The Ten Best Los Angeles Gardens
Some of California's Top Plant Collections Can Be Visited in LA
Los Angeles is more than mean streets and Hollywood. Here are the city's top ten gardens to visit, including some in Beverly Hills, San Marino and even near LA Airport.
Visitors often imagine Los Angeles is little more than Hollywood and crime, a tough modern city whose mean streets sprawl for miles before they hit the Pacific coast and then stop. But LA is also home to some of California's finest gardens, and you could spend a week or more just seeing these. Here's a selection of some of the most interesting:
Arcadia
The Arboretum of Los Angeles County
The Arboretum is on what was originally a 46,000 acre ranch once owned by Alias Jackson Baldwin, a notable California businessman who bought it in 1875. It includes Baldwin Lake, a popular movie location used by stars including Johnny 'Tarzan' Weissmuller, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. Today there are 127 acres of gardens which can be visited.
Beverly Hills
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, there are five different gardens here spread over six and a half acres of the hills of Beverly Hills:
- Mall Garden
- Italian Terrace Garden
- Tropical Palm Garden
- Kitchen Garden
- Rose Garden
Claremont
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Describing itself as California's Native Garden, this is devoted to local species and includes a herbarium with over one million specimens and 86 acres of grounds with 2500 plants native to California and Baja.
Corona Del Mar
Right on the Pacific Coast Highway, these gardens occupy only 2.2 acres but include over 1000 species set among immaculate grounds laid out with fountains and sculptures.
Fullerton
When they planned to pave the paradise of California State University and put up a parking lot, staff and students got together and saved this 26-acre expanse to open the Arboretum, a living museum of plants from all around the world.
La Cañada Flintridge
The Descanso gardens date back to the first Spanish settlers and today cover 160 acres. Its speciality is its camellia collection, estimated to be about 34,000 plants comprising North America's largest camellia collection. January-February is the best time to see their spectacular show. There are 3,000 roses too, and a fine collection of California natives.
Laguna Beach
Situated in Boat Canyon at Laguna Beach, here are 2.5 acres and about 1500 species, all begun by Hortense Miller in 1959.
Los Angeles
Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
Seven acres of frost-free tropical gardens on the UCLA campus, with over 5000 species in 225 families.
Palos Verdes Peninsula
Only 10 miles from Los Angeles Airport is this wonderful 87-acre retreat with over 2500 different species of plants and more than 200 bird species seen every year,
San Marino
The Botanical Gardens at the world-renowned Huntington cover 120 acres with over 15,000 plants divided across over a dozen differently themed garden areas.
