San Francisco Bay Area Resources - Botanical Gardens, Tea Gardens, Muir Woods, Redwood Forests

San Francisco Botanical Garden
Ten minutes or a life-time... The San Francisco Botanical Garden is the place for you. The Garden is open daily, 365 days a year. Weekdays, 8 am to 4:30 pm. Weekends & holidays, 10 am to 5 pm.
The library is open daily 10am to 4pm but closed on major holidays. Our bookstore is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
Free guided walks are given daily at 1:30 pm. Daily Docent-Led Tours.
San Francisco Botanical Garden,9th Avenue at Lincoln Way,San Francisco, CA 94122
San Francisco Botanical Garden Website sfbotanicalgarden.org
University of California Botanical Gardens
Ten minutes or a life-time... The San Francisco Botanical Garden is the place for you. The Garden is open daily, 365 days a year. Weekdays, 8 am to 4:30 pm. Weekends & holidays, 10 am to 5 pm.
Their library is open daily 10am to 4pm but closed on major holidays. Our bookstore is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
University of California Botanical Gardens (510) 643-2755, 200 Centennial Dr, Berkeley,CA 94720
botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/
Filoli to Botanical Gardens
Located thirty miles south of San Francisco on the eastern slope of the Coast Range, the 654-acre Filoli estate contains as its central portion a historic house and sixteen acres of formal garden. The house was occupied from 1917 to 1936 as a private residence for its original owners, William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn. In 1937 the property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, who continued to maintain and enrich the estate. Mrs. Roth donated Filoli to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975.
Filoli was built for Mr. and Mrs. Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Mine, a hard-rock gold mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn was also owner and president of the Spring Valley Water Company comprising Crystal Springs Lake and surrounding lands, which are now part of the San Francisco Water Department. Mr. Bourn selected the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake as the site for his estate. He arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”
Mr. Bourn chose his longtime friend, the prominent San Francisco architect Willis Polk, as the principal designer for the house. Polk had previously designed the Bourns’ cottage in Grass Valley, as well as their home on Webster Street in San Francisco. An inventive architect, Polk frequently combined several styles in the design of a single building, an eclecticism clearly evident in Filoli’s design.
Filoli to Botanical Gardens filoli.org

Tilden Regional Park, Regional Parks Botanic Garden
From their website: "The Regional Parks Botanic Garden was founded on January 1, 1940. Situated in Tilden Regional Park's beautiful Wildcat Canyon in the heart of the north Berkeley Hills, the garden is devoted to the collection, growth, display, and preservation of the native plants of California. The state is a vast region of many floral areas, such as seacoast bluffs and coastal mountains, interior valleys, arid foothills, alpine zones, and two kinds of desert. California embraces nearly 160,000 square miles - imagine 160,000 square miles of California set in a garden that can be walked in a day. " Berkeley, CA
510-841-8732
Toll Free: 888-EBPARKS (888-327-2757), option 3, extension 4507
Tilden Regional Park, Regional Parks Botanic Garden Website
University of California Botanical Garden
200 Centennial Ext
Berkeley, CA, 94720
(510) 643-2755
Website
Strybing Arboretum Society of Golden Gate Park 1251 Ninth Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94122
(415) 564-3239
East Bay Regional Park District
Berkeley, CA, 94702
(510) 204-0664
San Francisco Botanical Garden
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 661-1316
Website
San Francisco Botanical Garden
1251 Ninth Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94122
(415) 564-3239
Website
Marin Bolinas Botanical Gardens
250 Mesa Rd
Bolinas, CA, 94924
(415) 868-1512

Napa Valley Wine Country Region Gardens

Napa Country Iris Garden
One of Napa's best kept secrets, garden specializing in tall bearded irises.
Garden Info: 707.255.7880
Garden Address: 9087 Steele Canyon Road, Napa, Ca, 94558
www.napairis.com
di Rosa Preserve
Wine Country’s Ultimate Art Experience the di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature. Entirely surrounded by vineyards, the di Rosa Preserve’s 217 acres feature three art galleries, an outdoor sculpture meadow and a 35-acre lake set in the beautiful Carneros region at the southern edge of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Come visit!
www.dirosapreserve.org
Mustard Festival
The mustard festival is the celebration of the spring mustard bloom. The brilliant swaths of yellow are left over from days of the California Mission Trail when missionaries were thought to have sprinkled mustard seeds between missions to find their way in the spring growth after winter. Its art in nature on display in the wine country. The mustard festival includes art, wine, and food with the Napa Valley Mustard Festival culminating in the mustard photography contest photo finish usually at the Mumms Champagnery,
For annual details: www.mustardfestival.org
Lavender Festival
Sonoma Lavender is the inspiration for many artists, particulary the fabulous work of Kay Carlson, a Sausalito artist. Lavender Festival in Kenwood, in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, is spectacular. They celebrate the extraordinary lavender plant and its many uses. See a five acre lavender farm in full bloom. Experience the many types of lavender and the exquisite ways to enjoy this heavenly plant. See their website for annual festival details.
more lavender festival info click here WEBSITE
Bouverie Wildflower Preserve Bouverie Preserve This magnificent 500-acre property was donated to Audubon Canyon Ranch by David Bouverie in 1979.
Oak woodlands, mixed evergreen forest, riparian, and chaparral are present in this landscape dominated by Stuart Creek Canyon.
This location is known for its amazing spring wildflowers. Because of its diversity, Bouverie Preserve is home to a rich and distinct combination of plants and animals, including more than 130 species of birds, 350 species of flowering plants, and numerous large mammals such as the bobcat, grey fox, and coyote.
707.938.4554
Highway 12 Glen Ellen, CA 95442
Quarryhill Botanical Garden
12841 Sonoma Hwy, Glen Ellen, CA, 95442
(707) 996-3166
Quarryhill Botanical Garden inhabits sixty-one acrea of rolling hills above the pastoral vineyards of Sonoma Valley and features a large collection of plants from Asia. We are open for Individual and Group Tours. Quarryhill also hosts occasional workshops and events.
Quarryhill Botanical Garden website www.quarryhillbg.org

Hallberg Butterfly Gardens
8687 Oak Grove Avenue
Sebastopol, California 95472
707-823-3420

Nestled among the apple orchards of Western Sonoma County, the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens cover nine acres of overgrown vines and thickets, flowering pathways and meadows.
The beginnings of what maybe the oldest butterfly garden in the country can be traced to the 1920s when Della Hallberg, an avid gardener, planted a California native vine called Aristolochia californica. These plantings of the Dutchman's Pipe would provide an abundance of larval plant food for the beautiful black and teal Pipevine Swallowtail. The orignal gardens have been enhanced to provide habitat and food for over 40 butterfly species.
Hallberg Butterfly Gardens website

Books on Napa Valley, Gardens Botanical and Ornamental, Lavender, Mustard, Gardening in and around Napa Valley

Roll your mouse cursor over the Book Name to see the book and or purchase.

Gardens of the Wine Country
by Molly Chappellet, Richard Tracy (Contributor)
Hardcover: 204 pages. 1998.
The Napa Valley is a famous vintner's paradise, with its long, warm summers and mild winters. Naturally, this also makes it a gardener's paradise, and longtime Napa winery owner Molly Chappellet has an intimate knowledge of each nook and cranny of this horticultural Eden. Napa Valley's oldest gardens were planted around 1860, at about the same time grapevines were introduced to the region, and though there are only a handful of these, their enormous oaks and antique roses perfectly fit the image of old Napa homesteads. The gardens at Schramsberg, Beaulieu, Spottswoode, Krug, and the Niebaum estate (now owned by Francis and Eleanor Coppola), to drop a few well-known winery names, fall into this category.
Chappellet and her collaborator, Richard Tracy, define "new gardens" as those developed since 1960, some by the enthusiastic new winemakers who brought new life to the Napa region. These gardens are numerous, breathtakingly beautiful, and have apparently provided abundant employment to a number of talented landscape designers over the past three decades. In many cases, a heroic amount of work was done to tame, for example, a rocky hillside into a proper Mediterranean-style villa garden, and Chappellet and Tracy note the details down to the individual plant names. The numerous color photographs, clearly often taken at daybreak and just before sunset, show off the calm, lush gardens to perfection. - Amazon.com
Beautiful Gardens Of The Wine Country
by Jennifer Barry, Robert Holmes, Mimi Luebbermann
Beautiful Wineries Of The Wine Country
Jennifer Barry, Charles O'Rear, Thom Elkjer
Napa Valley Style
by Kathryn Masson
Sonoma Valley Style : At Home in California's Wine Country
by Kathryn Masson, Steven Brooke

Botanical Parks - Wildflowers, California Poppies

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Reserve

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Reserve Website

San Francisco Bay Area Redwood Forests

Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County
Muir Woods National Monument
Mill Valley, CA 94941 (415)388-7059
The classic with Ansel Adams vibrations everywhere. This park is crowded and has lots of human noise, joy and activity. The primary walks are fenced off and you really must stay on the trails to preserve the park. If you go to the far end of the major walks, there are trails without borders. In the winter, it is very reclusive and a great rejuvenation spot.
http://www.visitmuirwoods.com/

Sameul P. Taylor Park, Marin County
Sameul P. Taylor Park Redwood Forests is 15 miles west of San Rafael on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 251, Lagunitas, CA 94938
Samuel P. Taylor State Park has wooded countryside in the steep rolling hills of Marin County north of San Francisco. The park features a unique contrast of coast redwoods groves and open grassland.
Its a lesser known Redwood park, but boasts beautiful creeks, woods and wildlife.
For more information click for
Samuel P. Taylor Park, California State Park Webpage

Butano Redwoods State Park, Pescadero
Pescadero, California
Butano Redwoods State Park is located in a secluded redwood-filled canyon. The park is on the San Mateo Coast, off Highway One. Three miles northeast of the Gazos Creek Coastal Access Point by way of Gazos Creek Road, and about 4.5 miles southeast of Pescadero by way of the Pescadero and Cloverdale Roads.
Butano Redwoods State Park features miles of hiking trails, 21 drive-in campsites and 18 walk-in campsites. Restrooms with running water are provided. Drinking water is available at the park in both the campground and in the day use areas. There are no showers.
Guided nature walk and weekend campfire programs are offered during the summer.
Dogs are permitted in the campground and in developed areas, providing they are controlled with a leash of no more than six feet at all times. Dogs are not permitted on the trails. (650) 879-2040 Butano Redwoods State Park parks.ca.gov.

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California
One of the few Redwood Parks that admission is Free.
The centerpiece of this 3,360-acre preserve is Purisima Creek Canyon, with its towering redwoods, rushing creek, and understory of ferns, berries, and wildflowers. Coastal scrub and hardwood forests of tanoak, madrone, and Douglas fir border the cool moist canyon. Magnificent views of the coast and Half Moon Bay are visible from the northern part of the preserve.
(650) 691-1200 The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District openspace.org.

Portola Redwoods State Park, La Honda
One redwood here tops 300 feet, one of the tallest in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Portola Redwoods State Park has a rugged, natural basin forested with coast redwoods, Douglas fir and live oak. Eighteen miles of trails crisscross the canyon and its two streams, Peters Creek and Pescadero Creek. A short nature trail along Pescadero Creek introduces visitors to the natural history of the area. The park is rich in natural history. There is evidence of the when the sea covered this area throughout the park.
(650) 948-9098
Portola Redwoods State Park parks.ca.gov.

Many of the biggest Redwood Trees are in the are South on the Penninsual and in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Here are some more to look up if the list above does not fill your search for a breath of fresh air. Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Boulder Creek; Huddart County Park, Woodside; Wunderlich County Park, Woodside; San McDonald County Park, La Honda; Memorial County Park, La Honda; Henry Cowell Redwoods, Santa Cruz; Forest of Nisene Marks, Aptos. In the novel "THE CELESTINE PROPHECY", part of the story is the necessity to go into Redwood Forests to breath purer air.

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