California Garden

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 hotspot, 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 in the spring of 2013 with additional areas constructed and planted in the following two years. The final addition is the section named “Nancy’s Garden” in memory of landscape architect, Nancy Palmer, the city of Laguna Niguel’s landscape designer. 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 nine species and one hybrid – Coast Live, Canyon, Blue, Engelmann, Black, Island, California Scrub, Nutall’s Scrub, Island Scrub, and MacDonald’s.

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 a distinctive fragrant foliage – White Sage, Cleveland Sage, Wooly Blue Curls, and Pitcher Sage.  Breathe in the fragrance of California.