The Gardens At Heather Farm

Very nice and beautiful gardens in Walnut Creek. Finally had the chance to check out this wonderful venue and there’s quite a bit to see in terms of plants and roses, and so forth. There are a few points in the garden that you can get scenic views of the rest of next-​door Heather Farm Community Park (such as the two large fountains nearby).
I’ve heard this is also a popular place for special events and weddings, though there weren’t any on the Saturday afternoon that I went.

We got married here, and were so thrilled with how beautiful the grounds were, and how smoothly the wedding went. We were working on a limited budget, but because The Gardens has discounted rates for weekdays, we were able to have a beautiful Friday night wedding for under $ 3000. When we were first considering The Gardens, we were a little concerned that they had a list of preferred caterers, which limited our options for food, but it turned out to be a great decision since all of their preferred caterers are vetted ahead of time and are very familiar with the site. The site is spacious, open, wheelchair-​accessible, and really really gorgeous. We had plenty of space for our 120 guests to wander the grounds and took advantage of the gazebo area, patio area, and reception hall for our wedding events. Rebecca and Kelly, the two people we were in contact with, were very professional and friendly, and were willing to help us with whatever we needed.

We feel very lucky that we chose Heather Farm Gardens for our wedding! We got married on July 25^th, 2015, and it was an incredible day. We wanted a venue that was beautiful, peaceful, easy for our guests to access, appropriate for both a ceremony and a reception, and relatively affordable. We got all of that with Heather Farm Gardens. When our ceremony started, at 5:00 p.m., the gardens were so beautiful as they were lit by the sunlight, and the area by the gazebo was very peaceful. There was plenty of room for all of our guests, and they were all able to see us. We also had plenty of good places to take our wedding photos afterward. The reception was so fun and the reception hall had enough room for everyone in addition to the DJ table, cake table, and buffet table. Once the room was decorated, it looked great and was a perfect setting for our once-​in-​a-​lifetime celebration. The staff was very helpful throughout the process. Thank you, Heather Farm Gardens!

We got married here last month and couldn’t have asked for a better venue. The weather was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, and everything went off without a hitch. Kelly was very helpful in getting everything planned and the price was very reasonable for the location and view.

I got married here on May 3 2015. It was absolutely the perfect venue for us: gorgeous, affordable, great amenities, and they were fine with my dog being in the ceremony. We really lucked out in the timing of our wedding; it was a beautiful sunny day and all the flowers were just amazing (almost overwhelmingly beautiful!)…even the roses on the gazebo were in full bloom. The pictures from our ceremony are just spectacular, and all of our guests went on and on about how beautiful and perfect it was. That said, we visited the venue at several times of year while planning our wedding and it was always gorgeous, so even if you can’t do spring it would be a great venue. We had our ceremony at the gazebo, our cocktail hour at the pavilion, and our reception in the Camellia room. This worked fabulously for us, the flow was great, and it was so nice to not have to drive anywhere between the ceremony and reception. The Camellia room is set up with absolutely everything you could ever need for a wedding reception (yes the reception chairs are not exactly gorgeous, but we didn’t care about that – the ceremony chairs were very nice, though). If you have your reception here, I highly recommend getting J&J Event Design to do the ceiling wrap, it really adds to the space. The patio of the Camellia room is fabulous, a perfect place to set up the bar during the reception, or to escape for a break from the festivities. In addition to the gorgeous setting and fabulous facilities, the people that work in the office there (in particular, Kelly) are amazing. I would e-​mail them with the most inane and random questions and they always got back to me immediately and they were always super friendly and professional. They do have a list that you have to choose from for caterers, but we didn’t find that to be a negative, that means your caterer (we chose Elegant Occasions, HIGHLY recommended) will be familiar with the venue which is a great bonus. I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about the venue! Definitely check it out, it’s a great place.

Mainly just walked around the lake during the Wine and Art festival. There were some great plants, but I think the most striking thing about the location is the lake and fountain.
It’s covered in algae, none of which looks at all healthy; despite this, some kids were successfully fishing. I’d give the location a miss, until they clean this up. I know watersheds are complex systems, and maybe it’s out of their control, but still. Yuck!

We got married here in August 2014 and everyone has continued to comment on how beautiful our wedding was and it had so much to do with the incredible setting.
We rented the Camelia Room and the patio below for our cocktail hour and our ceremony was held in the Meadow.
Pros:
Beautiful gardens that are (mostly) private during your rental period.
Reasonable rates for the rental space.
The Camelia room is spacious yet feels warm and welcoming. The hardwood floors and high ceiling is nice too.
You can choose between round or rectangular tables and they have plenty.
The staff is responsive, professional and kind.
We received our deposit back promptly.
Plenty of parking and wheelchair accessible.
Cons:
The chairs that come with the Camelia room are ugly and bulky so plan to rent your own.
It’s pretty impossible for them to keep out the general public despite the signage and locked gate so we had random people wandering in the gardens before, during and after our ceremony.
You must use a caterer off of their list which we didn’t learn until after booking the space because they had just changed the rule. We went with Wilma Lott and they were incredible. (see separate review)

We held a Memorial two weeks ago for 40 people and it was fantastic. The Gardens are beautiful and the staff were efficient, thoughtful and nice to work with. A special Kudos for Renee, the operations manager. Try it, you will be very pleased. John H from Chicago.

I’m pleasantly surprised at how the gazebo looks brown and not grey like in so many of the pictures. The gazebo is surrounded by flowers and vines.
Heather Farms says their whole facility is private and for your wedding party only. However, nearby the gazebo is the Community Center picnic tables. I suggest renting those tables out to ensure complete privacy. You don’t want your wedding vows ruined by a loud birthday party with singing and screaming children coming from the Community Center picnic tables.
There is an off chance the Community Center next door will have a swim meet on the same day as your wedding. However, most swim meets will rap up by late afternoon, so plan accordingly.
I toured on a Friday afternoon and found the Heather Farms Gardens to be quiet and spacious. The Pavilion area is large, near flowers, and makes an inviting area for post ceremony cocktails. I found the bar area to be actually too long.
The indoor Camelia Room rents for $ 2800 and is a bit basic, nothing distracting like grandma carpet, yet nothing stunning like exposed beams and chandeliers.
They have a list of approved caterers. The caterers are very affordable and some will even serve the alcohol you bring without adding corkage fees.
The bridal changing room is an office /​library.
I like this venue okay. I found no big cons like cluttered bulletin boards and out dated couches. I also didn’t find anything spectacular like redwood trees and floor to ceiling windows. Would still recommend this place for the great price!

I loved this venue! The ceremony needed no extra flowers because it was gorgeous all on its own! We walked through a rose garden into a gazebo. It was perfect. The cocktail area was shaded and had a big bar area. The reception area had gorgeous windows and high ceilings. It easily fit our 109 guests and had enough dance floor space for EVERYONE to dance! It was a perfect place to get married :)

Small, beautiful public gardens. Almost completely volunteer cared for. I really liked this place. It was pretty and peaceful on a Friday morning.

I just got married here early August, we chose to only rent the gardens for the morning hours 9am to noon. Our wedding was small, 50 guests and started early, 10am. There were a few things to note, things that make a difference to me at least when selecting a venue:
Cost
what a deal! I only had to rent the gardens for three hours and pay $ 25 for a photo permit to ensure I could arrive at 8am to begin our photography session. Since we had our reception at Massimo in WC (with NO rental fee!!) the entire wedding was less than 5K!!!
Gardens
If you book your event during the bloom, you literally have ZERO reason to buy any flowers or decorations. What a cost saver! There are so many roses, hydraengas and other beautiful plants and flowers that just your bouquet is enough!
Privacy
Here is where you lose out, so they claim to have a gate and at least one person working the entirety of your rental time to close the gates and kick people out. they do not do this, they only close the gate 30 minutes before your ceremony, which hello is not a good idea. We had yoga people, strangers, dogs using the bathroom, all hanging out during our photography time. The best part? Literally while my groom is saying his vows three strangers carrying lawn chairs come walking through the middle of the gardens and in the background of our ceremony, not private at all. It wasnt like it ruined the day, but a bride has enough to stress out about on the day of her wedding without having to ask strangers to move so they arent in her portraits.
Staff
Over the phone and all pre-​wedding day staff were awesome. The guy working the day of the wedding was rude, no where to be found and useless. We had to hunt them down just to do the walk through so we could leave!
Overall
GREAT venue for a morning wedding, personally I didnt need the 12 hours in the evening or the community room. The restaurant in WC was private (they didnt open till 5pm so we had the whole place) and within a mile of the gardens. If anyone out there doesnt mind an early hour wedding, and wants to save about 10k, this place is the place to do it! your pictures will be AMAZING regardless of who takes them and your memories of the place will be awesome, even with small little hiccups.

We had our wedding with about 120 guests at the Gardens in 2012.
Like a previous reviewer said, we found many positives to having a wedding here:
1. Staff is great to work with. They’re reliable and friendly.
2. In July, the roses were out and the weather was gorgeous.
3. We really liked the idea of having a wedding at a venue that does educational outreach and is open to the community.
4. The bonus was that the patio was just remodeled and the bar is so nice!
5. We liked the outdoors chairs for the ceremony (and didn’t mind renting chairs for the reception inside the Camelia Room.)
Con:
1. At the time, there was only one company that was allowed to set up little lights and decorations from the ceiling — J&J events. We found it hard to communicate with him and in the end, cheap-​looking christmas lights were used; not the lights we requested. So if you go with them, be absolutely sure you know what lights you are getting, or don’t get any.
Disclaimer about the space: Though the staff try to let the community know there is a private event by hanging up signs, there were at least three or four couples or individuals milling around the gardens, in the background watching the ceremony, etc. As we were lining up for the procession, one random person came up to us and said congratulations. Well, it is a community-​oriented space, so it is not surprising and not so bad to have strangers about, but be aware of this!

This review is for the garden as a wedding venue:
The positive:
1. The staff was nice. Tyler was very on top of his game and was pleasant to work with.
2. Beautiful venue, especially for an outdoor wedding. Spring is probably the best time here for the flowers and pleasant weather.
3. Patio bar area has been remodeled. It’s beautiful!
The negative (about the only negative aspects about this facility):
1. Ugly chairs – I really wish they would invest in better chairs for the reception. It totally ruins the decoration and feel of a wedding. But you can fix it up by paying $ 4 – 7 to rent per chair from outside or $ 1.50 per chair cover
2. Ugly wall in Reception room-​this needs to be fixed with dim lighting.
Would we have our wedding here again? yes.

Wow, this is a great space!
Several different sections with different floral focuses. All calm and peaceful with many benches, many facing through the garden to the fountains in the pond in the park.
Brilliantly designed so any noise from other activities in the park (soccer games, Little League, swim meets, etc.) are drown out by the pleasant sounds of the fountains.
Rentals may be limited to the hours listed, but you can enjoy the gardens from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.
A great place to sit, relax and clear the mind.

This is one of my favorite spots in Walnut Creek, and I feel very lucky to have it walking distance from my house. My husband and I stumbled onto it while out with our dogs when we first moved here in May. Everything was in full bloom, and the smell of the roses filled the outdoors.
The Verdict: We come here quite often. It is a lovely, peaceful, beautiful place.

Came here on Saturday for a rehearsal and Sunday for a wedding. Everything went well, and the venue garden was really beautiful. The flowers weren’t in bloom yet, but there was a pretty tree next to the gazebo that was so full of pink blossoms, and it was gorgeous.
The only thing I didn’t like was the small parking lot, and the public access. I don’t think the parking lot was big enough for all the wedding guests, and there were a good amount of cars from the public. People were strolling around everywhere and there was also some walk event going on at the park. The parking lot is kind of hard to find, I drove past it, because the sign is non-​existent and hard to see. Basically, park where you see yellow cross walk signs across from the golfing range sign.
Apparently this place is really strict about what you can and can’t have at the wedding. Also, if you want to get your full deposit back, the place better be picked up with nothing left in sight.
The indoor venue was a decent size to accommodate about 90 people and have space for a dance floor and buffet tables.
If you are having an outdoor ceremony, **Wear sunblock!** I have a funky one-​shoulder strap tan now.

I love the gardens here! It’s quite large; there’s a few different types of gardens inside The Gardens at Heather Farm.
My favorite part of the garden is the Sensory Garden! There’s many beautiful plants with signs that encourage you to see, touch, smell and feel! I really love the Curry plant! I was enamored with the smell! I also like the Lavender, and the all the fun, fuzzy, soft plants like Lamb’s Ear.
There’s also lots of lovely nooks and crannies along the winding path that leads around the gardens that open up to reveal a wooden bench here and there. There’s many nice, private spots to sit down and enjoy the view.
There’s also a beautiful gazebo, rose garden, japanese garden, children’s garden, and a waterfall! I know I’m missing quite a few other gardens as well, but they’re all great.
This park is perfect for strolls and catching up with friends. It’s quite a treat that’s it’s so well maintained and free for everyone to enjoy!

Seriously overdue review. Been living in Walnut Creek for 3 years and just love this place. The gardens seem well tended and has a beautiful rose garden. The have a pretty «mini» waterfall and I find it to be a peaceful, calm place. I like taking a detour off the Contra Costa Canal Trail when I run and cut through here. Right outside of the gardens there is a pond with fountain. Typically geese and ducks hanging out around here and one time I actually saw a pair of river otters! No joke-​I don’t think anyone would have believed me but there was another lady there who says she sees them sometimes in early morning or early evening.
My only beef is that I wanted to volunteer here but their regular volunteer day is every Tuesday. WTF? So I guess I have to quit my job to volunteer?
Overall, though, great little community gem and just a nice place to visit, sit quietly and chill.

Gayle and I also checked out the Gardens at Heather Farm as a possible wedding venue. It is a pretty place and just one section of of a really neat and multi-​purpose park. The gazebo is nice and the grounds are lovingly landscaped and picturesque. There is also ample facilities here and at the nearby Heather Farm Community Center for the reception.
The key reason that we opted not to get married here is that this and other Walnut Creek locations are perhaps a little too close to work and home for at least one of us. And that certainly is no reflection on the popularity and beauty of this setting.