Garden Stories

The Garden blog with stories and information about our vast plant collections

Travelogue to Namaqualand

Join the UCBG Team on their fantastic botanical journey to Namaqualand

UC Botanical Garden Trip to Namaqualand

Travelogue to Namaqualand: Seeing plants in their natural habitat
Docent standing in the Redwood Grove.

Virtual Tour: Discovering the Six Parts of a Plant

Explore how plants from around the world adapt to survive in diverse environments

Bark that Defies Fire

How oaks evolved to survive fire—and how Indigenous fire stewardship may have shaped them

Hiding in Plain Sight

A remarkable botanical discovery that sparked an international investigation

Blue: Nature’s Rarest Flower Color

Chasing the elusive blue flower

It Would Puzzle A Monkey

An unusual tree that can live for over 1,000 years!
Several very large flowers with white frilly-edge petals and yellow centers

Shrubby Poppies in California

Fried egg flower–the largest California native flower!

Oddities in Plant Growth

Unusual growth patterns of the indigo plant in the Herb Garden
A lush jungle of trees at the edge of a lake

Botanizing in Sumatra

In search of Nepenthes: Travelogue to Sumatra with Garden Horticulturists Eric Hupperts and Corina Rieder
A field of bright yellow flowers in the sunshine

Seed Banking Rare Plants

Saving endangered plants–one seed at a time.
Two newts mating in water

Know Your Newts

The peaceful waters of the Japanese Pool–a haven for amphibian mating season–also house a deadly surprise!