Around the World in 55 Acres: SF Botanical Garden Recap

By Julia Glenister, editor and publisher of Travel The Four Corners.

On a foggy morning, eight members of Bay Area Travel Writers, along with their plus-ones, gathered at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on May 30 at 9 a.m. For those traveling over the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, it seemed an ungodly hour for a Saturday morning event. But it was a minor inconvenience, quickly forgotten, as the writers — many of whom joined BATW in the 1980s and 1990s — reconnected and graciously welcomed my husband and me, the newest arrivals to the group.

On this day, BATW member Susan Alcorn would lead us through a living atlas of more than 8,000 plants across the 55-acre Botanical Garden. We were in good hands with Susan, a Bay Area author, publisher, and long-distance hiker whose treks extend far beyond Golden Gate Park. With her husband, Ralph, she has section-hiked the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, climbed Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, backpacked in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine, and completed more than 3,000 miles of Camino pilgrimage routes through Spain, France, and Portugal.

Susan wore her Kilimanjaro hat — a subtle hint that our two-hour garden stroll was unlikely to faze her. Our early arrival also ensured we would beat the crowds and have Susan for a brief window, almost entirely to ourselves.

Our host, Brendan Lange, Director of Advancement at the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, warmly welcomed us to the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture. We sat at a long table surrounded by volumes and periodicals devoted to plants grown in Mediterranean and mild-temperate climates — San Francisco’s sweet spot. Brendan gave us a brief introduction to the gardens and their place within Golden Gate Park.

Those of us who thought we knew the park were in for a surprise. We learned that three of its most beloved destinations — the San Francisco Botanical Garden (formerly the Strybing Arboretum), the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Japanese Tea Garden — are now united under the umbrella name Gardens of Golden Gate Park.

For much of their history, these gardens operated as separate attractions within Golden Gate Park. In 2022, as the city and these cultural institutions emerged from the pandemic, they were consolidated administratively. “It was an opportunity to reenvision how these spaces served our community,” Brendan explained.

As we bid farewell to Brendan, he drew our attention to the adjoining Library Terrace Garden. A plaque I surely would have missed notes that the terrace was built from limestone that once belonged to the 12th-century Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria de Ovila in Spain. The stones took a circuitous route to the Botanical Garden. California’s own William Randolph Hearst purchased and shipped some of them to San Francisco, intending to use them for his Wyntoon estate in northern California. The Depression thwarted his plans. After years in storage, the stones became the property of the City of San Francisco in 1941. Some now form part of the Terrace Garden, while others appear in walls in the Succulent, Fragrance, and California gardens.

With Brendan’s parting words echoing in my head — “There’s always something blooming” — we followed Susan into the Garden of Fragrance, past the aromatic lavender, salvias, lemon verbena, rosemary, and scented geraniums into the adjoining Mediterranean Garden. We paused to photograph the glorious blooms of the honey-scented Verbascums, with their candelabra-like spires of white and pink florets.

On this day, the Botanical Garden put on an impressive show: bright orange and yellow Peruvian lilies, dramatic South African king proteas, salvias, camellias, and more. We wandered through Mesoamerican, Andean, and Southeast Asian cloud forests, which didn’t seem to mind being in the middle of San Francisco.

We passed a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, standing among purple agapanthus above a small, lime-green pond covered with duckweed. We wandered through the Ancient Plant Garden, following a boardwalk over trickling streams and beneath prehistoric-looking ferns.

One of the most startling plants was a prickly-stemmed gunnera, whose enormous leaves easily spanned six feet across and towered above us. This magnificent specimen seemed a dead ringer for Audrey II, the carnivorous plant in Little Shop of Horrors.

This “ancient” section is sometimes called the Dinosaur Garden, and for good reason. It was easy to imagine a velociraptor sizing us up, mouth agape, beneath one of those giant leaves. Jurassic Park could have filmed a scene here and saved the cost of a flight to Hawaii.

Another spot we all enjoyed was the Zen-like Moon Viewing Garden. Named for the traditional Japanese practice of tsukimi, or moon viewing, the garden has a tranquil, almost otherworldly quality. Smooth, rounded boulders rise from the duckweed-covered water, creating a scene that feels far removed from everyday distractions.

We strolled through the Succulent Garden, into the cool shade of the Redwood Grove, and finally out into the California Native Garden, where our tour concluded. After traveling around the world, botanically speaking, we had returned to California.

Travel writers are not always the easiest to lead on a walk. That morning, we stopped to examine odd-looking bark, fiddled with our cameras, and asked too many questions. We fell behind whenever a plant seemed to have a backstory. Kudos to Susan for her patience and for not losing any of us.

And to think we had explored some of the world’s most fascinating plant landscapes without leaving San Francisco. The morning was a reminder that “international” travel does not always require a passport. Sometimes it begins at a local attraction we thought we already knew.

 

Planning a visit:

The San Francisco Botanical Garden, located at 1199 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122, is part of the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, along with the Conservatory of Flowers and the Japanese Tea Garden. The Botanical Garden spans 55 acres and features more than 8,000 kinds of plants from around the world.

Check what is in season with the Golden Gate Park’s Blooming Calendar or the Magnificent Magnolia Map before you go. There is also a GGGP Events Calendar and a list of Monthly Plant Sales.

 

Global Zones of the Botanical Gardens

 

• Cloud Forests of Mesoamerica, Southeast Asia, and the Andes.
• Temperate Asia & Japan
• Australia and New Zealand
• California Native Garden

 

Check the Website for Tickets

For the most accurate information on current hours, admissions, resident access, and combined ticket options, check the Gardens of Golden Gate Park website before visiting. You can find a brochure and a map of the Botanical Gardens here.

Admission to the San Francisco Botanical Garden is free for San Francisco residents, children four and under, veterans, Museums for All/EBT participants, and Gardens members whose pass provides access to all three gardens for three days.

Whether you are a visitor planning a San Francisco weekend or a Bay Area local who has somehow never wandered its paths, the Botanical Garden is one of those places worth adding back to your weekend list.

 

Another Story

 

In 2020, BATW member Stephanie Levin wrote about Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary. See “Splendor in the Grass: Golden Gate Park Celebrates 150 Years and You Are Invited to the Party.” Stephanie, along with Travel Examiner publishers Lee Daley and her husband, John Sundsmo, joined us on this walk.

 

Special thanks to:

 

David Sanger, a BATW member and award-winning travel and landscape photographer, who shared his photos from our walk for this article. His photos have been published in National Geographic Traveler, Garden Design, and Audubon.

 

Ginny Prior, BATW’s Executive Director, organized this event, but sadly couldn’t join us because thunderstorms in Laramie, Wyoming, delayed her return.