As the largest botanic garden 100% made up of plants native to this unique state, this Botanic Garden is a museum of its own, perhaps not the kind featuring antique relics and artifacts from centuries ago, but a currently thriving and growing collection. The diversity of the plant life means that the garden is bursting with beautiful blooms all seasons of the year, so visit at any time you please and still get a satisfying eyeful of nature’s art. In the stereotypically bleak winter months, watch the Manzanita plant dominate the garden with its delicate pink, hanging, urn-shaped flowers. Choose who you visit the gardens with carefully, as the clumps of mistletoe widely associated with the holiday season hang conspicuously from many a tree. As the frost melts away and the sun comes out to play, the vines of the Dutchman’s pipe begin to wind their way upwards, with its huge, fuzzy leaves and flowers similar to that of the pitcher plant. The fuchsia-flowered gooseberry is visible in the spring, when the bright red fruits garner the attention of all, including hungry hummingbirds. The Garrya plant withstands all climates and the pendulous white flowers hang in close-knit clusters all around, draped elegantly as though they have been casually hung as decoration. California poppies, lilacs and slavias flourish in the springtime, colouring the gardens with a kaleidoscope of hues, tempting multitudinous butterflies to dance throughout the air.

The more mobile wildlife of the gardens include the tree squirrels busily collecting their acorns or flitting through the trees with incredible athletic ability. Bird walks are also freely available, where you can venture into the gardens armed with your binoculars and a determination to spot as many of the diverse bird species that populate the area.