Since the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Balboa Park has been a signature of grandeur. Over those years, a vast variety of gardens have accentuated 1,200 spectacular acres for the pleasure of worldwide visitors. Meticulous maintenance is a daily chore, tended by 15 specialists employed by the Park and Recreation Department. Historic locations flourish with cactus, roses, palms, oaks, shrubs and a great number of flowering annual and perennial plants. Oaks and cypress trees have been planted to replace the insect-infested and dying eucalyptus. The annual operating cost of maintaining the greenery is around $1.3 million. A general fund with reimbursement by transient occupancy tax dollars, plus donations from individuals and organizations, keep it alive, said Christina Di Leva, press assistant in the mayor’s office. “There are 10 grounds maintenance workers for the central mesa of Balboa Park, which includes 11 specialty areas such as the Rose Garden, the Lily Pond and Alcazar Garden,”  she said. “In addition, there are two gardeners who maintain the lavish tropical plant displays at the Botanical Building and two others at the Kate Sessions Nursery. “They represent years of experience in plant care, some with degrees in horticulture. There is one horticulturist who oversees seasonal and permanent plantings as well as the park’s reforestation program.” Recently, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced a major gift from the estate of Thomas and Lilyan Frank to fund continued upkeep of the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden and the Japanese Friendship Garden. The $1.25 million donation was split equally into two endowment funds, established through The San Diego Foundation: the Lilyan B. Frank Memorial Rose Garden Endowment Fund and the Thomas C. and Lilyan B. Frank Japanese Friendship Garden Society Fund. Recommendations for expenditure of funds from the endowments — which together have already grown by $150,000 — will be made by the San Diego Foundation’s Balboa Park Trust Committee, which manages endowments to benefit the park. The three-acre Rose Garden is one of the most frequently-visited and a popular location for wedding ceremonies. The garden displays approximately 2,500 roses of nearly 200 varieties. “San Diego’s mild climate allows for a wide variety of plant material to thrive,” Di Leva said. Many of the gardens were first developed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which was also called San Diego’s Garden Fair. The majority of the plants in the park are evergreen with certain areas dedicated to deciduous trees. “For example, there is a lovely grove of liquidambar trees on Quince Street and 6th Avenue that turns brilliant shades of red and yellow before going dormant,” Di Leva said. “There are groves of flowering peach trees on the West Mesa of the park that are currently dormant. These flowering peaches will burst into bloom in early spring and then leaf out for the summer.” She said Balboa Park has made strides toward becoming more water-efficient and drought-resistant trees such as oaks, cypresses, cedars and pines will continue to be important reforestation species. At the Kate Sessions Nursery, rows of native Torrey pines, coast live oaks, Channel Island oaks, and Arizona cypress are being grown to replace the park’s most common tree: the eucalyptus. As the eucalyptus trees decline and fail due to diseases and pests, the Park and Recreation Department is doing everything to have suitable species waiting as replacements.