Category: Botany

Purple flower with botanical illustration and labeled parts.
March 9, 2023
My Talk with Botanist and Illustrator Linda Vorobik, Ph.D.

 Linda Ann Vorobik, Ph.D. is a botanist, botanical illustrator, and frequent collaborator with Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. At the Garden, we feel lucky to have her support as both a professional illustrator providing technical illustrations for the Garden’s floristics (including the forthcoming, comprehensive flora of all eight California Channel Islands) and an instructor providing guidance…

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Person wearing hard hat using soil sampling tool hillside.
January 31, 2023
Matt Wang: From Cancer to Conservation

There are many great quotes about living your life’s passions. For some, simply finding what lights them up is a long and winding journey that can last a lifetime. While others, like me, we not only find it … but we are lucky to turn this passion into our life’s work. Sure, my story doesn’t…

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Orange flowers with gray-green leaves in soft focus.
December 6, 2022
Ironwood | Magazine of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden | Issue 32

The fall/winter issue of Ironwood is now available online. In this latest issue you’ll get an inside look at lichens in a captivating story about how our Tucker Lichenologist Rikke Reese Næsborg, Ph.D. approaches her research. You’ll also hear from our horticulture team regarding some of the best planting and pruning tips for this fall…

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Tangled strands of Spanish moss hanging from branch.
November 19, 2022
Rare Lichens in California

California is home to over 2000 species of lichens, but only 15 are considered rare or endangered by the state. This tiny percentage (0.73%) gives the false impression that the remaining 99.27% of California lichens are more common. In reality, we don’t know enough about the vast majority of our lichens to determine whether they…

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Group of eleven people smiling in storage room.
September 30, 2022
The Garden Hosts WeDigBio Community Science Day

Thousands of people worldwide work together in an annual event to digitize biodiversity collections called WeDigBio. This event, which stands for Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections, takes place annually from October 13 through 17 WeDigBio is a global data campaign, virtual science festival, and local outreach opportunity. All around the world scientists convert data from…

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Pink flowers blooming on leafy green plant stem.
September 7, 2022
Summer Virtual Lecture Series 2022: Climate Change and Native Plants

THE GARDEN’S ONLINE TALKS ADDRESS BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS This summer, the Garden hosted a series of talks called Summer Virtual Lecture Series. In the series, our team of scientists presented information and research about the twin threats of biodiversity loss and climate disruption as a result of human activities,…

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Yellow flowers overlooking rocky cliffs and blue ocean.
May 1, 2019
Treasures of the Channel Islands

Islands are fascinating places full of unique plants and animals. In southern California, we are blessed with our own mini archipelago in the form of eight Channel Islands that lay just off our coast, plus another eight off the Pacific coast of northern Baja California. For decades, scientists and horticulturists at the Santa Barbara Botanic…

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Tall redwood trees with lush green foliage surrounding them.
May 1, 2019
Ask the Expert: Coast Redwoods

Question: I love coast redwood trees and want to plant some on my property. What do I need to know to grow them successfully? Answer: Coast redwood trees are beautiful additions to gardens if you can provide the right conditions. They are large, fast-growing, thirsty trees which require regular water to thrive. In our area,…

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