If you’re looking for inspiration for your garden this spring, you can do better than scroll through pretty Pinterest photos.
You can emerge from pandemic lockdown and visit some of the Bay Area’s very pretty and very famous gardens. The region’s rich horticulture tradition is represented in botanical gardens and arboretums tended by world-class experts in plant care and landscape design. And because many of the gardens feature plants from all over the globe, there is always something in bud or bloom.
Over the past year, these public spaces have remained open so people can enjoy nature in a safe, socially distanced way. They also are a rich source of information on everything from how to grow drought-tolerant native plants to how gardeners do things in other parts of the world.
Here are seven Bay Area gardens to visit, along with a guide to each venue’s hidden treasures, blooming plants and garden shops — and how to enhance your visit with a picnic or lunch at a nearby cafe.
Filoli Historic House and Garden
Strolling along the terraces or by the lush flower beds of Filoli, it’s easy to forget that the crush of 21st century Silicon Valley modernity is just across Interstate 280. Filoli can transport the imaginative visitor to the grounds of a country estate in an Edith Wharton novel or even a garden party in “Bridgerton.”
With the backdrop of its 36,000-square-foot Georgian brick mansion, Filoli is famous for its English-style garden, which features formal clipped hedges, yew-lined avenues, a walled garden, a rose garden and a reflecting pool in a classic sunken garden.
What’s in bloom: Starting in March, look for “Red Impression” tulips and pink “Ollioules” tulips, weeping cherry tree blossoms, lilacs and camellias. April and May bring wisteria, dogwood tree blossoms, yellow and pink climbing roses, irises, bluebells and the “Mrs. Sam McCredy” rose, along with water lilies, rhododendrons, azaleas, foxgloves and ornamental vegetables in the kitchen garden.
Shop: The estate’s Clock Tower Shop sells plants grown at Filoli as well as other decorative items for the garden or home.
Dine: Outdoor dining was expected to resume in early February at Filoli’s Quail’s Nest Cafe, where visitors can order sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups made with fresh seasonal ingredients.
Details: Filoli is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 86 Canada Road, Woodside. Admission is $10-$20; https://filoli.org.
UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley
Tucked against Strawberry Hill with views overlooking the San Francisco Bay, this 34-acre living museum holds one of the largest and most diverse landscapes in the world, with more than 10,000 types of plants, including many rare and endangered species, from nearly every continent.
Organized geographically, the garden emphasizes plants from Mediterranean climates and a major collection of California native plants. But you’ll also discover much flora — and serenity — along the stepping stones of the garden’s Japanese Pool, home to Japanese plants and a thriving population of native newts.
What’s in bloom: In early spring, look for red, pink, and white magnolias and rhododendrons; a riot of pinks and purples in different species of Babiana (or Baboon flower) at the base of the Southern Africa hill; and, by late spring, flowering dogwood, azaleas and primulas.
Shop: Closed for indoor shopping, the UC Botanical Garden Shop still sells plants and other items on its deck, as well as through its online shop at https://gardenshop.berkeley.edu.
Dine: Picnicking with members of your household is allowed at the tables scattered around the grounds. Consider stopping first at The Italian Homemade Company in Berkeley’s Elmwood District to pick up Caprese salads, mortadella on piadina flatbread or cold cuts and cheese plates; https://italianhomemade.com.
Details: The UC Botanical Garden is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 200 Centennial Drive in
Berkeley. Reservations required. Admission is $7-$15; https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu.
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Open since 1940 inside Golden Gate Park, the San Francisco Botanical Garden features 55 acres of landscaped gardens and open spaces perfect for wandering and meditative discovery. There are more than 8,000 different kinds of plants from every corner of the world, so you can easily spend a full day here, strolling from the Great Meadow and Garden of Fragrances, where gentle touching of the plants is encouraged to release the many pleasing aromas, to the Zellerbach Garden of Perennials and Mesoamerican Cloud Forest, a misty tangle of mosses and ferns in every shade of green imaginable.
What’s in bloom: In March, visitors can enjoy the last blooms of the magnolias, plus rhododendron, crab apple trees and puya, a stunning pineapple relative from Chile. Later in spring, look for wildflowers galore in the California Native Plant Garden, as well as South African proteas.
Shop: The Garden Bookstore & Plant Arbor sells plants, books and other items Fridays and weekends.
Dine: Picnicking is allowed in the lawn areas. Grab hoagies, meatball subs and other sandwiches at The Yellow Submarine, which opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday at 503 Irving Street.
Details: The San Francisco Botanical Garden is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.) daily at Golden Gate Park, 1199 Ninth Ave. in San Francisco. Admission is $3-$12; www.sfbg.org.
Hakone Estate and Gardens
Koi ponds. Stroll-perfect bridges. Multi-tiered waterfalls. With a history that dates back to 1915, Saratoga’s Hakone is the oldest traditional Japanese-style residential garden in the Western Hemisphere. The 18 lush acres comprise four principal gardens, including the Hill and Pond Garden, Tea Garden and Zen Garden, home to a shrine lantern and black pine tree. The Bamboo Gardens hold prized bamboo plants from Yasui, Japan, and around the world. Cultural programs throughout the year include origami and storytelling in addition to traditional tea ceremonies.
What’s in bloom: Opening night for cherry blossom viewing is March 22 and typically lasts two weeks, with timed reservation tickets required. Check the website for updates. Also this spring, look for camellias, azaleas and wisteria.
Shop: Hakone’s online gift shop sells collectibles, accessories and other decorative items at https://hakonegiftshop.org.
Dine: Eating is not allowed in the gardens, and picnic areas are closed due to COVID-19. Enjoy lunch or dinner nearby, instead, at the family-friendly Big Basin Burger Bar, which opens daily at 11 a.m. at 14413 Big Basin Way.
Details: Hakone is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. weekends, at 21000 Big Basin Way in Saratoga. Admission is $8-$10; http://hakone.com
The Presidio’s Wood Line and the Tennessee Hollow Watershed
When it comes to landscape design, sometimes less really is more. That’s one lesson home gardeners may take away from a stroll along the The Wood Line in San Francisco’s Presidio. Artist Andy Goldsworthy was working with an amazing natural tableau — a historic grove of eucalyptus trees — so he came up with a design element that would intrude as little as possible. He arranged 1,200 feet of eucalyptus branches into a graceful, sinuous line along the path through the grove.
After walking the Wood Line, visit another area of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area that offers insight into local ecology: El Polin Spring, which for centuries provided fresh water for Native families, and the Tennessee Hollow Watershed, where 23,000 native salt marsh species are being planted to restore habitat for birds, sea creatures and native oysters.
What’s in Bloom: A number of plants will be flowering in the Tennessee Hollow Watershed in March and April. Look for “Footsteps of Spring,” with its tiny, yellow, buttonlike flowers, the purple miniature lupine, Western blue-eyed grass, wild beach strawberries and, of course, California poppies.
Dine: You can picnic pretty much anywhere in the Presidio, but there are tables at El Polín Spring. Pick up an artisanal cheese or charcuterie plate, fried chicken breast sandwiches or burgers at Sessions at the Presidio. Open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 1 Letterman Drive, San Francisco; www.sessionssf.com.
Details: The Presidio is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the northwest corner of San Francisco, near the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Downloadable maps and other information are available at www.presidio.gov.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden
Tucked among the subdivisions, shopping centers and office parks of Walnut Creek, the Ruth Bancroft Garden is one of the country’s best known examples of a water-conserving landscape. Visitors to the 3.5-acre suburban oasis can see collections of rare and extraordinary succulents, as well as other drought-tolerant plants from around the world.
Founder Ruth Bancroft began her garden as a hobby on the family’s walnut and pear farm. But she became a gardening pioneer as she experimented with raising plants that thrive in arid landscapes. Today, the garden displays gorgeous, other-worldly arrays of aloes, agaves, yuccas and echeverias, with different plants blooming all year.
What’s in bloom: In March and April, look for striking red, yellow and orange flowers on aloe plants, white blossoms on the “Medusa’s Head” succulents, red blooms on the Giant Spear Lily and tufts of pink on the “Big Bird” Grevillea petrophiloides.
Shop: The garden’s nursery sells a wide range of drought-tolerant plants. Many of the cacti and other succulents sold at the nursery are propagated by staff and volunteers.
Dine: Picnicking is not allowed in the garden. For a bite before or after, head to The Orchards shopping center at Ygnacio Valley and Oak Grove roads for beer and brewpub fare at Mike Hess Brewing or salads and sandwiches at Jack’s Urban Eats.
Details: The Ruth Bancroft Garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 1552 Bancroft Road in Walnut Creek. Admission is $8 to $10; www.ruthbancroftgarden.org
UC Santa Cruz Botanical Garden
In a town rich with tourist destinations, the university’s arboretum is a lesser-known gem that’s well worth a visit. It stretches across 135 acres of meadow overlooking the Pacific Ocean and displays hundreds of plants that thrive in Mediterranean climates. That means California natives, of course, but also species from South Africa, New Zealand, Chile and, especially, Australia. In fact, the garden houses one of the largest collections of banksias — popular Australian wildflowers — outside that country.
Home gardeners looking for inspiration should check out the gorgeous flowering shrubs, including South African heaths. They aren’t common to the Bay Area, but these plants can flourish here, and they add a dash of the exotic to any landscape.
What’s in bloom: In March, look for red-blooming lantern banksia, as well as the purple Protea Niobe and the Scarlet Santa Cruz, a heath, from South Africa. April brings brilliant, cone-shaped blooms on other banksia shrubs and bursts of white and pink blossoms on the Australian Bunjong plants.
Shop: The inventory at Norrie’s Gift and Garden shop includes plants from California, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, along with locally made pottery, jewelry and other gifts. The shop has been closed for in-store shopping in recent months, but you can order online for curbside pickup, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, https://shopucscarboretum.com/
Dine: Picnickers are welcome to enjoy their repast at benches arranged around the garden. Pick up house-made soup, fresh-rolled sushi or made-to-order sandwiches at nearby New Leaf Community Market, 1101 Fair Ave. in Santa Cruz, www.newleaf.com.
Details: The Arboretum and Botanic Garden is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at Arboretum Road, off High Street in Santa Cruz. Admission is $2 to $5, payable online or with cash or check at one of the garden’s pay stations; https://arboretum.ucsc.edu.
