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South Coast Botanic Garden
Rating Details »
Category: Botanical Gardens [Edit]
26300 Crenshaw BlvdPalos Verdes Penninsula, CA 90274
(310) 544-6815
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
15 reviews for South Coast Botanic Garden
A lovely, lovely area to visit on a weekday 'end of summer, beginning of fall' morning. I was surprised at all the colorful flowers and foliage this time of year... the pinks were still bright pink, the oranges and blues were as brilliant as ever, even the cactus and succulents were still in bloom.
There are many gardens to view and you can easily spend a couple of hours exploring. When it comes to gardening and horticulture, I don't know much... you'll be just as surprised by all the types of plants and flowers and the variety each has. Beware of the bees.
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I went on Mother's Day (oddly enough with my dad, my mom was still sleeping, haha) and admission was free! I was stoked - I always love free stuff.
It was peaceful since no one was there. There were a variety of different plants, flowers, and a lake. There were also mini house, sculptures, and little garden knick knacks that aren't really my style, but I'm sure some people appreciated them.
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First we will start with what is the difference in a garden and a botanical garden.
A regular garden is either for growing veggies or it is just to be a beautiful area. If you go to the Huntington Library and Gardens....their gardens are the most beautiful you will ever see at least in the USA.
A botanical garden grows a wide variety of plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes.
So when you go to a botanical garden don't expect it to wow you just go and enjoy the nature and wander around and see the ducks http://www.yelp.com/bi... , lizards http://www.yelp.com/bi... , butterflies and birds.
They have a great little kid garden too http://www.yelp.com/bi...
It's a great place to get in a nice walk too.
Last weekend they had a Ferrari show in the parking lot but we missed it. Read the Daily Breeze for updates on special events here.
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We had our daughters wedding here in August. It was a wonderful site for a garden wedding. It was held outdoors in the Upper Meadow. The flowers were in bloom and it created a great place to have our wedding ceremony as well as the reception. It was a wonderful photo opportunity for our wedding photographs. It worked out great for us.
Harriet
Redondo Beach
Spring is here!
And the roses are in full, glorious bloom. I've posted several fabulous new photos but try as you might, you'll never get the full effect without going yourself. Stop and smell the roses while you're at it.
btw, we went on a Thursday and there were maybe 12 other visitors in the whole park! In spots, it seemed like it was just us, the birds and the blooms!
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/23/2007
This place is a dump...the prettiest dump you've ever seen.
Huge pine, oak and gum trees hide the… Read more »
Last night we saw New York's Aquila Theatre Company perform Shakespeare's "As You Like It" in one of the most fun inventive performances I have seen in the Los Angeles area.
The actors were all wonderful and I look forward to seeing them again.
The Garden area is a lovely setting and the stage is bare but well lit and creatively staged.
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There are some really pretty things to see here.
Sure, it's no Huntington or Descanso, but it's worth a stop, especially if you happen to be in the neighborhood for one reason or another.
The space used to be a landfill, and I think a botanic garden is a great way to repurpose the land!
The rainy season has recently ended, and there were so many lush and beautiful plants here yesterday. The rose garden was beautiful, and I couldn't get over the smell! Hundreds of blooms, so fragrant. At which point I was glad I remembered my allergy medicine that morning!
Man- I feel like a big jerk giving a garden 3 Star's just thought it would be nicer...granted- the day I went there it was like 102 degrees and I was so hung over I almost had to make a pit stop to throw up in one of the trashcans. When I think of a garden I think of lush and beautiful and this garden had beautiful spots but it also had a lot of sparse spots- ya know like when you bought that Christmas tree from the boy scouts to support their cause but the tree was just terrible?
Came here to see a Jaguar show. The cars were more impressive than all 80+ acres of "garden".
Sure, it's nice with trails and plants but it really kind of disappointed me in that the "garden" aspect was next to extinct...or at least dwarfed by the overwhelming presence of trees, trees, more trees, and of course, sewage.
Yeah, this place used to be a landfill and if not for drought, it might be a decent covering. Oh well.
Dry season doesn't do this place any favours. I'll think about coming back after some rain hits, but I have a feeling that thinking about it is as far as I'm gonna get.
Yay for cars. Not so Yay for the grounds.
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Here's the scenario: I arrived from the Westside to meet up with Yelpers for Dim Sum this morning at PV Palace which is just about 10 minutes from here. Not too long upon arriving the South Bay, I realized and told myself, "uh Wes, you have 3 hours to kill. WTF are you going to do!?"
Well for those that know me, I have a geeky side to me. I just continued to drive and lo and behold, I see a sign on the road, "South Coast Botanic Garden, left". So I thought to myself, "Yes, I will kill some time looking at flowers and get myself all geeky and what not."
I pull up to the parking lot and noticed that there was ample parking (like 10 cars total in the lot). Wow, people sure are rushing to come here I thought to myself. Then I realized, it's Saturday morning, you're the only crazy one here and the people that work here.
Admission was a bit under $4 and there's discounts for students and seniors. The staff at the ticket booth even asked if I would fill out a questionnaire for them when I left. Sure, why not, I have 3 friggin' hours!!
So, equipped with a map (I suck, I still didn't know where things were), I just went about my merry way. I had my digital camera in tow and just snapped away.
I loved the colors of the different arrays of flowers. The Cherry Blossoms were opening up and were in full bloom. :) I did also like that at some of the "exhibits" you can interact (be it touch or smell) certain plants.
They also had a section of the garden for the children to roam/play around.
My only gripe, the roses were all gone, it looked like they fulled stripped the rose bush section of the gardens and the ponds didn't have any wild life. Maybe they were still in bed? :/
I also didn't notice that you can take a "guided tour" by calling some number on your cell phone. Bleh. I believe there's also a tour you can actually take, but I was there quite early and it was mostly the gardeners and a handful of other observers that were there.
Overall, a nice way to start of the day. We're so busy living life, we hardly had time to actually stop and smell the roses (well, none at the time, but you know what I mean). I hope you enjoy your visit here as much as I did. Take a look at some of the pictures, feel free to take them! :)
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This is one of the best botanical gardens that I have been to by far!
First off, its HUGE! You can spend an entire day here and some.
They have a vast selesction of plants and information. The children's
garden was one of my favs. It was accompanied by ryhmes and songs. Each described a particular part of the garden. Very sweet.
They even have a small lake with ducks and all! Very cool. This
is a great way to spend a day out and about. Exploring exotic plants, all while getting some exercise.
I reccomend having a picnic. Outside by the parking lot are some benches and a lovely tree. Grab your pals or significant other, some delictable delights and enjoy!
Oh' and don't forget to check out the cacti!
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I have yet to explore very much of the garden areas here but we've been going here for the children's program on Friday mornings. This is a fun little gathering for kids, they have a special garden area just for them. There is a hand-pump where they can fill up little watering cans and water any of the plants. They sometimes get to feed the worms - a bin full of worms and soil and compost and she has some future compost to feed them. One day they had some monarchs that had just emerged and were waiting for their wings to dry out to fly away. Plus there is usually a story or two, and one or two activities like planting some seeds to take home and some kind of craft. Then we will go on some kind of walk with the lady who runs the program, maybe down to the pond to see the ducks or catch some dragonfly nymphs, or through one of the other areas. I can't remember her name but she is great with little kids. She is also pretty knowledgeable if you ask her about a plant, what is that, how do I take care of it, etc. She also sent us home with some milkweed to transplant in our yard to attract the monarchs. This program is every Friday morning from 10-12 and also there are similar programs on certain Thursdays and Saturdays.
Apparently they also offer all kinds of concerts, flower shows and sales, gardening and composting workshops and stuff like that, but I haven't been to any yet.
Admission price is not too bad, but we opted for the yearly family membership for $50 - tax deductible, goes to help maintain the gardens, and gets you into like a whole bunch of other botanic gardens and arboretums in Cali for free, plus free or discounted admission to gardens and flower shows all over the country. They have a list.
Be prepared for the weather. When it's hot, it's HOT. Bring a hat on a sunny day!
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I'm giving this place four stars because it is built on a landfill and because there are some interesting plants here; a botanic garden is a big improvement over what previously existed here. That said, this place needs some money to invest in landscape design. I hate gardens in which is seems as though the botanists put out a bunch of plants without putting any effort into the design. Sadly, the south coast botanic seems to be one such garden. Why not hire a designer and build a topiary garden or something? At least some space within a good botanical garden should be given over to the exploration of landscape design, but instead we get an asphalt path in a circle with plants scattered about. Yipee.
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I have been going to this garden for over 15 years now. My mother is a huge gardening nut and she dragged us at least once a month. Well today I dragged my kids too. They are 4 and 7 and they LOVED it. I saw the gardens through a whole new set of eyes. We spent about 2 hours exploring and I didn't want to leave! Pack a picnic and spend the afternoon there, you won't regret it. Kids under 4 are free and the 5-12 year olds are only $2.50. Much better deal then a movie and a lot more educational and you will get your workout with all the walking and mini-hills.
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The 'exploring-my-new-neighborhood/area' adventures continue. Yesterday I decided to avoid a trafficky route & find a short cut through those hills I have been getting lost in routinely. I happened upon the Botanic Gardens so went in for a little peek. It's 87 acres of Southern CA landscape magnificence, no such thing as a little peek. Flower gardens, cactus gardens, grasses, extraordinary specimen trees - as a former botanical photographer, this IS my cup of tea. On the day after the holiday, I pretty much had the place to myself. The sign warned that many paths were unpaved. Most areas did indeed appear to be works in progress. This Garden, incidentally, is one of the first to be developed over a sanitary landfill & is being studied by horticulturists to determine the feasibility of similar projects for land reclamation. So off I went into the forest-jungle, lured deeper always by some interesting sight just around the next bend. I was smugly confident I would easily find my way back to my starting point. Many areas were being irrigated by giant sprayers, so I had to detour, dodge & avoid. It became mid-day, the seabreeze diminished & the humidity shot up like a rocket. I had no water, hadn't eaten all day & sweated off my sunscreen. And I was lost. The fragrance of a SoCal wooded area defies description: a combination of eucalyptus, evergreen & musk. Mix all together with a splash of ocean & serve up as Paradise. I ate the gum in my purse rather than try to find my way out & look for food. Peacocks are wild and plentiful in this area. Their bellowing shrieks in the forests are both haunting & oddly soothing. I had been delighted earlier by a splendid male peacock in the parking lot admiring his reflection in the bumper of a truck. I was wearing my shirt on my head to block the sun & my new shoes were caked with wet clay when I finally saw the entrance again. Downwind from the scent of the rose gardens, it all seemed well worth the struggle.
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