Southern California
Garden Guide
Places to visit when you want to understand Southern California through plants, gardens, habitat, water, and the shape of the land.
Garden places
Structured destination profiles for gardens, parks, restoration sites, and other places to read through plants.
Demonstration gardens
Practical landscapes that show planting, water, habitat, and food-garden ideas in place.
Field notes
Garden visits, observations, and photo essays from real Southern California places.
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Place to Visit
Airport Avenue Demonstration Gardens in Santa Monica
3200 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA, 90404
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants
Not one, but three demonstration gardens arranged side-by-side at Santa Monica airport, just across the street from the soccer fields at Airport Park. They use a mix of California native plants and other drought-tolerant plants while demonstrating garden functions: Play, Relax, and Entertain. Santa Monica also maintains an informative website with a description of the project, maps and plant lists.
Place to Visit
Aldadena Library Demonstration Garden, Bob Lucas Branch
2659 Lincoln Ave, Altadena, CA, 91001
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Native plants · Water-wise gardening
The Bob Lucas branch library in Altadena relandscaped in 2020 to feature a bioswale, hugelkultur, and native plants.
Place to Visit
Balboa Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
2201 Morley Field Dr, San Diego, California, 92104
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants
A native demonstration garden at Balboa Park, in Morley Field, adjacent to tennis courts and a dog park. There isn’t a lot of land dedicated to this garden, but it packs in a lot of plants, a couple of bioswales, and a good pathway. Across the street is a roped off nature preserve as well.
Place to Visit
Community Demonstration Garden at Sheldon Reservoir
N Arroyo Blvd and Coniston Rd, Pasadena, CA, 91103
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants
Began in August 2019, this demonstration garden is a community project on a parkway bordering the Sheldon Reservoir. It features a large Hügelkultur, native plants, a Mediterranean plant section and a fire-wise planting demonstration.
Place to Visit
Madrona Marsh Nature Center
3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrence, CA, 90505
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Restoration site · Nature center or arboretum
Native plant demonstration garden encircled the visitor’s center of the Madrona Marsh preserve. The Madrona Marsh is 43 acres of marshland left undeveloped as it was intended to be used for oil drilling that never happened. It is now an important bird preserve, and home to what is possibly the world’s rarest butterfly, the Palos Verdes blue.
Place to Visit
Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
1236 North Peck Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA, 90266
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Nature center or arboretum · Park or open space
A 2/3 acre botanical garden inside Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach. A demonstration garden exhibiting drought-tolerant plants, mostly local California natives, and a certified nature habitat. Free admission. Construction started in 1994, formed a nonprofit organization in 1997, opened on Earth Day, 2001. It
Place to Visit
Monrovia Community Garden
303 West Colorado Blvd., Monrovia, CA, 91016
Public garden · Food gardening ideas · Field trips and walks
A community garden demonstrating growing your own produce in beautify raised beds. A great spot to check out if walking or driving by. They also collect food waste for compost and do occasional workshops.
Place to Visit
Monrovia Native Plant Demonstration Garden
Myrtle ave and Chestnut ave, Monrovia, CA, 91016
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants
Located just before Monrovia’s Old Town from the south, Grow Monrovia’s Demonstration Garden features a hugelkutur, bioswale, and native plants. It demonstrates how common commercial parkways can utilize native plants to achieve an inviting space.
Place to Visit
Monterey Park Demonstration Garden
720 Metro Dr, Monterey Park, CA, 91755
Demonstration garden · Park or open space · Water-wise gardening
This demonstration garden was created by the city of Monterrey Park to demonstrate multiple different styles of landscaping that is drought tolerant. They have signs to explain each section of the park. It also features two bioswales. It was inaugurated June 2, 2017
Place to Visit
Peck Road Water Conservation Park
5401 N. Peck Rd., Arcadia, CA, 91006
Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants · Water-wise gardening
A 5-acre water conservation park that is located where Arcadia, Irwindale, Monrovia and El Monte all meet, on Mungi Lake. It features willows, oak trees and other native plants. Signage describes many of the native plants and it also features bioswales.
Place to Visit
Rosemead Chamber of Commerce
3953 Muscatel Avenue, Rosemead, Los Angeles, 91770
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Native plants
California American Water’s demonstration garden outside of their location in Rosemead, CA. Their garden uses a mix of cacti, succulents, and California native plants to demonstrate water tolerant landscaping.
Place to Visit
Rudy Ortega Park
2025 4th Street, San Fernando, CA, 91340
Restoration site · Park or open space · Water-wise gardening · Field trips and walks
A park created in partnership between the Tataviam tribe and San Fernando Parks & Rec. Features a walking trail that winds through open spaces landscaped with drought tolerant plants and trees connecting: a model of a Tataviam tribe village, a Japanese tea house, a Mission style plaza, a small amphitheatre and the restoration of a historic water tower.
Place to Visit
San Diego’s Old Town Native Demonstration Garden
Calhoun St, San Diego, California, 92110
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Native plants · Water-wise gardening
It possesses beautiful specimens of California Fuschia, San Diego sagebrush, San Diego sunflowers, Honey Mesquite and California Sycamores. There are a couple of bioswales, and really beautiful structures used for framing.
Place to Visit
Alondra Park Island Native Plant Garden in Lawndale
3850 W. Manhattan Beach Blvd, Lawndale, CA, 90260
Native plant garden · Park or open space · Native plants
Place to Visit
Ascot Hills Park
Park or open space · Native plants
Southern California Black Walnut, Toyon, Coffeeberry, Elderberry, Coast Live Oak
Place to Visit
Balboa Park Botanical Building
Nature center or arboretum · Park or open space · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Cal American Water Demonstration Garden
2439 W. Hillcrest Drive, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Demonstration garden · Park or open space · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
California American Water Los Angeles Demonstration Garden in Rosemead
8657 Grand Avenue, Rosemead, Los Angeles, 91770
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
California State University Northridge Botanic Garden
Public garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Chino Basin Water Conservation District Wilderness Park
4594 San Bernardino Street, Montclair, CA, 91763
Demonstration garden · Park or open space · Field trips and walks
A large demonstration garden with walking trail encircling 39 types of trees that were selected for low water use, minimal maintenance, popular beauty, and adaptability to local residential landscapes.
Place to Visit
Chino Hills State Park
4721 Sapphire Road, Chino Hills, CA, 91709
Park or open space · Native plants
Chino Hills State Park covers over 14,000 acres and hosts communities of oak, black walnut, and even the rare Tecate Cypress. The Tecate Cypress is a relicts species from when the climate was much cooler but has survived in spotted areas in California. This population is deeply threatened because of wildfires that are happening too frequently. The Tecate Cypress uses the wildfires to reproduce but grows slowly and when the fires happen too frequently the seedlings are wiped out before they can reproduce.
Place to Visit
Commonwealth Nursery Demonstration Garden in Griffith Park
Demonstration garden · Park or open space · Nursery · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Community Garden at Holy Nativity
6700 W. 83rd Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90045
Public garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Crescent Farm at the LA County Arboretum
Nature center or arboretum · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Crescenta Valley Water District Demonstration Garden
2700 Foothill Blvd, La Crescenta-Montrose, CA, 91214
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
El Toro Water District Demonstration Garden
24251 Los Alisos Blvd., Lake Forest, CA, 92630
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Fullerton Arboretum
1900 Associated Rd., Fullerton, CA, 92831
Nature center or arboretum · Garden inspiration
Free, $5 donation suggested. Open Wed-Sun, 9am – 2pm.
Place to Visit
Galster Wilderness Park Nature Center
Native plant garden · Nature center or arboretum · Park or open space · Native plants
Behind the BKK Landfill in West Covina. Coastal sage scrub community is home to endangered bird species such as the California gnatcatcher and the at-risk Burrowing Owl. Home of the largest Southern California Black Walnut community.
Place to Visit
Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve
1202 W 170th St, Gardena, CA, 90247
Restoration site · Park or open space · Garden inspiration
Willow, Rosa Californica, wetland preserve in Gardena
Place to Visit
Glendale Demonstration Garden
613 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA, 91206
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Built by Glendale Water & Power at the Glendale Central Library to demonstrate water-tolerant landscaping.
Place to Visit
Glendora Public Library’s Water Wise Garden
140 Glendora Ave, Glendora, CA, 91741
Public garden · Water-wise gardening
Place to Visit
La Casita Del Arroyo
Demonstration garden · Habitat and wildlife · Field trips and walks
Water demonstration and butterfly garden
Place to Visit
LA Green Grounds
Boden St & Carmona Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90016
Public garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
LADWP Demonstration Garden
111 N Hope St, Los Angeles, CA, 90012
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Native plants
Uses “California Friendly” plants to demonstrate low water use plants gardens do not have to be made up primarily of succulents. These low water usage plants native to California or any of the four matching Mediterranean climate zones of the world: Southwestern Australia, Central Chile, the Western Cape of South Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin
Place to Visit
LAX Dunes
226 Napoleon St, Playa del Ray, CA, 90293
Public garden · Habitat and wildlife
302 acre reserve has the largest remaining representation of coastal dune community in Southern California. El Segundo blue butterfly is endemic and lives it’s whole life cycle there. Rare Burrowing Owls have nested there.
Place to Visit
Lori Pearson Memorial Demonstration Garden in Lake Arrowhead
28399 E, N Shore Rd, Lake Arrowhead, CA, 92352
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden
301 N Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA, 91007
Native plant garden · Nature center or arboretum · Native plants · Family visits
127 acre garden owned by the county of Los Angeles. Features too numerous to list: oak groves, bamboo forest, succulent and tropical gardens, peacocks. Crescent Farm is a favorite, featuring California native plants and a cob bench. Baldwin lake is a natural sag pond. Adult admission is $15, buy tickets online ahead of time due to covid restrictions. Children under 5 are free.
Place to Visit
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
5333 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90027
Nature center or arboretum · Park or open space · Garden inspiration
Located within Griffith park, the 133 acre zoo was certified a botanical garden in 2002. They have over 800 species of plants spread throughout the park.
Place to Visit
Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA
Nature center or arboretum · Garden inspiration
UCLA Garden
Place to Visit
Native Plant Demonstration at Covina Public Library
234 N. Second Ave., Covina, CA, 91723
Demonstration garden · Native plant garden · Native plants
Place to Visit
Niguel Botanical Preserve
Nature center or arboretum · Park or open space · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
Paradise Hills Native Garden
6800 Potomac St, San Diego, California, 92139
Native plant garden · Native plants · Habitat and wildlife
This is a native garden built on a landfill, created by volunteers form the Southeastern San Diego chapter of the California Garden Club. It features Engelmann oaks, a pollinator garden, interpretive signage and many native plants.
Place to Visit
Placerita Nature Center
19152 Placerita Canyon Rd, Newhall, CA, 91321
Nature center or arboretum · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
S. Mark Taper Life Science Botanical Garden at Pierce College
6201 Winnetka Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA
Nature center or arboretum · Garden inspiration
Place to Visit
San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden
Demonstration garden · Garden inspiration
Field Notes
Recent observations
April 13, 2026
How to Grow Bottle Gourd (Dudhi / Lauki) in Southern California
Most seed catalogs do not really prepare you for it. They tend to show the more attention-grabbing forms, like the birdhouse gourds. Those can be drie...
March 28, 2022
Native Demonstration Garden at Old Town San Diego
A park presented by the Kumeyaay, demonstrating the native plants that once dominated the region, and paying tribute to the indiginous population that...
March 26, 2022
Balboa Park California Plant Native Demonstration Garden
Balboa Park hosts a small California Native Plant Demonstration Garden featuring many of San Diego’s native plants that are suitable for home landscap...