Edit: The Garden of D’Lights is closed January 4-5, 2023 due to rain. See the website for details.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden is bringing back its whimsical Garden of D’Lights holiday event! Each year, they deck out the plants with multicolored lights, lasers, and more, transforming the already spectacular 3.5 acre space into an otherworldly outdoor adventure. Guests can stroll through the beautiful glowing gardens for 1-1.5 hours to discover countless photo ops and exciting displays.
Visit this extravagant dreamland from November 25 through January 8, during time slots between 5:30-7:30pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with select days off. Starting December 13, the garden will add Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
At the moment only members can purchase tickets to see the garden, but tickets go on sale November 1st for the general public. General admission tickets are $28 for adults, $16 for children ages 5-17, and free for children under 5.
In past years, the Garden of D’Lights was so popular that it was extended into January. This year, they’re promising even bigger and better light effects for an experience that’s unlike any other! The dazzling light display is the Ruth Bancroft Garden’s primary fundraising event of the year, so make sure to get out to Walnut Creek and support this beautiful botanical space.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden was born out of an enormous award-winning fruit farm dating back to the 1880s and passed down through the Bancroft family. In the late 1960s, owner Philip Bancroft Jr. ceased farm production and gifted the land to his wife, Ruth Bancroft, who was an avid gardener from Berkeley. Ruth’s enormous collection of succulents grew into a stunning landscape and accompanying nonprofit organization. Visitors can now stroll through beautifully cultivated aloes, agaves, yuccas, echeverias, and more, almost all of which were chosen and arranged by Ruth herself. There’s also a substantial nursery space so visitors can take a bit of the garden back home with them.
Find the Ruth Bancroft Garden at 1552 Bancroft Road in Walnut Creek.
Images: Photos by Kelley Lotosky of Let’s Spread Beauty and Earl Ruby – The Ruth Bancroft Garden board Member. Via Ruth Bancroft Garden