DAY TRIP Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

In 1925, the Carnegie Institute teamed with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History to create and maintain a botanic garden. Calling for a place that could exhibit various trees, shrubs and flowers against the backdrop of both the ocean and mountains, the plan came to fruition when Anna Blaksley Bliss purchased 13 acres of land in Mission Canyon and donated it to the museum.

For its first 10 years it was called the Blaksley Botanic Garden until it became a separate organization and was renamed the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

The garden first aspired to represent various plant life from all different aspects of the Pacific Slope of North America but was later narrowed to focus on California’s native plants, Baja California, and southwestern Oregon.

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GETTING THERE

Take the I-405 North for about 50 miles until you reach the CA-101 North. Exit onto the CA-101 North toward Ventura and follow for about 76 miles, which makes up the majority of the journey. Take exit 95, Salinas Street, and merge onto the road.

At the traffic circle, take the second exit onto Sycamore Canyon Road. Turn left at Sycamore Canyon Road. Sycamore Canyon Road then turns slightly left and becomes Stanwood Drive. Turn right at Mission Ridge Road and continue onto Mountain Drive. Turn right at Foothill Road and then right at Mission Canyon Road.

Finally, take a slight right to stay on Mission Canyon Road.

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HOURS

The garden is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week March through October. The garden’s hours narrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. November through February. The Blaksley Library is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday by appointment only.

The retail nursery is open during garden hours and staffed by volunteers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The garden shop is also open during garden hours.

Guided tours are available at 2 p.m. weekdays and at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekends.

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ADMISSION

Admission to the garden is $8 for adults; $6 for seniors, children 13 to 17 years old, students and active military with a valid ID; $4 for children 2 to 12 years old; and children younger than 2 get in free. Admission is free with valid membership card and special group rates are available.

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GARDEN’S GOALS

The garden functions with four main priorities: conservation, collections, education and research. In terms of collections, the garden has many rare plants and is one of only 30 gardens accredited by the American Association of Museums as a living museum.

The garden also works with the local schools and community to provide classes and educational opportunities for individuals or groups to be apart of and learn from.

The garden researches California flora, conducts plant recovery studies and works toward environmental policy changes both locally and nationally.

The gardens are also one of 33 botanic gardens in the country that are members of the Center for Plant Conservation, an organization that attempts to conserve and restore rare native plants in the U.S.

— Daniel Tedford