I took my wife and her dog to visit and get out of the house. It’s a beautiful facility with lots of unique plants. It’s easy to get around, and fully accessible even for my wife who is disabled (her scooter worked fine). The nursery is attached, and of course, we came home with a small plant.

Such a lovely garden! Fun to wander the trails, investigate the art installments, and bring a four-legged pal. The nursery is dangerously stocked with beautiful flora you can call your own!

Beautiful gardens with excellent written guide to give you as much or as little information and history as you want.

A tad pricey but the selection is great. Staff is helpful. Would be back definitely.

Amazing!! So delighted I finally made it. Going back soon.

If you like succulents, or want to learn more, then this is the place. Thousands of succulents to see and get close to. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. Our guide seemed to know everything abotu the gardens and more. Give yourself enough time to see everything and learn how to have your own succulent garden...it is easier than you think.

Awesome place! On their 3 acres, they have an amazing variety cacti beautifully displayed. Theres a self guided tour with several very friendly dosens on the grounds who are happy to share their deep knowledge. You can purchase many of the plants in the gardens at the nursery.

Very cool place to visit. The garden is not very big but its got a variety of succulents. You dont have to pay the entrance fee $10 to enter the garden. Its possible to just visit the plant sale area to buy some plant! Very cool plant sale area and very much affordable.

40+ year old 3 acre drought tolerant 4 season garden and plant nursery in the middle of a neighborhood. There is always things blooming.With your $10/adult admission fee, you are given a self-guided garden booklet which list the different number paths to enjoy looking and photographing different succulents, cacti, aloe, agave, and native California plants and wildflowers (California poppies were in full bloom in April).There are chairs and tables and benches scattered around the garden to sit, enjoy, and eat your food you bring in.The friendly volunteer docents are full of plant information or can get information from one of the Ruth Bancroft Garden staff members.While the garden is right next to busy Bancroft Rd, walking around here can feel like a mini getaway or oasis.The garden is flat with either dirt or gravel paths. Easily accessible for both babies in strollers, toddlers walking themselves, and people who used walkers or wheelchairs. The docents make everyone who enters feel welcome.In the plant nursery has many of the plants you see in the garden for sale. The plants are either propagated in the on-site greenhouses or from from growers around the country. Many of the water-conservation plants are either California natives or have origins from around the globe.If you are a Bay Area gardener, you will get great inspiration visiting the garden or the nursery. And if you enjoy taking pictures of plants and gardens, you will be among the many photogs with their cameras on their tripods looking to take their next photo.November 2019 Update: Went to garden to see what was blooming during autumn. There was a bucket of “free umbrellas” at the garden entrance to be used if you wanted to protect yourself from the sun and heat.Kid Friendly & Accessibility Friendly - paths are wide, flat, and smooth for strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, and cans. Young kids are able to run around and along the paths. There is a diaper changing table in the Women’s Restroom

Nice garden to visit & purchase water-conserving plants!

Fantastic as always! Spring and early summer are my favorite times to visit, though it is an amazing garden year round!

$10 admission per adult. Nursery is free. There are native or drought resistant plants for purchase of over-priced succulents and cacti. In a way, it has a miniature theme park feel. Social Distancing measures have been set up and appear nicely done.

Amazing collection of drought tolerant plants. The textures and mounds for viewing were well thought out. The volunteers and employees were helpful and knowledgeable! Wonderful selection of plants for sale at very reasonable prices. I became a member and look forward to bringing new people to the gardens on my next visit!

Great collection of succulents, palms, and other drought resistant plants. Fun to take pictures of all the intricate little designs, colors and natures geometric shapes noticed throughout the garden!

GREAT PLACE. NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I SEEN ANY THING SO AMAZING

Delightful garden filled with large and small succulents, both rare and common. Always something new to look at and fabulous place for photos or a dog walk.

Amazing. You can easily spend a whole afternoon in the garden and, if you love nature and photography, this is the place for you. The garden is mostly dedicated to cactus from all over the world. You should definitely bring with you and use the map of the garden, well made and full of explanation about the plants that you will see.An unforgettable experience

I really loved this garden. I bought a milkweed here, which I was really excited about as I had been looking everywhere for one! Pretty good selection of California Natives, great selection of drought tolerant plants. The docents at the entrance are super sweet and helpful.

A little gem that even locals do not know much about. Lots of succulents, and cacti. We ended up going there mid-day on a hot day but there were enough shades and chairs to rest a little bit. They also had chilled water dispensers. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly.

Fantastic garden, theres a sculpture showing right now which was great. We had a wonderful time!

Awesome place to know more about .

This is the place for a living gift to brighten someones day. Great examples of mature plants are displayed to show how they will look in gardens like yours. People that propagate, tend, and plant educated are here to help with your garden questions and challenges. The choices you buy here will thrive for you with minimum care and water as they do in my gardens of 300+ plants. Classes and tours are frequently offered for those wanting to know more.

Wonderful collection of large succulents provides for an interesting, pleasant day. Worth visiting during different seasons.

The lights experience wasn’t worth the $25. I would have liked to see more skill with the decoration instead of just some projected lights on plants. I can appreciate how people loved the succulents though.

Beautiful native gardens, it was not busy and the people there were so friendly and knowledgeable. There is also a little nursery, I picked up a cute plant and planter made by a local artist.

Lovely calm oasis in the busy suburb

Local history preserved. This 1939 aerial photo shows the Bancroft Gardens at center, the horse racing track at lower left would be come Heather Farms. The dark tree-lined street sloping up from lower left is Ygnacio

This garden is a gem and one of my favorite places to go.

Amazing, beautiful cacti and succulents. Lots of photo ops.NICE people working there.

I LOVE the Ruth Bancroft Garden. Its amazing and beautiful. The staff is always very friendly and helpful. Its my favorite place in the area.

This place is magical! If you love desert plants, you need to come here. The garden is beautiful and is packed with so many things to see. Even though it is relatively small, we still feel like we haven’t seen everything after several visits. They have a huge variety of desert-dwellers, both in the garden and in the nursery for sale. When we xeriscaped our front yard, we bought most of our plants from here. The employees are super helpful and gave us advice on what to pick up. They will even custom-order something for you if they don’t have it in-stock.

This place changed how I garden! The staff is so friendly and knowledgable. Become a member and youll find yourself here roaming the gardens more than you can imagine!

Nicely arranged succulent garden with plants from all over the world. I wish there were individual markers for the plants, especially some of the stunning unusual ones, but the docents are very knowledgeable and helpful. Come early when they have their plant sales before the best specimens are gone!

Friendly staff and beautiful garden

With a docent guided tour we learned about a lot of the plants they have there and the history of the garden. Definitely more than I anticipated. The nursery sells babies and larger plants at reasonable prices, with a great variety. Definitely worth checking out!

We visited 2 yrs ago and loved it! They were having a ceramics display throughout the gardens and it was beautiful! Staff was very knowledgable and helpful, also.

Reminds me of a ddot. Place changed A lot though. Great work m

Love the new Art in the Garden!

Built by a local woman who tended the gardens until her recent death, these gardens are a local treat that are managed by a local group of dedicated gardeners. The area is small so it doesnt take a lot of walking nor time to visit. Allow about a half hour or more to do it justice. Easy access via local streets. Check out the web site to see if there are any special events occuring.

First time here visiting from Stockton and I was MIND BLOWN! I cannot wait to come back here again in the warmer weather. I didnt intend on buying anything (and shouldnt space wise at home) yet ended up leaving with 4 new babies! Im beyond excited to have found a speciality place as this and will most definitely be back again!

An amazing collection of low water consumption plants including cacti and succulents in a meandering mature dryscape garden.

A great place to spend a couple of hours wondering through a well developed garden. There are many improvements under construction at this time. It will be even lovelier once the work is done. There was a sculpture display on the day of my visit. Visitors were able to vote on their top three favourite sculptures though a more serious voting had already taken place awards bestowed upon the artist. I hope they do more events of this type in the future.

Lots of beautiful succulents packed into a small space

Love all the different scenes and textures from the awesome succulents! A must visit, hidden local gem!

An awesome succulent and CA native plant botanical garden! You can shop at the nursery for plants without having to pay an entrance fee.

Beautiful gardens with amazing collection of succulents

So many succulents!

We attended a retirement/moving to Arizona party for some friends last night at the Bancroft garden. One couldnt ask for a better setting! The garden is lovely, the crew were gracious and it was a beautiful night. I couldnt stop taking photos of the wonderful garden and interesting plants.

Beautiful garden with all manner of succulents. Knowledgeable staff. Best place around for succulents.

Under construction, but still open.Art festival hosted today, good venue. Will be spectacular in a few short months - Thanksgiving ?

Castus and succulent gardens, well maintained. Had a sculpture exhibit that wad very good. Enjoyed my visit, got a lot of good ideas for my own garden.

A display of unique desert climate plants from all over the world. We were there when plants were for sale, and we found great plants for a home garden

The garden recently underwent a significant renovation. The design of the grounds is as beautiful as the plants! Great for a visit to the garden and great nursey to pick up cactus, succulents, and the like on your way out.

If you love cactus and succulents, this is the place to be. Completely filled with all types of succulents, almost too much. Garden includes ceramic statues and other sculptures....a feast for the eyes....and there is a nursery on site. The garden is exquisite....highly recommend.

Lovely garden with sculpture show currently. Very hot but water is free with social media likes. Also provides parasols and there is a mister to cool off.

Customer service representatives here have an overachiever thing going on! I was ignorant to all things plants and they jumped at the opportunity to assist. Found what I was looking for in minutes. Note: I went outside of peak hours Im sure.

Beautiful garden and fabulous nursery in the middle of Walnut Creek. A hidden treasure!

Beloved Mt. Diablo fruit farmers then & now the Ruth Bancroft Gardens is a rare resource and a place youll learn many things.

Lots of interesting plants

I came here with my dad for Fathers Day and we had an awesome time meandering through the gardens looking at all the plants and sculptures. There are so many cool and unique plants all over the property and I love that theres a little shop to take home a new succulent or cactus of your own.

This wonderful old lady tried her best in having the garden of her dreams and succeded! Lots of things to see and hear - educational. Easy free parking. PS - she still lives on the huge property. It is a 4 season garden with plants that are drought tollerant.

Was a very nice visit ...Saw lots of unique Succulents that I have never seen before. The people were friendly, helpful & informative!!!

Place is way to over priced for such a small garden of cactus feel like we got ripped off 10 dollars per person is alot of money and they should have discounts for disabled people!

The absolute best place to appreciate succulent plants of all kinds. Something is always in bloom.

Wonderful tribute to Ruth Bancroft. Nice tours and talks. Plants for sale.

Beautiful garden. Very nice self-guided tour. Helpful staff. Relaxing..

Always blooming with the most amazing plants.

Great selection of plants helpful staff. Quiet gardens

I could not believe how horrible the people who work there where. They were obnoxious. I had driven from Oakland to see a sculpture done by a friend of mine. Needing to use the facilities, I parked and proceeded directly to the portables. Intrigue by a sculpture I was wandering down a path when I was approached by a woman demanding money. I was asking how much she wanted when a man with a watering can joined in demanding money. They were extremely rude and told me I would have to leave if I didnt pay up immediately. Im a member of the American Horticulture society and had brought along a $5 donation because my artist friend told me the garden would expect a donation. They were having none of it. They demanded I pay $10 to see the sculpture I had just driven 1/2 hour to see. I am a avid gardener and have been to various public gardens in the United States and Canada. I do extensive fundraising for an Oakland municipal garden. And I have never had a experience like the one I just had in Walnut Creek. I would highly recommend avoiding this garden at all cost.

Had a wonderful time. A personal tour given by Babs. Learned lots. Thanks.

Great garden with a wonderful staff. I recommend it highly.

Smallish garden, but great if you like succulents and cactus.

Very nice price on hard to find ammo cans!! Very easy to find.

Huge Western garden with some of the largest agave and cactuses Ive seen in the area. Prices for plants are very reasonable and they have sales often.

Ltem was easily found, first time to this site.

You can buy plants here!

Beautiful cactus garden

Love our neighborhood

High quality

Beautiful place

Great people

Beautiful.

Beautiful, very friendly staff

Wonderful

Its stunning