Welcome to the California Garden! In the world of plants, California is a very special place with over 5,500 species. It is not only a biodiversity hot spot; it also has more plant species than any other state in the US. Out of its 5,500 species, about one third of those are endemic, and about one third of those are rare, threatened, or endangered. This large plant diversity is a result of the combination of our varied topography and Mediterranean climate creating many unique environments.
The California Garden was designed by Peter Evans in 2012. At the time of this garden’s conception, it was a wild hillside with no pathways. The first phase was installed on Earth Day 2012, with additional areas constructed and planted the following two years in the fall. The final addition is the section named “Nancy’s Garden” in memory of Nancy Palmer who served as Laguna Niguel’s Landscape Designer for many years. Nancy was an advocate of native plants and was instrumental in designing plantings in the early years of the Niguel Botanical Preserve.
The garden’s plant palette is derived mostly from the Coastal Sage Scrub and Chaparral communities, with an area dedicated to the plants of the Channel Islands. There is a grassland of four species, most notably our official state grass, Purple Three Awn. Oaks are represented by eight species and two hybrids – Coast Live, Canyon, Blue, Engelmann, Black, California Scrub, Nutall’s Scrub and Island Scrub.
This garden is best viewed in winter and spring when California plants come out of their summer dormancy and begin to bloom. Colorful sun perennials include Verbena, California Fuchsia, Penstemon and Salvias. Among the larger shrubs are Ceanothus, Manzanita, Berberis and Fremontodendron. In the shade one finds Coral Bells, Columbine, Currant and Iris. Many plants have distinctive fragrant foliage – White Sage, Cleveland Sage, Wooly Blue Curls and Pitcher Sage. Breath in the fragrance of California.
