University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

05/29/2026

Tickets on sale now! Are you ready for a magical summer concert season under the redwoods at the UC Botanical Garden? Enjoy unforgettable evenings of live music from folk to a ca****la, R&B, indie rock, singer-songwriters and don't miss three-time Grammy Award winner Fantastic Negrito! Ticket information: https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/events-page/summer-concerts/

Image Description:
Looking down onto an outdoor stage with a large group of singers. The audience looks on and in the background is a sun-dappled forest scene.

Tickets are available now to enjoy a magical music experience under towering redwoods this summer. A stellar line-up of mixed genres awaits!

05/28/2026

Bloom alert! Beautiful, colorful flowers can be seen in the Deserts of the America's collection. Don't miss this spectacular area as it continues to bloom over the next month! Beavertail cactus (Opuntia sp), bed 152, Chain link cactus (Cylindropuntia imbricata), bed 153, and Echinopsis chalaensis, bed 165.

Image descriptions:
1. A bright yellow cactus flower and unopened buds , surrounded by sharp spines in the Garden
2. A close-up of a bright magenta cactus flower blooming where we can see the detail of the petals and buds. The flower is surrounded by sharp spines on the cactus
3. Looking up at a very tall columnar shaped cactus with a cluster of buds and a large white flower at the very top of the plant. In the background is a clear blue sky.

05/23/2026

The Garden is open this weekend, including Monday, Memorial Day! Unplug and come immerse yourself in the Garden, where you can see this gorgeous Rhododendron decorum. Blooming now in the Asian Area, bed 235.

Image description: A close-up photo of a flowering Rododendron decorum with large white flowers surrounded by green leaves.

05/20/2026

The puyas are still going strong in the South American Area. Don't miss the vibrant teal green flowers of Puya alpestris ssp zoellneri located in bed 612.

Image Description: A tall flower stalk covered with small teal-green flowers with a bright orange centers

05/18/2026

Building Bridges: We're Growing Access for the Community

The Garden’s mission is rooted in connecting people to the wonder, discovery, and importance of plants. For that aspiration to be truly meaningful, we need to remove more barriers and open our doors wider to the broader community.

Translating this vision into reality requires intentional investment in the resources we provide our visitors, and we need your help!

Help us reach our goal of $130,000! Thanks to a group of generous Garden supporters, we have a match of $50,000! This is an incredible opportunity to double your impact, and help us open the doors to learning and engagement wider.
Please consider a gift today: https://ow.ly/JRyo50Z0rp6

Your gift today will support our initiative to build new entry points for learning and engagement in two distinct ways:

1. Digital Tours to Spectacular Plant Collections: We will create curated video tours that will be viewable on both personal devices and available via tablets for visitors whose mobility might limit their physical access to our glasshouse collections.

2. Expanding Our Linguistic Reach: We will begin by translating 17 of our primary educational panels and our visitor guide into Latin American Spanish and Traditional Chinese. In a region where over 1.5 million people speak Spanish or Chinese, these bridges are essential. By speaking the languages of the community we serve, we ensure the Garden is more intentionally prepared for the families and neighbors who call the Bay Area home.

Thank you for your support!

05/15/2026

Our congrats to all the Cal graduates! You did it, and you have such a bright future ahead of you! The Garden is open this weekend if you're looking for a beautiful place to relax, unwind, and celebrate your incredible achievement!



Image description: Strawberry Creek runs through the Asian Area, flanked by dawn redwoods ((Metasequoia glyptostroboides). A view of a creek running between two large tree trunks with yellow flowers in the foreground. In the distance is a bridge surrounded by trees and bushes

05/14/2026

Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri), native to California, is in full bloom! Located in bed 12A in the California Collection, these tall beauties are humming with pollinators. Growing between 6 and 9 feet tall, it thrives in dry, sunny climates.

Image description: Close-up of delicate white Matilija poppies with bright yellow centers blooming along a sunny garden path. The pathway is a tan color material and there is greenery in the background

05/10/2026

Celebrate Mother's Day at the Garden! Bring a picnic and revel in the incredible plant diversity on display across our 34 acres. Free shuttle service will be available 10 am–5 pm from the overflow parking lots at Lawrence Hall of Science, located just uphill. And be sure to check out the Puyas in bloom in the South American collection. We can't wait to see you!



Image description: A smiling woman, man and two young women walk single file down a path in a lush garden

04/29/2026

Blue sky, gorgeous colors, and sweet fragrance can be found today in the Garden of Old Roses. This charming ethnobotanical collection contains selectively cultivated species and is a rich source of genetic information, revealing the many attributes that characterize modern-day roses. While gardeners have hybridized roses for hundreds of years into distinct classes, each with their own set of flower and leaf characteristics, this garden was created in 1982 to display the history of rose cultivation up to the development of modern hybrid tea roses.

Be sure to keep an eye out for a glimpse of our more shy residents: the California quail!

Image descriptions:
1. Hybrid tea rose (Rosa 'Sunset Celebration'). Close-up of a peach-colored rose blooming amid green leaves in a sunlit garden.
2. Two quail are seen on a pathway near green plants and orange flowers