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All the United States California San Francisco San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco Botanical Garden

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

San Francisco, California

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About

Planned as early as the 1880s, the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park finally opened in 1940, and have been a growing and evolving work in progress ever since.

The garden contains an estimated 8,000 types of plants; rare plants like the giant orange passionflower Passiflora parritae find space beside great prehistoric ferns, native redwoods, and poisonous interlopers like hemlock and deadly nightshade.

Scattered throughout the garden's 55 acres are stones from William Randolf Hearst's great folly: A 12th-century monastery he had exported at great expense from Spain in 1930, then was forced to abandon when his great wealth failed him. The stone courtyard near the 9th Avenue entrance is constructed entirely from these stones.

The Garden of Fragrance, filled with rosemary, mints, lemongrass, and delicious-smelling flowering plants of all kinds, it was specifically designed for visitors with limited eyesight to be able to enjoy and experience the garden's olfactory delights.

At the front entrance of the gardens on 9th Avenue, the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture is home to thousands of volumes dedicated to plant care.

Related Tags

Botanical Gardens Flora Gardens Plants Parks

Know Before You Go

San Francisco Botanical Garden is located in Golden Gate Park, near the corner of Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way.

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Added By

Annetta Black

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Milo Vella, breaingram, Abstergail, Michelle Cassidy

  • Milo Vella
  • breaingram
  • Abstergail
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

February 5, 2012

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  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Botanical_Garden
San Francisco Botanical Garden
9th Avenue and Lincoln Way
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California, 94122
United States
37.767017, -122.466724
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Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture

San Francisco, California

miles away

Spanish Monastery Stones

San Francisco, California

miles away

Garden of Fragrance

San Francisco, California

miles away

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San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

Nearby Places

Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture

San Francisco, California

miles away

Spanish Monastery Stones

San Francisco, California

miles away

Garden of Fragrance

San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of San Francisco

San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

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