There are currently 199 Garden Club of America (GCA) Garden Clubs in the United States and The Garden Club of Santa Barbara (GCSB) is among them.

Our Visiting Gardens committee is responsible for hosting other GCA Garden Club members when they ask  to visit the Santa Barbara area. The committee coordinates garden tours and enlists our own garden club members to open their gardens, and often their homes, so visitors can get a glimpse of the hidden gems we have among our community.

In addition to hosting other garden clubs, our Visiting Gardens group also plans field trips for GCSB members to explore gardens in other areas of the United States. We have visited clubs in South Carolina, New York and throughout California  to name a few. Along with visits to other clubs, the committee  also plans local and out-of-town visits to growers, nurseries, and all venues related to gardens.

Recently we visited the Virginia Robinson Garden in Beverly Hills and the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Both were built over 100 years ago, in 1911 and 1919 respectively. Locally we visited the whimsical Hermitage Museum and grounds where we took a 1.5 mile stroll through an amazing botanic garden with an array of unusual and creative sculptures along the way. We also visited the Autumn Brands Cannabis Farm in Carpinteria and learned about their sustainable farming techniques and pesticide-free cultivation.

Our club recently hosted 20 women from the Pasadena Garden Club for three full days of garden tours. Thanks to the late rain and recent heat wave, all the gardens were in full bloom! The roses behaved beautifully as did the wisteria and boxwood. Wow!

We toured Bellosguardo and had an amazing lunch, thanks to Field+Fort. We also got to see a hidden gem: an Addison Mizner estate not usually opened for viewing. Our own members’ homes and gardens were incredible as well!