Location: 2647 E Coast Hwy, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Phone: 949- 673-2261
Website: http://www.slgardens.org/
Hours: Open 7 days/week 10:30 am to 4:00 pm
Fees: Check website for current ticket prices, discount offers and combination packages.
Comments: Sherman Gardens is a nonprofit garden and library. The garden contains over one thousand species and two hundred genera of rare cacti, succulents and exotic vegetation. Many of the plant specimens are labeled by origin, generic family and common names with plant directories available for those who wish to study the plants in depth. This special place was created in 1966 with the gardens named in memory of educator and California pioneer, Moses H. Sherman, who lived from 1853 to 1932. Principal founder Arnold D. Haskell established the Library and Gardens to furnish the community with an educational and cultural center.
The botanical collections of the Gardens, in their geographical origins, span the globe.....ranging from plant life of the desert regions to exotic vegetation of tropical climes. The Gardens provide a museum of living plants, displayed amidst a setting of fountains and sculptures and an abundance of seasonal flowers. Cactus and Succulent Gardens surrounds a large California pepper tree. Stepping inside the warm, moist Tropical Conservatory with orchids, heliconias and gingers in full bloom is like a visit to the Pacific Islands. And don't forget to check out the size of the koi: there are more than a dozen of the carp. The Rose Garden features an array of colorful and scented blooming plants, while the cool atmosphere of the Fern Grotto exhibits the bold greenery of several forty-year-old hanging staghorn ferns. A bo tree, considered sacred by Hindus and Buddhists, resides in the Japanese Garden. The Herb Garden boasts a variety of herbs, including chocolate and orange-mint, tri-color and society garlic.
The Gardens provide a tranquil environment simply to be enjoyed for its beauty or, an ideal environment for photography. Wide angle, normal and even telephoto lenses are useful but be sure to have a macro or close focus capability as closer-up opportunities are everywhere. I have been there several times a captured photos of people, plants and insects.
Directions: From I-605, take the I-405 S toward San Diego or from I-5 take I-405 north to Mac Arthur Blvd. Take Mac Arthur Blvd. south toward Newport Beach. Turn Left onto E Coast Hwy / Pacific Coast St. Hwy / CA-1 South, proceed for 0.1 mile. End at 2647 E Coast Hwy, Corona Del Mar, CA.