The Moreton Bay fig tree thrives in California

While attending California State Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo many years ago, I had the great fortune to work at the Dos Pueblos Orchid Company in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara. I worked on weekends and the summertime as one of five full-time estate gardeners for the main ranch-style house gardens alone.

This 45,000-acre ranch land expanded from the Pacific coastline up to the Santa Ynez Mountain Range to the east. Highway 101 and the Amtrak trains runs through the Dos Pueblos Rancho along the coast.

The hacienda rancho was located on a mesa, which had a 2-acre lawn facing towa...