Sending flowers for Valentine’s Day has been a popular thing since the seventeenth century. However, it might be time to rethink that tradition in favor of a more adventurous plan. Strolling among thousands of fragrant roses thriving in well-designed gardens can delight the senses far more than receiving a dozen roses.
These California gardens can open your eyes to new botanical displays you never imagined. Some just may leave you in awe of the vivid colors, stellar fragrances, and natural beauty found in these gardens. They just may inspire you to plan a west coast road trip to explore more than one of these gardens this spring.
The Flower Fields At Carlsbad Ranch
The Carlsbad Ranch fields have flowers of all colors in bloom in the spring.
(Sam Loera)
Opening for the season on March 1, 2026, The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch Is one of the most beloved gardens in the country. It has been going strong for over 60 years.
Rows of flowers of many different colors create a dazzling sight.
(Marcie Gonzalez)
Located in the North San Diego area, it’s best known for its fields of gorgeous Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers that bloom for around six to eight weeks every year. The 2026 season will include live music performances, workshops and wellness classes.
So many flowers in vivid colors provide many sights to behold at the ranch.
(Sam Loera)
This year, in addition to the wealth of blooming flowers at The Flower Fields at Carldsbad Ranch, there will be glass and steel sculptures by Alex Heveri in an installation called “Glass in Flight”. Heveri’s larger-than-life sculptures of birds and insects complement the natural world and celebrate the wonder of flight.
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
The colorful Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens attracts over 100,000 people every year.
(Mendocino Drone)
Located in Fort Bragg, California, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, known as the garden by the sea, is comprised of 47 acres along the Pacific coast. It welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year, and it has a mission to share the natural beauty here while also protecting its native plants and wildlife habitat.
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is by the Pacific coast.
(Roxanne Perkins)
Colorful, hybrid rhododendrons attract many to the garden each year when they bloom in March and April. The perennial garden blooms all the way from spring to fall. Then there’s the heaths that bloom year-round, the heathers that bloom from June through October, and camellias that bloom from January through March.
Heather blooms during the summer at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.
(Roxanne Perkins)
This garden is more than just a botanical escape. Now that over 180 species of birds have been identified in the garden, it’s also a haven for bird lovers. Some common birds seen here include sandpipers, Canada geese, swallows, plovers, and hawks.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The rose garden at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is lovely.
(The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)
The botanical garden areas of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens are stunning. It offers over a dozen themed gardens on 130 acres.
The Japanese Garden is a popular spot at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
(The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)
A classical-style Chinese garden includes features like a 1.5-acre lake, a teahouse with a tea shop, bridges, and waterfalls. A Japanese garden has a traditional Japanese house, a Zen Garden, bonsai courts, a moon bridge, and more.
The Chinese Garden is a part of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
(Beth Coller, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)
A California garden is arranged along olive trees, and it includes native and adaptive plantings that are among hedge rooms. The botanical center offers a children’s garden and greenhouse, among other things.
Golden Barrel cacti can be found at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
(The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)
If you visit, make sure you don’t miss the beloved desert garden. It has one of the biggest collections of outdoor cacti and succulents in the entire world!
The Gardens of Golden Gate Park
Flowering azaleas and cherry trees are appreciated by visitors in the Japanese Tea Garden.
(Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic)
Found in the heart of San Francisco, The Gardens of Golden Gate Park are comprised of three gardens: Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden. If you visit from mid-January through March, be sure to look for the magnolias in bloom on more than 200 trees; people come from all over the state for this sight.
The morning light is pretty over the entry pond in the Japanese Tea Garden.
(Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic)
The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest running public Japanese Garden on the continent of North America. It is breathtaking with its cherry blossoms and azaleas that bloom in the spring sunshine.
Magnolia sprengeri v. ‘Diva’, a flowering deciduous Claret Cup tree, can be found in the gardens.
(Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic)
In addition to all the botanical beauty, there is also a light show each night for guests to enjoy. Thirty minutes after sunset, visitors can watch the free show that’s projected on the Conservatory of Flowers.
There’s a nightly light show at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers.
(Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic)University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
The Garden of Old Roses is a special spot at the University of California Berkeley Botanical Garden.
(Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic)
As its name suggests, the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley is part of the UC Berkeley. Located on top of Strawberry Canyon, it has more than 1,214 rare and endangered species, and it’s open to the public.
This beautiful botanical garden spans 34 acres. It claims to have the biggest collection of wild-collected plants in North America, and visitors often marvel at its biodiverse landscape.
Descanso Gardens
The tulips at Descanso Gardens are captivating.
(Descanso Gardens)
Situated only 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, Descanso Gardens is a gorgeous urban paradise within the city. The botanical garden encompasses 150 acres and is surrounded by mountains.
Walking paths let visitors easily explore all the gardens.
(Descanso Gardens)
Descanso Gardens has a diverse collection of gardens that showcase the history of the local landscape while also revealing the diversity of plants within Southern California. The gardens were designed with paths and travels throughout them so that visitors can explore and linger in all the different areas of both wild and cultivated land.
Pink roses are eye-catching at Descanso Gardens.
(Descanso Gardens)
With one of the biggest camellia collections in the United States, many visitors flock to see them when they are in bloom from early autumn to springs, but they are known for being in their prime in the winter months.
Visitors can find every color of the rainbow here.
(Descanso Gardens)
You’ll find beautiful native flowers, cultivated gardens, and captivating woodlands. Some of the themed gardens here include the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Lilac Carden, Camellia Collection, Oak Woodland, California Garden, and Ancient Forest.
Sunnylands Center & Gardens
The Sunnylands Center & Gardens is a special place with over a mile of walking paths.
(David Loftus for The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands)
Sunnylands Center & Gardens has nine acres of desert gardens on its 15 acres of land in Rancho Mirage, California. It is part of the historic Annenberg estate called Sunnylands.
Cacti can be found in this desert garden.
(David Loftus for The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands)
This is a lovely place to spend an afternoon. It has more than a mile of walking paths that take you throughout the special desert gardens where you can find over 70 species of plants. The gardens include both native and arid-adapted plants.
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
The rose garden has hanging roses.
(LA County Arboretum)
When you stroll through the paths of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, you’ll discover a wide variety of flowers and plants from many places around the world. Visitors can learn about California history through its plants and stories.
There are so many different types of plants and flowers at the LA County Arboretum Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
(LA County Arboretum)
This pretty garden is in Arcadia, which is about 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. You can see a breathtaking view of the San Gabriel Mountains from its Oak Grave and Aquatic Garden. You’ll find the colorful rose garden in the Historic Circle.
Cherry blossoms attract many visitors.
(LA County Arboretum)
The Africa section of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden includes a range of plants from Canary Island, South Africa, and other areas. Visitors take the Serpent Trail around the Australia area with its plants that include bottle trees and acacia. There are several other gardens and areas of exploration, too.
The South Africa area of the LA County Arboretum Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is beautiful.
(LA County Arboretum)Filoli Historic House & Garden
Paths guide the way for visitors to Filoli Historic House & Garden.
(Albert Dros)
Situated in Woodside, California, which is just around 25 miles south of San Francisco, California, Filoli Historic House & Garden is at the southern end of Crystal Springs Reservoir. Visitors have amazing views in and around the garden that is on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Sunny springtime is a great time to visit Filoli Historic House & Garden.
(Mike James)
Here you’ll find 16 acres of English Renaissance gardens that are surrounded by a 654-acre estate with a country house. It’s part of the estate that is on the National Register of Historic Places and a California State Historic Landmark.
Summer flower beds are stunning in front of the Garden House.
(Mike James)
In the spring you can see tens of thousands of blooming flowers such as hyacinth bulbs, daffodils, and tulips. The Garden at Filoli also has cherry blossoms and other fragrant flowers.
Potted flowers are also on display at Filoli Historic House & Garden.
(Albert Dros)
Guided tours and tea parties with exquisite views are offered during the spring months. You can take wellness classes on Wednesdays and participate in many other activities the garden offers to help celebrate the season and the vividly colored flowers in bloom during springtime.
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