South Coast Botanic Garden

Great local Botanical Garden, I never knew it existed. Happen to trot in here on one of the hottest days of the year. I am sure it is better to come in spring or fall or when it isn’t so hot. I was basically dying out there but did see some beautiful plants.
They also have a gift shop, selling some hard to find plants at half of what garden centers would sell for. Also on the second Sunday of each month the succulent society meets there and they also sell succulents at reduce prices. Will have to return at a more appropriate time.

Beautiful botanical garden. They capture how Southern California would have looked if never touched by settlers. Great place to take your kids on a Sunday. My mother used to take me there when I was younger and it was my favorite place, gave me a real appreciation of nature.

I felt very uncomfortable when South Coast Botanic Garden replied to my facebook photo.
«Be mindful for our bench»
Why don’t you spend time educating your staff to smile and be nice to customers if you have time to reply those comments.

Super cool place to go. Get the membership as you will use it over and over again. An oasis in Los Angeles for sure!

I love botanical gardens and I love legos. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Nature Connects when it came to South Coast Botanic Garden. It was also a way to get the fiancé interested in yet another afternoon spent at a botanical garden. Nature Connects is an award winning exhibition now touring North America. Created entirely with LEGO brick pieces, this show features larger-​than-​life sculptures built with LEGO bricks by New York artist Sean Kenney. Long story short, the lego installations were really amazing and something to see. Very much worth the admission price to the garden. If the exhibition ever comes back, definitely go see it because it’s the perfect combination of childhood and gardening.
Now here is my general opinion about the South Coast Botanic Garden. Keep those student ids handy because you save quite a bit if you are a student. I believe it was $ 6 for students, and $ 9 for adults. The garden it relatively large but it seemed a little lackluster. Maybe it was because the lake was out of commission for repairs or that the whole garden seemed a little disorganized. There was a very clear difference between the area that had a lot of work and care put into it, and the areas that really didn’t have any work done to it. I prefer a little more consistency in my gardens. There really could have been more of a variety also but they had the cutest little area just for children. It was really interactive and I thought it was a great idea to involve families. With that said, was the South Coast Botanic Garden the best garden I’ve been to? No, of course not. But it is also on the cheaper side so I think it’s well worth a visit for a couple of hours. Plus, there’s free parking so you really don’t have much of an excuse. ⁴⁄₅

We’ve been coming to the South Coast Botanical Garden for years and love it. It is a wonderful place for adults and kids of all ages. You can come up for a vigorous hike or a leisurely tram ride. Bring a picnic lunch or check beforehand to see if a food truck will be on site.
There is a Scent Garden that is a wonderful hands-​on experience for little ones and even a Children’s Garden where they can pump water from a make-​believe well and water plants. The garden schedule is often full of a variety of activities such as Tai Chi
The recent Nature Connects display was an amazing addition to the grounds and my boys loved running around searching for the LEGO sculptures.
The membership options are very reasonable, too.
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A great place to take in the beauty of an unspoiled Southern California landscape. It’s a great place to have nice fitness hike or a picnic lunch – beautiful!

Nature Connects is an award winning exhibition now touring North America. Created entirely with LEGO brick pieces, this show features larger-​than-​life sculptures built with LEGO bricks by New York artist Sean Kenney. The South Coast Botanic Garden will be the only Southern California stop for this nationally touring exhibit, which was unveiled to the public on February 19 and on display through May 8, 2016.
On Sunday, Stephen and I went to the South Coast Botanical Garden to check it out. The brochure said there was a total of 15 sculptures, which took seven months to build and were scattered all over the Botanic Garden. They ranged from a 575-​piece statue of a goldfinch to a hummingbird, which required 31,555 pieces and stands more than six feet tall.
Upon entering, the first Lego you are greeted by is the Bumblebee in the courtyard. As you walk into the actual Garden itself, you can veer left to the Koi Pond, or straight ahead to the Children’s area and the Rose Garden. We chose the latter and discovered the Hummingbird, Goldfinches, and Lawnmower.
We found the interactive Garden of Senses, where you can touch, smell, and look at various plants and flowers, then continued up the path and found the Fox and Rabbit, and, near the Upper Meadow Gazebo was the Rose and the Butterfly.
Continuing down the path, we ran into the Dragonfly and the Germinating Acorn. Just up the path, tucked away in the shady Sakura meadow was the Bison and Calf. By this time, we were on the opposite side of the main entrance. There wasn’t a lot to see in this part, and after walking around in a circle, we found the Water Platter.
Also, by this time we needed a break. There are only 2 locations for water: the main entrance, and the old main entrance. We found the restroom and a water fountain at the old main entrance. It was clean and even the water fountain had cool water. Thumbs up. We continued on the path, heading back toward the main entrance, where we eventually ran into the Garden Worker.
We were almost done making a near complete circle of the Garden. We just had to finish with the Koi Pond, and located inside the gift store was the Orchid.
Viola! All 15 items found! It took about 2 ½ hours to walk the entire South Coast Botanical Garden. We arrived just after 2:00, and left at 4:30 pm. I was totally unprepared and had on a black t-​shirt and jeans. At least I had sneakers on (I saw some ladies wearing heels!). I should have brought water and wore shorts, as there’s not always shade along the path.
Overall, it was a nice visit. I’m glad the SCBC had the opportunity to have this exhibit, as it drew in more people than I’ve seen in a long time. The parking is free, and they close at 5:00 pm. There was also 2 food trucks inside in case you wanted a snack.

I am unhappy with the South Coast botanic garden because they will refuse entrance 30 minutes before closing. They also dishonor reciprocal agreements whenever they feel like it. LA County Arboretum is nicer and so is descanso gardens (for AHS members).
There are also many other awesome trails in this area that are free and don’t close so early.

Our friends from Rolling Hills are avid nature persons. So, when we visited them this past weekend, they fed us a deliciously healthy home cooked vegetarian meal and proceeded to take us on a stroll to this beautiful Botanic Garden. They live right next to this place.
It was our first time visiting such a garden. Friends had season passes, guest tickets for us and Ian was a free admission (Under 4. *wink*)
Pros:
Holy cow! Gorgeous views, scenery, and a beautiful ecosystem. (+2)
Scientific names on most of the Flora. Some trees native to India were also planted here. Cool.
Abundant parking.
There were Lego attractions scattered throughout the park. This was what our friend was selling us to get us into the garden :)
Cons:
Quite a walk with toddlers. Especially if the toddler proclaims «Nature called»… (–1)

This garden is so great! So many beautiful plants and flowers. The rose garden is in full bloom right now — I like to visit and take my time smelling the roses! Very relaxing and beautiful :)

When we heard they were having a Lego display here, we had to check it out with our kids. This was my first time here, and the place is quite gorgeous. I don’t have the stamina to walk around all day in the sun (because I’m too fat from Unilocaling), so we only explored part of the garden. The parts we did enjoy were quite beautiful, and the Lego displays were quite impressive.
The most stunning display was a full sized bison and it’s baby. It was made of over 45,000 legos. Others included a butterfly, bee, birds, fox, and rabbit. The garden is so huge that my imagination took over. I pretended I was in «The Walking Dead» while walking around, imagining myself scavenging for food and looking for weapons.
South Coast Botanic Garden cost us $ 9 per adult, and our kids were free (kids under 5 are free). It was a nice outdoor excursion versus staying cooped up inside the house all day!

I pretty much grew up in Torrance and the South Bay, but I had never been to the South Coast Botanic Garden. Knowing my mom likes plants, I was thinking about taking her to the Huntington Library, but that’s so far out and much more pricey. We were running late on this particular morning, and I thought it might be better to check out this local garden instead.
The drive up is easy and parking is ample. We were delighted by all the Lego sculptures that were hiding in different places around the gardens, and many parents were doing scavenger-​like hunts for these pieces with their children. That seemed to make the trip even more fun for the little ones. Although it says not to hang from trees, etc., I saw a great deal of children doing this. Parents need to read signs and respect the property…
There were so many beautiful trees, flowers, and interesting plants. We spent about two hours here, and we could probably have done more, but it was very hot and we were getting tired. One downside is that the lake is dry. I’m not sure if that has to do with the drought or if they are doing some sort of reconstruction.
Also, if you like lizards, this is the place to be. They are scurrying all over the darn place, bouncing up and down, and wooing (or challenging) each other at every turn.
For a $ 9 entrance, this can’t be beat for a lovely afternoon or morning out.

I learned about this Botanic Garden via a recent LA Times article announcing Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects Lego sculpture exhibit.
We spent 3 hours here and we had an excellent time. We started out by visiting a Lego hands on childrens area. Kids were able to construct Lego cars and drive them down various ramps. There was also a pop-​up library with STEM books.
The remainder of the time we walked throughout the gardens-​we absolutely enjoyed seeing the various flower, plant and tree species. We also saw koi fish in the japanese gardens and numerous lizards and butterflies. And it was such a treat to look out for and see the Lego sculptures.
This garden is beautiful, not as grand as the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, but certainly worth a visit, especially during Sean Kenny’s Nature Connects Lego Sculpture tour.
TIPS
Tip 1-​take a hat, sunscreen, water, and comfortable shoes. The gardens cover over 40 acres, there is varied terrain, and many non shaded areas.
Tip 2-​eat before you enter. No food allowed on the grounds.
Tip 3-​Take a camera, or use your camera phone to capture images of the beautiful gardens.
Tip 4-​Download an app for a personal guided tour of the gardens. You also have the option of calling a 1 800 phone number at each garden to listen to an overview of that garden.

Every 3^rd Tuesday is free admission.
Right now they have Lego special!
I love this park!

This garden is absolutely beautiful! There are fewer visitors during the week than the weekend. I heard about the food trucks and was primarily going for Richeeze but didn’t see it around. Bummer, I really wanted to try them out however Kakigory Kreamery did not disappoint.
Forget about the map, to a certain point it helps direct your path but it was rather fun just exploring the trails to wherever they led. You’ll find many hidden gems and even smaller trails not marked on the map. My favorite was the Woodland Trail, right now it has these massive trees that fell down due to the recent storm and it’s a sight .Don’t worry about getting lost in there. all trails eventually will lead you back to the main trail. The amphitheater in Water Wise Garden is gorgeous! The lake is still dried up due to renovation. It won’t be complete until 2017. The stream is dry as well. There is also a koi pond near the entrance to the right.
There is a little bit of everything for everyone… you’ll be able to see hummingbirds, butterflies, and even lizards. This park is great for family trips, dates, solo exploration, photography, etc.

Visited for the food trucks… But was totally impressed with the Lego sculptures. This is a beautiful place to visit and there were a lot of attractions for the kiddos.
Loved the food trucks!

We took our engagement photos here. There was some trouble when we arrived because they recently changed their policy where you need an advanced reservation in order to do posed photography. They didn’t want to let us in but our photographer finally smooth talked them. They said we had only 1 hour, could not bring in any props, and had to pay an additional $ 50 on top of the per person entrance fee.
Once inside it’s much larger than I anticipated with several forks so you can wander in various directions. It’s beautiful with an amazing array of species. Great location for photos, lots of cacti, a bridge, some archways.
I’m told there used to be a small lagoon but it was all dried up.

This is one of my favorite places in the South Bay area. In fact, I didn’t know about them until I saw a freeway sign regarding SCBG.
I’ve lost track the number of times I’ve visited SCBG. The rose garden is one of my favorite parts, located near the front. My other favorite part, depending on the season, is the cherry blossoms! The most recent time visiting was in late March with cherry blossoms in full bloom. All the beautiful shades of pink! The light breeze enhanced the cherry blossom scent.
I also like walking along the paved road, nicely maintained. Although some parts hilly, some parts flat, good for mixing up a leisure walk. There are different placards around SCBG so I know about each plant. I believe there’s an audio version, but have yet to try it.
I usually visit the gift shop before I leave, I’ve found some great treasures from note cards to small gifts to trinkets. The prices are fair and each time I chat it up with the staff member, they’re always so nice.
I’m already planning my next trip back to SCBG!

I stumbled upon this Garden on my way to Del Cerro Park and decided to stop by. The entire garden is 87 acres, so be prepared to walk. I came on a Monday and it was was quite a serene and calming atmosphere (not too many visitors). One of the keepers told me there is over 2500 different species on plants in the garden and even after, hours of exploring, I probably only knicked half of it.
Extremely good getaway and lots of immersive nature for an enclosed area. It actually feels like an actual park wilderness at times (pseudo-​hiking). This would be a good place to take kids or even your grandparents since most of the terrain is very traversible and un-​strenuous. There are plenty of smells and sights to arouse all your senses, such as the garden of senses which provides plenty of plants to test your sense of smell. I also noticed parts of the park smelled like Jeffrey Pines (vanilla) and so on. If you close your eyes and just breathe, there will be plenty to take in. For those that are short on time, the map also details and plots out a optimal course.
This isn’t as amazing as the Arboretum in Arcadia or The Huntington Botanical Gardens but it is a niche in its own area. This is a place you won’t be disappointed if you go on an off day (when it’s less crowded) and just take your time and enjoy what nature can offer. There are also discounts for students and children.