Where can one fully embrace the Mother Nature in the foggy city after a long season indoors? The San Francisco Botanical Garden at the Strybing Arboretum offers gardens, ponds, and open spaces-the perfect place to frolick, nap, lay out, and just enjoy being outside. If you ever feel the need to escape from the chaotic city life, just going to the Botanical Garden will undoubtedly satisfy that need.

Location: I visited the Garden on one of the recent and unusually hot weekends. The Garden is located within the gargantuan and always bustling Golden Gate Park. Parking is difficult and to avoid the traffic within the park, I would recommend parking along Lincoln Avenue. At the Main Gate entrance of the Garden is a modest bookshop where you can purchase gardening books or pick-up a garden map.  As I headed into the Botanical Garden, I was met by the Great Meadow, drenched in sunlight, which was a wonderful place to catch some rays. Various garden collections surround the lawn on the sides, and a large pond borders it on the far end.

As the Botanical Garden is large enough to explore over more than one day, I’ll throw out some highlights and low points at the Garden this time of year.

Must See:  In addition to relaxing in the Great Meadow, make sure to meander through the California Native Garden. The smell of the Western Azaleas will bring a smile to your face and the flourishing, bright orange California Poppies will catch your eye. The Fragrance Garden, off the northeast side of the Great Meadow, is the essence of fresh, spring air so make sure to swing through there as well.

Avoid: Word for the wise, several pathway renovations are occurring further into the Botanical Garden so I would recommend staying on the perimeter of the Garden or closer to the Main Gate.

Plant Sale: I also attended the annual plant sale, which occurs in the beginning of May, and is the largest plant sale in Northern California. Vines, vegetable starts, potted rock gardens (grown at the garden nursery and donated), are among the hundreds of plant types available. While there, I spoke with a Garden employee who informed me that the nursery does not use fertilizers or pesticides. According to Chapter 39 of the San Francisco Municipal Code, Integrated Pest Management is to be used on all City and County owned property. So not only are the plants you buy chemical-free, the lawns to frolick on throughout SFBG are fertilizer-free as well. There are plant sales throughout the summer every month- see the schedule here.

New Greenhouse: Where are all these plants from the plant sale grown you might ask? If they were not donated by regional farmers, they were naturally raised in a small, older greenhouse. But get excited for a proposed, new greenhouse, the Center for Sustainable Gardening. If approved, the LEED-planned facility construction will begin in the winter of 2009/2010 and feature horticulture educational programs in addition to regular plant growing.

Classes and Education: I didn't attend any classes on my visit, but I there are some really interesting ones upcoming. Learn how to build a Living Roof, take a class on the redwoods, or discover your inner artist with a course in botanical watercoloring.