A garden is a space, for the most part outdoors, set aside for the display, and enjoyment of plants, fruits, vegatbles, and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and artificial materials. Gardens usually have design features including statuary, follies, pergolas, trellises, stumperies, dry creek beds, and water features such as fountains, ponds, waterfalls or creeks. Some gardens are for ornamental purposes only, while others also produce food crops, sometimes in separate areas, or intermixed with the ornamental plants. Food-producing gardens are distinguished from farms by their smaller scale, more labor-intensive methods, and their purpose. Flower gardens combine plants of different heights, colors, textures, and fragrances to create interest and delight the senses. The most common form today is a residential or public garden, but the term garden has traditionally been a more general one. Western gardens are almost universally based on plants, with garden, which etymologically implies enclosure, often signifying a shortened form of botanical garden. Some traditional types of eastern gardens, such as Zen gardens, however, use plants sparsely or not at all. Landscape architecture is a related professional activity with landscape architects tending to engage in design at many scales and working on both public and private projects.
The mountains that form Santa Barbara’s backdrop run east and west, which is unusual for California coastal ranges, as the Pacific lies to the south. The area enjoys a particularly temperate climate, never too hot during the dry summers, never too cold in winters that may be rainy. This Mediterranean-like weather pattern creates a long growing season wherein many kinds of plants from around the world can flourish. The result for visitors is a mix of unusual and gorgeous Santa Barbara gardens. In the 19th century, landscapers and botanists here often imported rare and exotic specimens from South America, Australia, and Europe, and some of their estates have formed the basis of world-class horticultural gems that have been refined and developed further by private homeowners and philanthropists. Many sites comprise a variety of Southern California environments — expansive meadows, interesting canyons, cactus gardens, quiet woodlands, even examples of redwoods or sequoias. Other gardens are the work of imaginative landscape designers, illustrating the elegance of Japanese gardens, or the dramatic planting of a single species or color of flora. Santa Barbara is home to prize rose gardens and venues that hark back to Spanish-Moorish styles, which complement Santa Barbara’s distinctive architecture. There are also nature preserves with trails that allow visitors to experience the region’s native flora in its original setting.