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Brief History
Man on bench
Visitor enjoys peaceful garden in winter
California, with over 6,000 kinds of native plants, has the richest flora of any state in the continental United States. Susanna Bixby Bryant, a member of one of California's pioneering families, recognized the need to conserve this incredible plant diversity. She first established her "wild native garden" in 1927, on her rancho in Orange County. Surrounded by California’s burgeoning interest in horticulture, Susanna created an ambitious and unique botanic garden, in her words, "...to preserve our native California flora, try to replenish the depleted supply of some of our rarest plants, and bring together in a comparatively small space as complete a collection...as can be made to grow in this southern section of the State." Relocated to Claremont in 1951, the 86-acre Garden is the largest botanical garden dedicated exclusively to our state's native plants.