Visit Our Beautiful Garden Design Center To help customers create beautiful gardens that also conserve water, we offer our attractive waterwise Garden Design Center on the grounds of the Goleta Water District Office at: 4699 Hollister Avenue, Goleta (across from San Marcos High School)

The plants in the garden are grouped according to water use in a series of "rooms" including: Perennial Border, Mediterranean Garden, Exotic Garden, Traditional Garden, Southern California Native Garden, and Desert Garden.

Plant lists and a self-guided tour brochures are available at the front desk during regular business hours.

One Secret Is Choosing the Right Plants You can have a beautiful garden and still conserve water. The secret is choosing the right kinds of plants, which are native and waterwise. Check out our garden for ideas or click here.

Planning Wisely Makes a Difference To help you plan your garden, you may want to check out the District’s attractive waterwise demonstration garden on the grounds of the District Office at 4699 Hollister Ave., Goleta, across from San Marcos High School.

Variety of Options On display at the acre-plus demonstration garden is a variety of water-conserving landscaping with groupings of plants that are compatible, express numerous styles and grow well here. To see a list of other demonstration gardens click here.

Don’t Forget Irrigation Methods The best types of irrigation systems, among them drip and low-profile sprinklers, for each plant grouping are demonstrated. Go to WaterWiseSB.org.

And It’s All Free The garden is open free to the public during regular business hours. No reservation is needed.

Other Design Centers

Demonstration Gardens The public demonstration gardens in Santa Barbara County provide living examples of resource efficient landscaping. Take your class to a garden in your area for an afternoon outdoors.

Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden City block bounded by Arrellaga, Santa Barbara, Garden and Micheltorena Streets, Santa Barbara. Self-guided tour only. This 4.6 acre informal park emphasizes exotic flora. The planting areas are separated according to cultural conditions, ranging from boggy to arid, with a section of low-water using plants. A plant directory is near the center of the park, above the pond. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset every day. Free.

Firescape 2411 Stanwood Drive/Route 192 (corner of Mission Ridge Road), Santa Barbara, For information, call (805) 564-5703. Located across the street from Fire Station #7, this 1.7 acre labeled model garden demonstrates how risks of wildfire can be reduced through firescaping - appropriate planting, irrigation, and management. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset every day. Free.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara - A 65-acre garden of native plants of California, representing a variety of plant communities and important botanical and horticultural collections. The Home Demonstration Garden is a working model of year-round drought-tolerant landscaping for residential settings. The Garden Growers’ Nursery sells native and Mediterranean plants every day except Monday and Wednesday. Numerous classes on drought-tolerant planting and landscaping. Open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and until 5:00 p.m. on weekends. Small admission fee. To arrange a tour, call (805) 682-4726.

Santa Barbara City College Garden/Chumash Point Ethnobotanic Preserve 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara. The Lifescape Garden features a variety of low water using and edible plants, as well as composting systems and efficient irrigation. Chumash Point emphasizes native plants from the range of the Chumash Indians. These plants have medicinal, nutritional and spiritual importance to the Chumash. Open sunrise to sunset every day. Free. To arrange a tour, call (805) 965-0581.