18 Beautiful Botanical Gardens in Southern California

Spring is the perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy the colorful flowers blooming, thanks to all that winter rain. Luckily, Southern California is home to many botanical gardens perfect for a relaxing family day outdoors. From South Bay to Santa Barbara, there are so many beautiful outdoor spaces to explore that offer a tranquil oasis from the city bustle. Check out our list of the best botanical gardens to spot blooms and enjoy nature.

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South Bay Botanical Gardens

South Coast Botanic Garden

Known as the Jewel of the Peninsula, this 87-acre garden offers over 2,500 varieties of plant species to explore. It’s so beautiful that it’s hard to believe the space was once the site of a sanitary landfill! One of the highlights for families is the Children’s Garden and Children’s Discovery Garden, which feature plants that complement classic nursery rhyme stories. The South Coast Botanic Garden also offers educational programs and themed events, like the current exhibition Hide and Seek: Art Meets Nature. This exhibit features eight works, including two contemporary pieces owned by South Coast Botanic Garden and six modern works on loan from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden

Located in Polliwog Park, the Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden, also known as MBBG by the locals, is a ⅔ acre demonstration garden. MBBG highlights native plant life and habitats in Southern California, such as Coastal Sage Scrub, Riparian Woodland, Wetlands, and more. MBBG is open from sunrise to sunset and is free to visit. It has multiple picnic tables on the grounds, perfect for lunch or a quick snack.

Pine Wind Japanese Garden

Pine Wind Japanese Garden was designed by National Landscape Award winner Takeo Uesugi to be a tranquil intermission from daily activities. This garden is home to authentic Japanese landscaping and architecture. There are stone pathways, a two-tiered amphitheater, and a koi pond. The aesthetic background is perfect for a family photo session.

Los Angeles Botanical Gardens

Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden

The Los Angeles Botanic Garden boasts 127 acres with 11 different landscapes to explore. The arboretum is also an official wildlife sanctuary, so you can see the famous peacocks and various birds, small reptiles, and aquatic animals. You could spend all day here and still have more to see on your next visit, making it the perfect spot for a family membership.

You can catch a guided tour, explore the grounds yourself, and even stop at the cafe for lunch. The arboretum also hosts special events, like Members Bike Nights and Lightscape.

Descanso Gardens

Located in La Cañada Flintridge, Descanso Gardens is a unique Southern California garden distinguished by its specialized botanic collections, historical significance, and rare natural beauty. The 160-acre botanical garden features a massive rose garden, a camellia garden, a Japanese garden, a California Garden featuring native plants, an oak forest, a lakeside hiking trail, an art museum, a miniature train, and more.

Descanso also hosts various annual special events, including outdoor art installations, live concerts, public programs, spring bloom tours, Carved, and Enchanted.

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, also known as The Huntington, are 120 acres of landscaped gardens showcasing plants from around the world. There are 12 themed gardens, including the Desert Garden, Australian Garden, Herb Garden, Lilly Pond, and Rose Garden. The Children’s Garden is beloved by all young visitors, but be sure to bring a change of clothes because the fountains in the play area are just too tempting on hot days. If your little ones love throwing tea parties, book a time in the Rose Garden Tea Room, where kids get their special tea set.

The first Thursday of every month is Free Day at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. You can gain entry without a fee, but you have to reserve a free ticket a month in advance, and they sell out fast.

Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is home to more than 1,400 animals representing 270 species, many rare or endangered. So whatever your favorite – meerkats or mandrills, komodo dragons or kangaroos – chances are you’ll get to see them here. Zoo grounds also feature unique gardens that highlight groups of plants. The native gardens present many of this region’s spectacular indigenous plants. The cactus and succulent gardens contain representatives of arid climates around the world. The cycad garden is a living time capsule full of plant species that have existed since the age of dinosaurs.

UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden

This little urban oasis in the heart of Westwood is a 7.5-acre public garden, outdoor classroom, and research facility on the UCLA campus. The botanical garden’s mission is to act as a community gathering place that promotes plant conservation and botanical research. The grounds feature a diverse collection of plants from around the world, including the Ancient Forest, Desert Garden, Cycads, and more.

The botanical garden has guided tours and a free self-guided audio tour voiced by the Herbarium Collections Manager, allowing you to go at your own pace.

Exposition Park Rose Garden

If you’ve ever visited the California Science Center, you might already be familiar with the sprawling rose garden surrounding a central fountain on the lawn. Summertime is the best time to visit and wind your way through the over 200 varieties of roses, taking time to stop and smell each one. Pack a picnic and spend the afternoon among the roses.

Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden

Located on Catalina Island, this nearly 38-acre garden highlights California island endemic plants. Many of these plants are extremely rare, and some are on the Endangered Species list. The garden also features multiple botanical collections from around the world and serves as the entry point for one of the Island’s most popular hikes, the Garden to Sky Trail.

The Getty Center and Getty Villa

While the Getty Center and Villa are known as art museums, they are also both home to a beautiful garden. The Central Garden of the Getty Center is a 134,000-square-foot space filled with winding pathways, a walkway across a stream, and a maze of azaleas among 500 plant varieties. The gardens at the Getty Villa replicate ancient Roman gardens and feature sculptures and fountains among the Mediterranean plants.

Orange County Botanical Gardens

Sherman Library and Gardens

The Garden, located in Orange County, has impressive collections, including a lush tropical conservatory with a koi pond, a rose and tea garden, more than 100 species of palms, and more. The Garden also has a café that boasts coastal cuisine made with California produce and a Tea Garden. Visitors are encouraged to explore the gardens, and there are both guided tours and self-guided audio tour options.

Fullerton Arboretum

The Fullerton Arboretum has 26 acres of plants from across the globe. It is the largest botanic garden in Orange County, featuring over 4,000 plants. Visitors can explore four collections: Cultivated, Woodlands, Mediterranean, and Desert. Some highlights include an 11,000 sq ft organic vegetable garden, historic citrus and avocados, a children’s garden, and an extensive cycad collection.

Inland Empire Botanical Gardens

California Botanic Garden

California Botanic Garden is the most extensive botanic garden dedicated to California native plants, promoting botany, conservation, and horticulture to inspire, inform, and educate the public and scientific community about California’s native flora. The Garden is a living museum with curated collections of more than 22,000 California native plants, some rare or endangered. Spread across 86 acres in Claremont, California, the Garden is approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles. The Garden displays about 2000 taxa of California plants and includes those native to the California Floristic Province.

San Diego Botanical Gardens

San Diego Botanic Garden

This 37-acre botanical garden is designated one of the “Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For” by the American Gardens Association. There are 29 themed gardens, including a bamboo garden, regional desert landscapes, and a tropical rainforest. There are also two children’s gardens and a Family Education Conservatory that teaches visitors about horticulture and conservation.

Balboa Park

Located in downtown San Diego, Balboa Park has over a dozen gardens, including the Japanese Friendship Garden with koi ponds and sand and stone artworks and the Spanish-style Alcazar Garden with colorful tile and 7,000 annuals. The 3-acre Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden has over 1,500 roses blooming from March through December.

Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden fosters the conservation of California’s native plants through gardens, research, and education and is a role model for sustainable practices. With 78 acres and 5.5 miles of trails, there’s plenty to explore, including a Redwood grove and an authentic Japanese tea house originally built in Kyoto, Japan.

The new Backcountry section offers kids of all ages the perfect way to experience and connect with nature up close and hands-on. Located on the west side of the Garden, just over Campbell Bridge, the Backcountry invites visitors to climb, jump, run, and fully immerse themselves in the natural surroundings.

Palm Springs Botanical Gardens

Moorten Botanical Garden

The Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium features over 3,000 plant varieties but specializes in cacti and desert trees. It is located about 1.5 miles from downtown Palm Springs, and it takes about an hour to explore the habitats set up along the nature trail.

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