Collections and Gardens

The Arboretum specializes in plants adapted to a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Established in 1936, the Arboretum occupies about 100 acres along the banks of the old north channel of Putah Creek, in California's Central Valley. Unlike the Pacific coast, which has a very mild climate where most plants flourish, California's Central Valley has a climate of extremes. Temperatures in Davis range from 14°F to 118°F, and average rainfall is only 19 inches per year. The Arboretum is the main source of horticultural information for inland California.

The plants in the UC Davis Arboretum are arranged in a series of gardens that represent different geographic areas, plant groups, horticultural themes, or historical periods.

The Arboretum Terrace is the home demonstration garden for California's Central Valley. Visitors can learn to create a beautiful garden, reduce their use of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and provide a refuge for birds and butterflies, using plants and garden techniques adapted to local growing conditions.

The Mary Wattis Brown Garden of California Native Plants includes drought-tolerant species suitable for landscape plantings as well as a number of rare and endangered plants. It showcases an extensive collection of California wild lilac (Ceanothus) and a planting of native bunchgrasses.

The Ruth Risdon Storer Garden features flowering perennials and small shrubs that are especially well suited to central valley gardens. It is designed for year-round color with low water use and minimal maintenance. A new addition is a demonstration planting of roses and companion plants.

The Carolee Shields White Flower Garden is a theme garden based on medieval moon-viewing gardens of India and Japan. With its curving paths framing a vine-covered gazebo, the garden is a popular site for weddings and other events. Many of the plants here are fragrant, and their pale flowers are particularly luminous by moonlight.

More than 80 kinds of oaks are found in the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove, including a fine collection of oaks native to the western United States and many trees that are rare in cultivation. With its open vistas and wide sweeping lawns, the grove is a popular retreat for students and visitors. Other important taxonomic collections include conifers and acacias.

The Mediterranean Collection features plants native to the Mediterranean basin, arrayed around a scenic lagoon. This section is noted for its collection of medicinal and culinary herbs. Other geographic displays feature plants from South Africa, Australia, the Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Chile.

The Redwood Memorial Grove is one of the largest collections of Sequoia sempervirens, the coast redwood, outside its native range. The tall trees create a shady, silent, cathedral-like atmosphere just a few minutes' walk from central campus. Across the creek, the North Coast Collection features the characteristic trees of the mixed evergreen forest of northern California. Other native plants, including several majestic 200-year-old Valley oaks (Quercus lobata), are found in the California Foothill Collection.

The Desert Collection demonstrates the amazing adaptations to heat and drought that plants have evolved in the arid regions of the Americas. This area features cacti and succulents as well fan palms, mesquites, and other trees and shrubs.

The Early California Garden represents a garden from the rancho period, roughly 1840-1860, when California was part of Mexico and plants from Europe, Asia, and Central America were introduced into Californian gardens.

The Arboretum’s living collection and several other collections can be searched by clicking here. The database is updated as information becomes available. You must check the box next to University of California Davis in order to search our collection.