5 incredible West Coast botanical gardens
Whether you’re a fan of succulents, Japanese irises or simply floralfringed hiking trails, the West Coast’s botanical gardens offer some irresistible horticultural sights. Here are five extraordinary spots to indulge, from a Palm Springs cactusarium to a floral haven on the Mendocino coast.
Moorten Botanical Garden, Palm Springs
A desert-inspired garden with a sensational backstory, too? The brainchild of actor Chester “Cactus Slim” Moorten and his botanist wife Patricia, this Palm Springs botanic garden boasts 3,000 desert plants from the Mojave and deserts around the world. You’ll find agave and aloes here, but also cardon and boojum trees, a thorned Caesalpinia, a towering Pachypodium and other plants that sound like something from a Dr. Seuss book. Don’t miss the greenhouse cactusarium, where all manner of spiky, thorny wonders await.
If you’re a fan of W.C. Fields or Buster Keaton — or the original Keystone Cops — you may have spotted Moorten’s rail-thin figure. But by the time he and his wife opened this desert arboretum in 1938, their landscape design skills were already well-known to the glitzy Palm Springs crowd. The Moortens designed gardens for Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Walt Disney — and landscaping for Disney’s Frontierland, too. Find out more at moortenbotanicalgarden.com. Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Fort Bragg
Voted one of the nation’s top five botanical gardens by USA Today readers, this 47-acre expanse between Highway 1 and the sea is a blissful garden nirvana, with flowers, succulents, pine trees and redwoods set against an emerald green, coastal expanse. There’s a dahlia garden, a begonia expanse and a perennial garden, where bees buzz and butterflies flit from spring through fall. Sculptures dot the landscape and grassy paths meander among the trees and flowers. In the wintry lead-up to the holidays, the gardens are transformed into a twinkle-lit extravaganza, from the Succulent Garden to the Heath and Heather Collection. Take a peek here. And find more details at www. gardenbythesea.org.
3 Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino
The Huntington estate may be known for its art collection, from Thomas Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy” to Mary Cassatt’s “Breakfast in Bed,” but its botanical gardens are truly spectacular. Twelve distinct gardens unfold across this rolling landscape, offering visitors glimpses of 1,200 cultivars blooming through the winter months in the Camellia Garden, for example, a stunning Chinese garden with flowing streams and pagodas, and a Children’s Garden with topiary volcanos, sonic pools and other playful elements. Learn more at www.huntington.org.
Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon
Tucked away in the steep hills of Washington Park on the northwest side of Portland, Oregon, this lovely, 9-acre Japanese garden includes more than half a dozen themed gardens, each representing a different historical period and philosophy. Concentric circles are raked into the contemplative Sand and Stone Garden. Rustic tea gardens are tucked here and there. And in the Strolling Pond Garden, a curved Moon Bridge traverses the upper pond, while plump koi dart across the lower pond, where the Zig-zag Bridge offers a perfect view.
The Japanese garden is not the only botanical delight in this enormous park. The city’s centuryold International Rose Test Garden and Hoyt Arboretum lie nearby, and 100 miles of trails wend their way through the landscape. (Take a peek here.)
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Trails wind from wildflower meadows to redwood groves, arroyos and canyons in this 78acre garden tucked into the foothills of Santa Barbara. It’s not just the thousand native plants that draw visitors. There are historic landmarks here, too, including the Mission Dam on Mission Creek. Constructed in 1806 by Chumash residents and Franciscan friars, the dam and aqueduct supplied the Santa Barbara Mission with a reliable source of water in this dry countryside. Learn more at www.sbbg.org.