San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden

Disappointing! Clearly more aspirational than of content. Although what very small garden they have is nice but the limited portion of their discovery walk that is finished is mostly weeds (and not of the intentional native plant variety). Signage referred to the «future garden» with little info on current plants. They started with putting all their money into a big building that’s closed and locked up on weekends. But there are restrooms at a nearby ball field. There is a small fee on Saturdays, at least.

At this time the gardens are small, with plans to expand. If you go into it knowing its small, you will appreciate it more. The flowers and plants are gorgeous. I’d recommend the stop if you are in the area.

This has got o be the sweetest botanical garden I’ve ever been to.
Although it’s been around for 25 years we never knew it existed despite our many trips through SLO.
Although it is small it is well tended, organized and signed. You can really feel the love that the staff and volunteers put into this garden.
We especially loved the Children’s Garden which had a sandbox, adobe oven, greenhouse and a Wishing Tree which had lots of wishes written on pieces of paper tied to the branches. The wishes ranged from wanting to marry Justin Bieber, wishing their friend would be cured of cancer, wishing to be a little taller, wanting to be changed into a wolf, wishing for world peace and many other wishes.
There was also an area for peace and contemplatio
I left the garden feeling a sense of warmth and happiness. It is always so wonderful to know that the simplest thing like a garden can evoke such happiness.

I didn’t know how much to expect when we first got out of the car. It’s a work in progress basically. There was only one other couple there with their dog and this is on a Sunday afternoon. No one else. We didn’t have to pay anything. You can easily walk around the place in 30min. A nice quiet place for a picnic. I would like to come back after it gets expanded.

While driving north on HWY 1 I saw a big sign saying «BOTANICAL GARDEN NEXT EXIT». Since I never noticed the sign before my wife and I decided to check it out. It’s in a state park so you have to pay $ 3 to get into the park.
I really wish the sign and or the guard shack stated «Botanical Gardens… coming soon» because as of today it’s a work in progress. Currently it’s only 2 acres but the projected plan is 150 acres with 50 miles of hiking trails. There will be trams taking people to different parts of the park, different themed zones (Dessert, woods, etc) kind of like the Huntington Library in Pasadena. At first I was pissed for wasting $ 3 on such a tiny botanical garden but then I I was excited about their future vision and was happy to donate $ 3 towards it. Right now it’s a tiny little stroll thru beautiful California native plants and it was a great way to unwind after 3+ hours on the freeway. The staff in the visitor center was extremely friendly. I also liked how local artists sculptures were placed around the garden and they had a building with local artwork. There was even a children’s garden where the local school teaches kids about gardening.
I probably wouldn’t go again until it’s developed more and the good thing is you can see the work already started with the hillsides being prepped for planting. Still… I’m glad I went and can’t wait to check it out again in a few years.