Santa Barbara Botanic
Garden
Santa Barbara, California
October 2010
This garden opened to the public as, Blakesley Botanic
Garden, in 1929. It became the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
in 1939. The garden encompasses 78-acres, of which about 40
are developed. The collections concentrate on plants from
California, northwestern Baja and southwestern Oregon, an
area called the California Floristic Province. Plantings
are mostly arranged by plant community so there’s a
Chaparral Section, a Desert Section, a Meadow Section, and
others. More than 1,000 taxa are represented at the garden.
Major plant collections iinclude Ceanothus (California
Lilac), Dudleya and Arctostaphylos (Manzanita).
My only previous visit to this garden was about twenty
years ago. Since then it has suffered a number of major
setbacks, including a devastating fire. Except for the
glorious canyon setting, it now bears little resemblance to
the garden I visited.
The fire
didn’t destroy the nicely laid-out path system, or the view
to the surrounding mountains.
I really liked a sculptural structure erected in a meadow.
It has the feel of a Patrick Dougherty piece but I couldn’t
find any attribution. The rough supporting posts and living
roof make a great playhouse for kids and an interesting
aesthetic element. I wish there had been some interpretive
material associated with it to provide some context.
The garden has a large collection of Dudleya, beautifully displayed in a trailside
bed with boulders and companion plants.
The genus Dudleya is native to this area, so the plants are
beautiful and healthy. Sadly it was the wrong season for
flowering so none were in bloom.
Most of the garden is a walk through a wooded canyon,
following a creek. It is a beautiful canyon, with giant
boulders and majestic oaks.
There are a couple of interpretive stations along the
trail. A station on Native American basketry was very
interesting, but the main sign was in poor condition and
most of the plant labels for the display were missing.
From my previous visit I remember the forest opening up
into glades featuring collections of interesting plants.
This visit, the glades were mostly barren but for
resprouting grasses. Fire must have taken a toll.
There is a very nice demonstration garden, showing the use
of California natives in home landscaping. The plants are
well-labeled and there are several interpretive signs,
making this a valuable tool for the home gardener.
I remember the garden having a great nursery, and although
it too seems to have suffered from the fire, it is still a
wonderful resource. It offers a great selection of
well-labeled plants, all very nicely displayed.
Although the garden is not the fantastic place I remember,
it is still a beautiful spot. The canyon and the
surrounding mountains are a treasure.
Hopefully, time will restore many of the plant displays.
Community support seems strong. They are still a leader in
plant conservation, active in the Center for Plant
Conservation and holder of a national collection of the
genus Dudleya. I’ll trust that when I visit again in a
few years, new leadership will have restored this garden to
its former stature.
Click here
to see more photos of
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Click here to visit the official website of Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden.