San Francisco Botanical Garden

History

Plans for the garden were originally laid out in the 1880s by park supervisor John McLaren, but funding was insufficient to begin construction until Helene Strybing left a major bequest in 1927. Planting was begun in 1937 with WPA funds supplemented by local donations, and the Arboretum officially opened in May 1940. As a part of Golden Gate Park, it is officially managed by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, but the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society plays an important role in providing educational programs, managing volunteers, curatorial staff, and more. Formed in 1955, the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society (formerly the Strybing Arboretum Society) operates the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture, Garden Bookstore, and monthly plant sales, and offers a wide range of community education programs for children and adults. The Society also raises money for new projects and Garden renovations.

In 2004, Strybing Arboretum changed its name to San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and the Arboretum Society followed suit, becoming San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum.

Plant collections

The gardens are organized into several specialized collections:

• Mediterranean
  • California Native
  • John Muir Nature Trail
  • Redwood Grove
  • Chile
  • South Africa
  • Australia
  • Mediterranean Basin Region
• Mild-temperate climate
  • New Zealand
  • Moon-viewing Garden – a Japanese design
  • Temperate Asia Garden
• Montane tropic
  • Mesoamerican Cloud Forest
  • Southeast Asian Cloud Forest (in development)
  • Andean Cloud Forest (in development)
• Specialty collections
  • Ancient Plant Garden
  • Succulent garden
  • Dwarf Conifer garden
  • Exhibition Garden
  • Garden of Fragrance
  • Zellerbach Garden of Perennials
  • Dry Mexico
  • Rhododendron Garden
  • Magnolias & Camellias (found in many collections)

The mild Mediterranean climate is ideal for plants from surprisingly many parts of the world; the arboretum does not include greenhouses for species requiring other climate types.

Gallery

San Francisco Botanical Garden.jpg|McBean Wildfowl Pond and Primitive Plant Garden Strybing Arboretum pond.jpg|Pond at Dwarf Conifer collection Strybing Arboretum - Flower.JPG|Rhododendron Strybing Arboretum trail.jpg|Redwood trail Nodding Pincushion Protea Flower Bud.jpg|Nodding Pincushion Protea Flower Bud Golden Gate Park arboretum - stones at Rhododendron pavilion.jpg|Stones from the Spanish monastery Santa Maria de Ovila can be found in the library reading patio, the Rhododendron pavilion, and the Garden of Fragrance. Plant 1 Pjclm.JPG|Verbascum Twin Peaks and geese.jpg|Meadow in the garden. Droopy yellow flowers.JPG|Glandular Senna (Senna multiglandulosa) in San Francisco Botanical Garden Cacti Pjclm.JPG|Candelabra Aloe (Aloe arborescens) at San Francisco Botanical Garden

References

References

1. "San Francisco Botanical Garden". San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.
2. {{cite gnis
3. (June 2008). "About San Francisco Botanical Garden". San Francisco Botanical Garden.
4. "Gardens of Golden Gate Park: Official".
5. Sullivan, Michael J. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=FxRN7O5xlqsC&pg=PA56 ''The Trees of San Francisco''], p. 56. Pomegranate Communications, Inc.
6. "Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park". Golden Gate Park.com.
7. Dallman, Peter. (2005). "San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum: An Introduction to a World of Plants". San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.