It is helpful to see California native gardens when creating your own.  Visit Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden where you can walk along the paths or sit on one of the many benches and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere created with California native plants. There are educational displays throughout the Garden.  Wander the paths of the Cultivar and Demonstration Gardens to see unusual and exciting native plants displayed in landscape settings.  Attend the fall and spring plant sales where you can purchase many of these unusual plants.  Knowledgeable and friendly Garden staff is available to help you make the right selections for your garden.  The Garden also offers classes, trips and musical events.  The California Garden Shop has an excellent selection of native plant resources, including books, garden tools, ornaments and even plants and seeds.

Another way to see native plant gardens is to attend California native garden tours.  Native plant enthusiasts open their gardens to the public once a year in the spring for this special even.  If you are interested in displaying your own garden, be sure to contact them.  Call or check the Rancho website for the California Glory Garden Tour, and Theodore Payne, for the Theodore Payne Foundation Garden Tour.

The following list includes contact information for some of the many gardens and parks in Southern California where you can experience the beauty of California native plants.  Fortunately the list is growing, so if you know of any we have forgotten please contact us at:  ,  or call the California Native Plant Garden Hotline at (909) 624-0838.

Botanic Gardens and Arboreta
* Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, collections of native plants, oak trees and water-conserving plants
350 Gainsborough Road, Thousand Oaks, CA; Ph: (805) 494-7630; Website: http://www.conejogarden.com/
* Fullerton Arboretum, Mediterranean section with plants of coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities
California State University, Fullerton, CA 92634, Ph: (714) 733-3579; Website: http://arboretum.fullerton.edu/
* The Leaning Pine Arboretum, against the hills at the north end of campus
CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, Ph: (805) 756-2161; Website: http://www.leaningpinearboretum.calpoly.edu/ 
*  The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, desert plantings, Palo Verde Garden Center & Wortz Demonstration Garden
47-900 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260 , Ph: (760) 346-5694; Website:http://www.livingdesert.org/default.asp
* Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, coastal sage scrub, Channel Islands and chaparral communities
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024, Ph: (213) 825-3620; Website: http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/bg-home.htm
* Quail Botanical Gardens, 35 acres of exhibits, including desert gardens, Mediterranean climate landscapes, & Landscaping for Fire Safety
230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024, Ph: (619) 436-3036; Web: http://www.qbgardens.com/
* Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, devoted to the collection, cultivation, study, and display of native California plants
1500 N. College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, Ph: (909) 625-8767; Website: http://rsabg.org/
* Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, fostering stewardship of the natural world with an emphasis on California  natives
 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, Ph: (805) 563-2521; Website: http://sbbg.org/
* University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens, southwestern desert and Sierran foothills sections
Univ. of Calif. Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, Ph: (909) 784-6962 or 787-4650; Website: http://gardens.ucr.edu/

Nursery Gardens
* Las Pilitas Nursery,
8331 Nelson Way, Escondido, Ph: (760) 749-5930; Website: http://www.laspilitas.com/nurseries/escondido.htm
* Theodore Payne Foundation, Inc., demonstration garden areas, a wildflower nature trail, and natural canyon areas
10459 Tuxford St., Sunland, CA, Ph: (818) 768-1802; Website: http://www.theodorepayne.org/
* Tree of Life Nursery, Retail strawbale bookstore, Casa La Paz, and entire nursery landscaped with native plants
33201 Ortega Highway, P.O. Box 635, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693; Website: http://www.treeoflifenursery.com

Habitat Gardens
* Audubon Center at Debs Park, walnut savannah, oak-walnut-toyon woodland, and coastal sage scrub
4700 North Griffin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90031, Ph: (323) 221-2255; Website: http://www.audubon-ca.org/debs_park.htm
* Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park, 8-acre habitat park, coastal scrub, riparian woodland and more in urban area
57900 Compton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90011, Ph: (323) 581-4753; Website: http://www.audubon-ca.org/debs_park.htm
* Charmlee Wilderness Park, native plant displays and a butterfly garden
2577 S. Encinal Canyon Road, Malibu, CA, Ph:  (310) 457-7247;
Website: http://www.ci.malibu.ca.us/index.cfm?fuseaction=DetailGroup&CID=3801&NavID=174
* Eaton Canyon County Park, coastal sage scrub, bird and butterfly, wildflower gardens in a beautiful foothill setting
1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena, CA. 91107, Ph: (626) 398-5420;
Website: http://ecnca.org/
* E. Rowley Demonstration Gardens, chaparral, desert and riparian sections
4594 San Bernardino St., Montclair, CA 91763; Ph: (909) 626-2711
* Madrona Marsh Preserve & Nature Center, vernal marsh, wetlands area, nature center
3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrance, CA 90503, Ph: (310) 782-3989; Website:http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us/Parks/6618.htm
* Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority, Arroyo Pescadero, coastal sage scrub and chaparral
Colima Road, Whittier, CA 90602, Ph: (562) 945-9003;
Website: http://www.habitatauthority.org/whoweare.shtml
* Shipley Nature Center, 18 acre ecological sanctuary and nature center in Huntington Beach Central Park
17829 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, Ph: (714) 842-4772
Website: http://www.shipleynature.org

Low-Water Use Gardens With Some California Natives
* Chino Basin Water Conservation District Demo Garden, drought resistant plants including desert and chaparral gardens
4594 San Bernardino St, Montclair CA.  Ph:  (909) 626-2711; Website: http://www.cbwcd.org/
* Descanso Gardens, native plant section
1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada, CA 91011, Ph: (818) 952-4400; Website: http://www.descanso.com/
* El Alisal, the Lummis Home, low water use garden, offering a display of native and Mediterranean plants
200 South Avenue 43, Los Angeles, CA 90042, Ph: (323) 222-0546; Website: http://www.socalhistory.org/Socalhistory.org%20_mainfolder/Lummishome%20and%20garden/LummisHome.htm 
* La Casita del Arroyo, water conservation garden above Lower Arroyo Seco Park
177 South Arroyo Boulevard, Pasadena 91105-1075, Ph: (626) 794-0581
* Landscapes Southern California Style, one-acre water conservation demo garden by Western Municipal Water District
450 Alessandro Blvd., Riverside, CA 92508, Ph: (909) 780-4170; Website: http://www.wmwd.com/landscape.htm
* Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden, see the Sunset Demonstration Garden for California native plant garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave. Arcadia, CA 91007, Ph: (626) 821-3222  
* Sam Maloof Garden, six acre, low-water use, home garden with many native plants,
5131 Carmelian Street, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729, Ph: (909) 980-0412
* The Water Conservation Garden, 4.2 acre, low-water use garden featuring Mediterranean and native plants,
12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon, CA 92019, Ph: (619) 660-0614; Website: http://www.thegarden.org/