Donate11 Distinct California Ecosystems
A Biodiversity Hot spot
The California Floristic Province
Dedicated to the plants of California, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Living Collection features wild plants from across California and the California Floristic Province (CFP). Stretching from southern Oregon to Baja California, Mexico, the CFP is one of the world’s six biodiversity hot spots characterized by a Mediterranean-type climate featuring cool, often wet winters and long, dry summers. With more than 900 taxa in the collection, the Garden displays only a fraction of the remarkable diversity of the California flora, yet there is so much to explore on our 78 acres (31 hectares). Click on a section below to learn more about how these unique plants support diverse ecosystems and contribute to a healthy planet.
Sections
Desert
Not all of California is within the California Floristic Province. To the east of the mountains, one can find distinct desert environments. The Garden’s Desert Section features plants primarily from the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, two of the most iconic desert systems in the world.
Meadow
As the most iconic section of the Garden, the Meadow displays many of the plants found in California’s rich grasslands.
Redwoods
Planted in the naturally cool and shady confines of Mission Canyon, these majestic trees are some of the oldest plants in the Garden at nearly a century old.
Manzanitas
California is the center of diversity for manzanitas (Arctostaphylos). Perfectly suited to the region’s dry climate, nearly all of the 105 known subspecies and species of manzanitas are endemic to California.
Canyon
The Canyon isn’t a formal garden but a lightly managed natural space within the interface between land and creek called a riparian area.
Backcountry
Encompassing over 4 acres (over 1 hectare) west of Mission Creek, the Backcountry features inviting and distinct areas designed to inspire unstructured, self-directed nature experiences.
Island View
The Island View is a display garden featuring wild and cultivated plants unique to the Channel Islands of California and Baja California.
Home Demonstration
The Water-wise Home Demonstration Section features California’s native plants that are recommended by the Garden for a variety of landscape applications.
Wooded Dell
The Wooded Dell is a display garden that evokes the peaceful shade of a grove of oak trees (Quercus sp.). Formal plantings of shade-loving species create swaths of color throughout the year.
Pollinator Garden
For gardens to thrive, flowers need to be matched with the right pollinators to reproduce. A successful pollinator garden features a variety of flower shapes, sizes, colors, and bloom times.
Arroyo
The Arroyo is all about what happens at the water’s edge – one of the most biodiverse and ecologically important boundaries in California. A stroll through the Arroyo invites visitors to consider the life-giving properties of water across native plant habitats.