southwest to see beautiful blooming cacti. You can find these on the CSUEB campus behind the music building. They were planted by a member of the grounds maintenance staff over ten years ago. They flourished and now put on blooms twice a year.

These glorious cacti are only part of the beautiful landscaping on the campus. The grounds also feature fragrant magnolia trees, birch trees, towering redwoods, junipers, and many other plant species.

At one time, the campus had a fragrance garden, and the sign in the area where the garden was located still remains. The garden must have been very fragrant indeed, since it contained rosemary, jasmine, lavender, mint, and many other flowers and herbs. It was created in 1981 at a cost to the school of only $3,000. The fragrance garden borrowed its design from traditional Japanese rock gardens.

No one is quite sure what happened to the garden, but the story goes that it was just not kept up over time, and now no fragrant plants remain.