Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, located on sixty-five acres in the hills above the city of Santa Barbara, has an unrivaled collection of California flora. The living collection of plants on the grounds encompasses intact native vegetation indigenous to Mission Canyon as well as over 2,700 plantings representing over 1,000 taxa. Of these, about 950 are native species or subspecies and about 70 are cultivars of native plants, some of which have been developed by garden staff. The garden has important collections of genera planted in the Garden as well the horticultural introductions that they have made. Nurseries and gardeners have benefited greatly from the educational information and the plants that the garden has provided.

San Marcos Growers is proud to be associated with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and are also very pleased to be able to offer several of the gardens past plant introductions as well as to be trialing others for future introduction.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Introductions we currently grow or have recently grown:

Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray'  

Ceanothus arboreus 'Powder Blue' *

Ceanothus 'Wheeler Canyon' This plant not currently in production.

Eriophyllum nevinii 'Canyon Silver' *

Fremontodendron 'Dara's Gold' 

Heuchera 'Canyon Belle' 

Heuchera 'Canyon Chimes' This plant not currently in production.

Heuchera 'Canyon Duet' 

Heuchera 'Canyon Melody' This plant not currently in production.

Heuchera 'Canyon Pink' 

Hyptis emoryi 'Silver Lining' *

Iris PCH hybrid 'Canyon Snow' 

Lessingia filaginifolia 'Silver Carpet' *

Leymus (Elymus) condensatus 'Canyon Prince' 

Salvia 'Pacific Blue' (S. brandegei hybrid) * This plant not currently in production.

Salvia cedrosensis *This plant not currently in production.

Sphaeralcea 'La Luna' * This plant not currently in production.

Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina' *

* Many of the plants in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Plant Introduction program were ones selected by Carol Bornstein, the garden's longtime Director of Horticulture. These plants selected by Carol are indicated above with an asterisk *. Additionally, we grow a couple very fine California native plant selections that Carol introduced outside of the garden's introduction program. These include: 

Aristida purpurea 'Chino Hills' This plant not currently in production.

Ceanothus griseus 'Point Sal'  

Encelia californica 'Paleo Yellow'  

Keckiella cordifolia 'Mountain Flare'  

Solanum xanti 'Mountain Pride'