Photo Tour of UCLA Botanical Garden:
Experience first-hand the most serene part of UCLA's campus
Introduction/Background:
Established in 1929, the 7.5-acre Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden has stood as UCLA's hub for botanical knowledge and the appreciation of nature. It stands as a cornerstone for UCLA's ecological conservation efforts while simultaneously serving as a public garden, outdoor classroom, museum, and research facility! This sanctuary currently hosts over 3,000 species of plants from around the world, 150,000 specimens in its herbarium, and follows the environmental stewardship of the Gabrielino/Tongva people.
To read more about the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, please click here.
Map of Botanical Garden
The Beginning:
You're Greeted With Greenery:
After walking up Charles E. Young drive and turning into the La Kretz Entrance, you're immediately filled with a sea of greenery.
Into the Depths:
Encapsulated by the beauty:
Continue through the paved walkway and you'll find yourself faced with an open gate. The first thing you'll see will be the Lilies section! Interestingly, many of the plants here have since been categorized as asparagus.
The Amphitheater
The Nest Amphitheater serves as a unique outdoor setting for education, with many disciples (from English Literature and Art to Geography and Physics) using this space to teach their classes. It also is a popular venue for intimiate wedding ceremoies!
The Bromeliads + Pollinator Garden:
Next, we are about to walk through everyone's favorite part of nature: flowers. A long walkway exists between the amphitheater and the entrance on Hilgard. Here, you can find all sorts of flowers and bromeliads. Bromeliads are a special group of tropical/subtropical flowering plants (like pineapples), often found in the Americas!
Let us backtrack...
If you've been following along on the map, go back to the 15 located by the La Kretz entrance!
Subtropical Woodlands
Here you'll find the most exotic trees in all of the botanical garden. The subtropical woodlands are those plants that exist between 23 and 35 degrees to the north and south of the equator. Given that LA exists within this area, we can house such plants from all over the world! Here, you will find plants from Africa, South America, Asia, and more!
Cycads + Hawaiian Native Plants
If you enter through the Tiverton entrance, you'll immediately face cycads and native Hawaiian plants. These majestic, tropical plants were specifically selected to flourish int he Los Angeles climate.
Thank you so much!
I hope you enjoyed our photo tour of the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden! I encourage you to go ahead and check it out for yourself at your earliest convenience!