Conejo Valley Botanic Garden is located in Thousand Oaks, California, and consists of a peak with vista views along with 15 hillside botanical gardens. It provides a teaching laboratory for what flora works and what does not work in the Conejo Valley.
The site consists of a vast variety of endemic plants, water-conserving plants, oak trees, and indigenous wildlife. A children's garden area was added in March 2003, known as Kids’ Adventure Garden. Although the garden itself keeps open most days, Kids’ Adventure Garden and nursery plant sales are only open on certain days. Admission to the garden is free.
Although its main entrance is found at 400 West Gainsborough Road, it is also accessible from Conejo Community Park, located at the intersection of Hendrix and Dover Avenues.
The property was first acquired in 1973, while the first parts of the botanical gardens began to emerge in 1976. It is operated by the nonprofit Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, Inc. It lies across the street from Tarantula Hill, the highest point in Thousand Oaks.
Overview
It consists of a plant sanctuary on a hill overlooking the Conejo Valley. The hill contains 15 unique, hillside specialty gardens. It is home to a variety of hiking trails, which interconnect with other paths leading to various overlook points from the hill. The garden's many hill paths lead past fruit trees, sections of desert, native plants, Mediterranean plants, herbs, and a butterfly garden. The 1-mile Nature Trail follows a creek, which descends into a forested, willow- and oak-filled canyon. It is also home of a bird habitat that is a conservation effort to provide sustenance and sheltering environments for birds and other fauna.
Management
A 50-year lease agreement between the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden Inc. and Conejo Recreation & Park District was signed on October 18, 1973, with the organization paying $1 annually in rent. A term of the lease requires the garden to not charge for entry. The organization receives no funding from public agencies and remains exclusively dependent on donations.
Specialty gardens
Its botanical gardens include an Australian garden, a bird habitat, a butterfly garden, an oak-tree grove, rare-fruit orchard, extensive salvia collections, and more.
Its botanical gardens consist of 15 unique hillside gardens: