SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN: Native Plants in a Spectacular Setting

California lilac (Ceanothus), Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, California.

In early February I spent a lovely morning at the beautiful Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, tucked in the hills of Santa Barbara, California. Featuring native plants of California, the garden paths take you through a variety of habitats–an open meadow, a redwood grove, wooded dell, desert, and more.

Woodland path to the redwood grove that borders the stream bed at the east end of the canyon.

After parking our car in the adjacent lot, we bought our tickets at the garden entrance and a friendly docent gave us maps. We decided to start by exploring the less crowded trail on the opposite side of the parking area, which leads up the hill to the new Pritzlaff Conservation Center sitting on top of the ridge. 

View of patio from gallery of the Pritzlaff Center.

Inside the open gallery (perfect for Covid times with the front wall open to fresh air) was a fascinating exhibit of California wildflowers, pairings of the actual flowers dried and pressed next to beautiful artist prints of the same flower.

Columbine. Print, left; dried and pressed specimen, right.

Outside the Conservation building the broad patio has comfortable chairs to sit and enjoy the view. From there a path leads to a viewpoint at the edge of the ridge. 

View of Santa Barbara with Santa Cruz Island in distance.

To the West we had a spectacular view over the city of Santa Barbara all the way to the Channel Islands. Behind us the coastal mountains rose to the sky. And below us in the canyon was the main part of the Botanic Garden.

Poppies and other native wildflowers. The Garden's 78 acres with more than 1,000 types of exclusively California native plants illustrates the remarkable diversity of California's flora and vegetation.

We returned to the entrance and then followed the path counter-clockwise. To our right was the meadow where early spring poppies and other wild flowers were already starting to bloom. 

Turtle

We passed a small pond where turtles were warming in the sun, and marveled at an unusual sundial, as we made our way to the redwood forest at the east end of the Garden.

This sundial, created by Victor Edwards, was bequeathed to the garden in the 1920s. The dial’s complex curved arm is unique. Its separate pointers for standard and daylight savings time are also unusual.

From the redwood forest we followed the creek to the other end of the garden, past the Japanese Tea House and manzanita grove, and back to the entrance.

Red buckwheat.

It was a beautiful day for a stroll in the garden. Winter rains had nourished the plants and spring flowers were blooming everywhere. Several years ago I had visited the garden in summer, when different plants were in bloom. Every season has its glory. On this visit, it was the beauty of spring.

Note: For our visit to Santa Barbara, my husband and I stayed at the Upham Hotel, the oldest continuously operating hotel in Southern California, opening in 1871. We stayed in one of the cottages surrounding the interior garden. As one reviewer says, the property exudes Victorian charm without going overboard. I had a tasty dinner in the accompanying restaurant, Louie’s Bistro, eating outside on the side porch. The hotel is just two blocks from State Street in Santa Barbara’s downtown.

Pritzlaff Conservation Center at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden