Mediterranean Garden. Photo by Travis Lange.
This Sunday, the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park will celebrate their 75th birthday.
The gardens will be open early on Sunday, beginning at 7:30am, and admission is free to everyone – including non-SF residents.
Festivities, which run from 10am until 5pm, will include family activities, giant puppets and a sing-a-long, a variety of docent-led walking tours, a special stage featuring world music and dance performances reflecting the global nature of the collection, a photo booth and more.
Visitors can also purchase picnicking supplies at food trucks from Off the Grid, and beverages of all kinds, including those for those 21 and up, will also be available for purchase.
The original Botanical Garden was created in the 1870’s by William Hammond Hall, who turned acres of sand dunes into a thriving garden by planting 66,000 trees.
But it was his successor, John McLaren, with the financial support of a prosperous widow named Helene Strybing, who ultimately crafted a vision for a grander arboretum and botanical garden in Golden Gate Park that we all enjoy today.
The garden’s creators: L to R – William Hammond Hall, John McClaren, Helene Strybing. Courtesy of Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture
Work began during the Great Depression with the help of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and in 1940, the 55-acre San Francisco Botanical Garden we know and love today was opened to the public.
Today, the garden is home to over 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the globe including many that are rare and no longer found in the wild.
What’s your favorite thing to do or see in the Botanical Garden? Leave a comment to let us know!
Sarah B.
Volunteers in the Garden. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.
South Africa Garden. Photo by Brendan Lange.
Leveling the dunes, late 19th century. Courtesy of Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture
Moon Viewing Garden. Photo by Andrew Steinmetz.