Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Coordinates: 34°27′13.63″N 119°42′33.96″W / 34.4537861°N 119.7094333°W
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 26 ha (65 acre) garden, containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants.[1] It is located in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
The purpose of the Garden is to display California native plants in natural settings. There are approximately 9.2 km (5.5 miles) of hiking trails within the garden. Mission Creek flows through the premises, and includes a rock dam which was constructed in 1806 by Native Americans (mainly Canaliños) under the direction of the Spanish padres of the adjacent Mission Santa Barbara.
The Garden was founded in 1926 and designed by noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand.[2] By 1936 its focus had narrowed to plants native to the California Floristic Province (which includes a bit of southwestern Oregon and part of Baja California, as well as most of the state of California). The Garden became a Santa Barbara County Landmark in 1983 (the dam on Mission Creek was already designated as a State Historic Landmark).[3]
The Garden has a plant breeding program. Plant introduction include Aesculus californica 'Canyon Pink', Agave shawii, Arctostaphylos 'White Lanterns', Arctostaphylos 'Canyon Blush', Arctostaphylos insularis 'Canyon Sparkles', Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray', Berberis aquifolium 'Mission Canyon', Ceanothus 'Wheeler Canyon', Ceanothus 'Far Horizons', Ceanothus arboreus 'Powder Blue', Eriophyllum nevinii 'Canyon Silver', Fremontodendron 'Dara's Gold', Heuchera 'Blushing Bells', Heuchera 'Canyon Belle', Heuchera 'Canyon Chimes', Heuchera 'Canyon Delight',Heuchera 'Canyon Duet', Heuchera 'Canyon Melody', Heuchera 'Canyon Pink', Heuchera 'Dainty Bells', Heuchera 'Pink Wave', Iris 'Canyon Snow', Lessingia filaginifolia 'Silver Carpet', Leymus condensatus 'Canyon Prince', Salvia 'Dara's Choice', Salvia cedrosensis 'Baja Blanca', Salvia leucophylla 'Amethyst Bluff', and Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina'.
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[edit] Jesusita fire damage
On May 7, 2009, part of the Botanic Garden was destroyed in the Jesusita Fire, which burned much of the front country of the Santa Ynez Mountain range behind Santa Barbara. Among the buildings destroyed was the century-old Gane House, which contained the overstock for the garden library as well as many of the tools used for garden upkeep; the home of the garden's director; and a wooden deck overlooking the creek.[4]
[edit] See also
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
- North American Plant Collections Consortium
- California native plants
[edit] References
- ^ "Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Collections". Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. 2008. http://www.sbbg.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=collections.main. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Saeks, Diane Dorran (1999). California Country: Interior Design, Architecture, and Style. Chronicle Books. p. 105. ISBN 0811822362.
- ^ "Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Mission and History". Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. 2008. http://www.sbbg.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=visitor.mission. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Los Angeles Times: Botanic garden loses century-old building
