Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, on March 16, invites the community to help the garden celebrate 95 years of history. Pop-up exhibits will share stories, photos, local history, and milestones of the garden over the decades.
Visitors can discover the oldest plants in the garden, some as old as the garden itself, as well as other surprises along the way. Birthday twins of the garden who were born on March 16 will get a gift of free admission with a valid ID.
The garden’s history has deep roots. Founded in 1926, it was the first botanic garden in the United States to focus exclusively on native plants. In 1925, the Carnegie Institution suggested a cooperative effort with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History to create a botanical garden.
The plan became a reality when local philanthropist Anna Dorinda Blaksley Bliss purchased 13 acres in Mission Canyon for the museum, with views spanning from the mountains to the ocean. In 1939, the Botanic Garden separated from the Natural History Museum and was named the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
The garden was mapped out in various plant communities, such as chaparral, desert, and prairie, with an emphasis on plants from the Pacific slope of North America. Experimental groupings of significant genera such as Ceanothus and Eriogonum (buckwheat) were displayed for horticultural research and to educate the public.
By 1936, this emphasis had narrowed to plants native to California, and now includes northwestern Baja California and southwestern Oregon, which are part of the California Floristic Province.
“Gardening with native plants is becoming more popular due to the desire to have an eco-friendly and low-maintenance garden,” said Steve Windhager, executive director.
“Our founders were ahead of their time and recognized the important role that a garden dedicated to native plants could have in supporting an awareness and conservation of native habitat,” he said.
In honor of the garden’s birthday and Women’s History Month, Windhager will share stories of the garden’s founding mothers in collaboration with Casa Dorinda, 2 p.m. March 16. To join the event, visit the garden’s At Home portal for stories of Santa Barbara’s influential female leaders who have grown the garden to what it is today.
Those unable to join in the garden’s socially-distant birthday celebration on March 16 can view pop-up exhibits throughout the week, and colorful wildflowers throughout the spring.
The Botanic Garden currently spans 78 acres with five miles of hiking trails, an herbarium, seed bank, research labs, library, and native plant nursery. For more, visit sbbg.org.