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Gorgeous
Gardens
Discover natural wonders all around you
Unlike most theme parks, here at Gilroy Gardens the trees, plants and flowers came before all the rides and other attractions!
Designed around founder Michael Bonfante’s love for trees, these six distinct gardens offer a peaceful place to wander, relax, and appreciate the beauty of nature.
Camellia Garden
Be sure to visit Camellia Garden in the spring to see the Camellias in full bloom—a spectacular sight with single, semi-double, and double blossoms in white, pink, red, and variegated colors.
This garden also features many varieties of Japanese Maples, Hydrangeas, hanging baskets, and annual flowerbeds that are a sight to see all year long. Picnic benches make this a perfect place to relax and enjoy a meal.
This garden is also host to our educational Musical Market Show. Have a seat and enjoy this animatronics show featuring Mario Garlic and Tomato Jack, supported by a cast of other vegetables and fruits. It’s an easy and entertaining way to learn about good nutrition.
Claudia’s Garden
Named after founder Michael Bonfante’s wife, Claudia’s Garden is the oldest garden in the park and a longtime favorite of our guests.
This secluded garden can be accessed through a “secret entrance” just off Sycamore Bridge. The garden showcases a variety of conifers (trees with needle-like leaves), colorful annual flowerbeds, and a gurgling creek.
Here you can also find Claudia’s Carousel, a historic child-sized carousel that is more than 100 years old. And as you exit the garden into the park, you’ll walk through the Arch Tree, one of several amazing Circus Trees located throughout the park.
Holly Garden
Welcome to holly-wood! The Holly Garden pathway features a collection of over 20 different varieties of holly trees, holly shrubs, and whimsical holly topiaries.
This garden was designed to show the variety in holly leaf sizes and growth habits. Hollies can range from low-growing 12-inch shrubs all the way up to full-size trees of 75 feet or more! Holly plants can be either evergreen or deciduous, but they all produce colorful berries in the fall.
This often-overlooked garden also has observation decks that are a great place to catch stunning views of the Lily Pond and waterfalls cascading into Coyote Lake.
Monarch Garden
Monarch Garden is a towering 60-foot tall climate-controlled greenhouse that contains hundreds of tropical and sub-tropical trees, shrubs, flowers and vines that would not normally survive in Gilroy’s climate.
A visit here is truly a treat for all the senses: spectacular blooms, intoxicating scents, ripening fruits, and the gentle sounds of waterfalls (and the occasional train or monorail car coming through).
Named for the butterflies that frequent areas of Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, this garden also features a Monarch Butterfly exhibit. Here you can learn more about these lovely creatures and, during certain times of the year, even observe caterpillars transforming into butterflies.
Rainbow Garden Boat Ride
To view the Rainbow Garden, you have to first board one of our giant pink round boats that drift leisurely on a winding stream through large colorful beds of annual flowers and whimsical topiaries.
As you ride, watch for buzzing bumblebees, a leaping dolphin, and a majestic deer!
South County Backroads Garden
Take a road trip in a convertible 1920s roadster or 1950s sports car to explore the two-acre South County Backroads Garden—and take a journey back in time to when Santa Clara County was mostly wide-open farmland and known as the “Valley of the Heart’s Delight.”
You’ll drive through the “foothills” and across the valley floor, passing majestic conifers, a canopy of deciduous trees, and open meadows. You’ll also see fanciful topiaries, annual flowerbeds, and a variety of stunning water features with rock formations.
Just be sure not to go too fast—or a policeman might pull you over for speeding!
Plants, Trees and Flowers All Around
In addition to these unique gardens, you’ll find beautiful trees and plants everywhere you go at Gilroy Gardens—from fast-growing bamboo around the entrance to the Panoramic Wheel to the 125+ year old olive trees that surround the Garlic Twirl ride. And, of course, you can’t miss the weird, whimsical Circus Trees located throughout the park!
To learn more, look for informational signs, ask a friendly docent, or pick up the Gardens Tour brochure at the Welcome Center.