Santa Barbara owes much of its “lush appeal” to Florentine horticulturist Francesco Franceschi, who, between 1904 and 1931, introduced hundreds of exotic plant varieties to the area. The imports thrived in the mild Mediterranean climate and became the progenitors of the botanical wonder that Santa Barbara is today. While palms and bougainvillea, fig trees and ficus add color, texture, shape and shade to the urban landscape, other plants around the county define an even broader botanical universe. 

In the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains behind town, muted gray-green sage, red-barked manzanita and bright orange California poppies cling to rugged chaparral-covered hillsides, while delicate ferns and rare lilies jut gracefully over cool green ponds and shady streams. Orchids thrive at nurseries north and south of the city; and on the other side of the mountains, grape vines have turned a sleepy oak-studded valley into an oenophile’s dream. With 53 parks, more than 24,000 public trees and an incredible array of gardens and manicured public and private spaces, Santa Barbara will bring out the botanist in anyone. If you set off walking into the hills, be sure to carry a copy of Wildflowers of the Santa Barbara Foothills or the pocket-size Field Guide to Common Plants of the Santa Barbara Foothills by locals David Powdrell and Hugh Margerum. 

ORCHIDS AND MORE 

With its temperate climate and plentiful sunshine, Santa Barbara County has developed a large flower industry, much of which is accessible to visitors. 

As one of the largest orchid-growing regions in the country, Santa Barbara boasts more than 3 million square feet of greenhouses filled solely with orchids, which generate some $10 million in annual sales. Year-round growers like Gallup & Stribling – America's largest orchid farm – Cal-Orchid and Santa Barbara Orchid Estate welcome the public and, in spring, the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show (www.sborchidshow.com)attracts more than 12,000 visitors to the Earl Warren Showgrounds, where some 100 varieties of the exquisite plants are on display and up for sale. 

Those wanting a closer look at some of the area’s most interesting botanical sites can join a tour with Carpinteria Naturally (805-684-5479).Hydroponic farms, orchid growers and the Salt Marsh Nature Preserve in Carpinteria are among the sites included on the monthly tours (January through May). 

WELL-PLANTED ESTATES 

Some of Santa Barbara’s most impressive estates have equally impressive gardens. Several of them are open to the public, offering a glimpse into another world. 

Casa del Herrero (805-565-5653)is a testament to how wealth and taste can combine to create incredible beauty. Completed in 1925, the Steedman family’s 11-acre Montecito estate features a main house designed by renowned local architect George Washington Smith and extensive gardens created by a trio of local legends: landscape architect Ralph Stevens and horticulturists Peter Reidel and Lockwood de Forest. Pines join palms to frame mountain views, roses bloom within frameworks of geometric hedge rows, and trickling fountains await discovery in secret corners. The gardens and the exquisitely decorated antique-filled house are open to the public by reservation only. 

Also in Montecito – and as exotic as you could wish – 37-acre Lotusland (805-969-9990) is an extravagant collection of gardens comprising thousands of varieties of rare and exotic plants. Begun as a private commercial nursery in 1882, the gardens as they appear today were largely created by Polish opera singer Madame Ganna Walska, who purchased the property in 1941 and served as the irascible “head gardener” until her death in 1984. The most famous of her 17 gardens is devoted to the cyad, a rare low-growing, cone-bearing plant with frond-like branches, which grew during the dinosaur age. Surprises include the working clock and 26 animal figures in the topiary garden, the koi pond and stone-slab steps in the Japanese Garden, and the more than 400 prehistoric plants – fossilized forms found in 250-million-year-old rock strata – known as the “jewels” of Lotusland. Open to the public by reservation only. 

BOTANIC HILLS & STREETS 

While many botanic gardens are located in cities, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden(805-569-5923) is a country affair. Set on 65 acres of sloping foothill land above the city, it offers not only beautiful beds of native plants but also 5.5 miles of scenic trails that lead past more than 1,000 California plant species. Redwoods sway in the breeze while collections organized according to growing zone highlight native plants of desert, island and chaparral. In spring and early summer, the late-afternoon view from the bookstore – up a gently sloping meadow abloom with wildflowers and backed by the Santa Ynez Mountain range – is absolutely sublime. 

Back in town, Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden is a botanical jewel box – a city-block-size plot where meandering paths lead past the artfully arranged, carefully tended, fully identified plantings of draught-tolerant plants. There’s even a sensory garden with audio posts and interpretive Braille signs. Tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood downtown, the park features a winding stream and a pond populated by koi and turtles—a hit with kids. Hint: Grab some food to-go on nearby

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS: A NATURAL ANIMAL HABITAT 

Like Santa Barbara itself, the 35-acre Santa Barbara Zoo (805-962-6310) has a comfortable scale that makes a family day with the animals an outing, not an expedition. Nestled on a hillside between East Beach and the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, the peaceful realm is home to 2,800 species of plants, including palms, cacti, succulents and ornamental grasses. Fragrant honeysuckle sweetens the air, bougainvillea adds vibrant color and wisteria blooms from decorative wood arbors. A former estate, the zoo is now the domicile of more than 500 animals from around the world, including 20-plus endangered animals that are part of the “Species Survival Program.” 

PARKS & SANCTUARIES 

A park lover’s paradise, Santa Barbara has more parks than any other comparably sized area in the United States. They range in style from completely natural to intricately designed; from carefully tended to appealingly wild; from big to small; from oceanside to hillside. What they all share is an invitation – to relax, recreate, rejuvenate and enjoy.  

Marked by a restored antique carousel at one end, 10-acre Chase Palm Park is a multifaceted family-friendly waterfront destination. From the carousel, follow the manmade stream past a turtle and duck pond to Shipwreck Playground, named for the play-size model of the schooner Winfield Scott, which sank off the Channel Islands at the turn of the century. Edged by cushioned “sidewalks,” the innovative play area features all kinds of equipment, several life-size sculptures of half-submerged whales that shoot mist from their “blowholes,” and a wet-sand zone for those prize-winning silica sculptures. 

Bird watchers can spot more than 200 species, including duck and geese, at the Andree Clark Bird Refuge adjacent to East Beach and steps from the zoo. The 32-acre sanctuary is accessible by car or pedestrian/bike paths that skirt the lagoon and lead past stands of water reeds, coastline sage, willows and lemonade berry. 

The city's oldest and most stately open space, Alameda Park is known for its rare trees planted by Dr. A. Boyd Doremus, Santa Barbara’s so-called “father” of parks. Dragon trees, African fern pines, Howeia palms, king and queen palms, redwoods and a prized Senegal date palm are among the park’s 70 species. For children, the more engaging aspect is the Kid's World playground, designed by children for children and featuring swings, a slide and an enormous wood castle perfect for endless games of tag. 

Named after Santa Barbara's botanist/horticulturist Francesco Franceschi, who introduced zucchini to America and planted thousands of exotic trees in Santa Barbara, 18-acre Franceschi Park is a soothing aerie offering superb views of the city, the ocean and the Channel Islands. Its aloe gardens, old-growth trees, flowers and shrubs are linked by a labyrinth of meandering stone walkways. Great at the sunset hour.  

Directly across from Santa Barbara Mission are the impeccably-manicured lawn and the 1,000 rose bushes of the Mission Park Rose Garden. Planted by the Little Garden Club of Santa Barbara in 1971 as a fragrance garden for the blind, the garden is a favorite of visitors and locals alike for picnics, friendly soccer games, or just sitting with a good book and a great view of the mission and the mountains beyond. 

One of the city’s most beloved and visited sites in town is the Sunken Gardens at the famous Moorish-style Santa Barbara County Courthouse downtown. Home to redwoods and palms, an expansive lawn, seasonal flower beds and a host of other lovely and impeccably cared-for plants that stand out against the courthouse’s towering white walls, the gardens are a prime wedding spot and a cool sanctuary any time.  

The single biggest botanical attraction in Santa Barbara greets rail-riding guests whose first stop is the Amtrak station. It’s the Moreton Bay fig tree, and the Australian native is thought to be the largest of its kind in the nation. Planted in 1877, the centenarian tree is 76 feet tall, 167 feet across, has a trunk diameter of 12.5 feet and creates some 21,000 square feet of shade. 

If you love shady oak dells, you’ll love aptly named Oak Park. A popular family gathering place just a few minutes’ drive from downtown, the park has abundant picnic facilities and hosts ethnic and food festivals throughout the year. Come summer, tykes can splash around in the free wading pool, and the horseshoe pits provide a great way to unwind. 

Shoreline Parkis perhaps the city's most admired. Sprawling along the edge of a bluff overlooking the ocean and Leadbetter Beach, it provides unrivaled 360-degree vistas of Santa Barbara’s abundant beauty. Bring your binoculars and watch for gray, humpback and blue whales, whose migratory paths take them right up – or down, depending on season – the nutrient-rich Santa Barbara Channel. Don’t see any? Then turn your lenses to the mountains to spot hang-gliders riding thermals high above the city. 

For a really big park, board a boat at SEA Landing (between Stearns Wharf and the Harbor) and head 20 miles out to the five-island chain known as Channel Islands National Park & Marine Sanctuary (805-658-5730).  Santa Cruz, California's largest island, makes for a great day trip or overnight destination. Once occupied by Chumash Indians and later by early California settlers, the island – now owned by the Nature Conservancy and operated as a nature preserve – is home to foxes, seals, eagles and a wealth of plant life found nowhere else on earth. It’s a huge natural playground for SCUBA divers, kayakers, tidepoolers, and hikers. Hidden coves – and the world’s largest sea cave – inland valleys, pristine beaches, crystal-clear tidepools, and hiking trails rated from easy to demanding await visitors looking for a true, and truly unique, Southern California getaway.  

WATER LANDSCAPES 

The charming Danish village of Solvang in Santa Barbara's North County is also the gateway to lovely Nojoqui Park. Leaving the main park – well equipped with picnic areas, horseshoe pitches and playgrounds – and hiking ten minutes along a meandering stream shaded by California live oaks will lead you to a stunning waterfall that plunges 100 feet to a pool below.  

From November through February, ranger-led cruises at Cachuma Lake Recreation Area (805-686-5054), just over the mountains on Highway 154, give visitors good looks at bald eagles, ospreys, and white pelicans. Spend the day, or camp overnight at the lake, which is a reservoir for Santa Barbara. If you’re a fisherman, cast a line into the well-stocked waters for bass, catfish, trout and crappie. Licenses, gear, bait and boats are all available at the lake. Once you’ve bagged your limit, continue to the nearby wine country and pick up the perfect bottle to accompany your catch. 

FLOWER POWER 

An hour’s drive north of Santa Barbara, Lompoc is home to 1,400 acres of cultivated flower farms that burst into a frenzy of color as alyssum, gardenias, Indian paint brush, lupine, marigolds, monkey flowers, nasturtiums, poppies, shooting stars and sweet peas do their big spring thing. At the peak of the season in June, the town, also home to Vandenberg Air Force Base, puts more of its flower power on display, sending some 500,000 petals’ worth of color rolling down the streets in the form of floats entered in the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival. 

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11/2005