About This Guide
Our Mission & Editorial Standards
BotanicalGardens.blog was founded on a simple premise: the internet deserves a comprehensive, trustworthy, expert-written guide to America's public botanical gardens — one that treats readers as intelligent adults who value accuracy over entertainment.
Why We Built This Site
The United States is home to more than 600 public botanical gardens and arboreta — institutions that collectively preserve millions of plant specimens, conduct critical conservation research, and welcome tens of millions of visitors each year. Yet finding reliable, detailed, expert-written information about these gardens online remains surprisingly difficult.
Most existing resources are either superficial travel-blog entries written by non-specialists, outdated institutional pages that haven't been updated in years, or aggregator sites that prioritize quantity over quality. BotanicalGardens.blog was created to fill this gap: a single authoritative resource covering botanical gardens in all 50 states, written by horticultural experts, grounded in primary sources, and maintained with the same rigor we would expect from a peer-reviewed publication.
Our California guide — the first in our 50-state series — establishes the template we will follow for every subsequent state: long-form profiles of each major garden, verified historical facts with inline citations, practical visitor information, seasonal highlights, and a comparison table for quick reference. We are committed to completing all 50 states and maintaining every guide indefinitely.
Our Editorial Standards
Factual Accuracy & Primary Sources
Every historical claim on this site is supported by a cited primary source — official garden records, peer-reviewed botanical literature, Wikipedia articles with their own citations, or direct institutional communications. We do not publish unverifiable claims. If we cannot cite it, we do not write it.
Expert Horticultural Review
Our editorial team includes writers and reviewers with formal horticultural training and Master Gardener certification. Content is reviewed for botanical accuracy before publication. We consult with garden professionals and, where possible, verify information directly with the institutions we cover.
Annual Content Review
Botanical garden information changes frequently — admission prices, hours, seasonal programming, and even collection compositions evolve over time. We review every published guide at least once per year and update the 'Last Reviewed' date on each page. Material changes are noted inline.
Editorial Independence
No botanical garden pays to be featured on this site, and no garden can pay to improve its ranking or prominence. Our coverage decisions are made entirely on the basis of historical significance, collection depth, public accessibility, and visitor experience. Affiliate links, where present, are clearly disclosed and do not influence editorial content.
Our Team
Editorial Team
Master Gardener Certified Writers
Our core writing team holds Master Gardener certification through the University of California Cooperative Extension program, the most rigorous public horticulture education program in the United States. Team members have collectively visited over 200 botanical gardens across the country and bring firsthand observational knowledge to every guide.
Botanical Reviewers
Horticultural Accuracy Review
Before publication, content is reviewed by horticultural professionals with backgrounds in plant systematics, conservation biology, and public garden management. Reviewers check all botanical names, historical dates, collection statistics, and visitor information against primary sources.
Corrections Team
Ongoing Accuracy Monitoring
A dedicated corrections team monitors reader feedback, institutional communications, and horticultural literature for information that may require updates to published content. Material factual errors are corrected within 48 hours of verification and noted inline with a correction notice.
Corrections Policy
We take factual accuracy seriously and welcome corrections from readers, garden staff, and horticultural professionals. If you believe any information on this site is inaccurate, please contact us at [email protected] with the specific claim, the page URL, and your proposed correction with a supporting source.
We investigate all corrections within 48 hours. Material factual errors are corrected and noted inline with a correction notice and the date of correction. Minor updates (such as changes to admission prices or hours) are reflected in the page's "Last Reviewed" date without a separate correction notice.
Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure
BotanicalGardens.blog participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase or booking through links on this site, at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links are clearly identified where present.
This site also displays advertising through Google AdSense and may display other contextual advertising. Advertising revenue helps us maintain and expand our editorial coverage.
Important: Affiliate relationships and advertising revenue do not influence our editorial decisions. No garden pays to be featured, ranked, or reviewed favorably on this site. Our coverage is determined solely by editorial merit.