Night Lights
Nature Lights event returns to
SLO Botanical Garden
this holiday season
By Misty Hall
All photos courtesy of SLO Botanical Garden
Labor Day: For most of us, it’s the unofficial pivot point where we say goodbye to summer and start to plan for fall.
But for the folks at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, it’s a slightly more abrupt pivot — one that drops them
firmly into the holidays. No, they’re not your overzealous neighbor types who put up their Christmas trees when
it’s still 90 degrees outside. They’re just prepping for their biggest fundraising event of the year: Nature Lights.
Over the following 10 weeks, staff and volunteers will be in a whirlwind of lights, art, and all manner of holiday decor, which they’ll painstakingly place across the Botanical Gardens.
The result? The annual Nature Lights event, a holiday wonderland inviting guests to stroll through eight acres of magical displays while listening to live music, sipping something tasty, and shopping for loved ones.
Light up the night
“The lights cover about eight acres of the garden — including our Display, Fire Safe, and Children’s Gardens, and some of the hillside behind the Fire Safe Garden leading up to the sundial,” said Dana Sundblad, the garden’s director of development and special events. “We take a lot of care when hanging lights to work around the plants — to make sure that the installations don’t detract from the beauty of the plants or create safety issues for our daytime visitors.”
Returning this year are some favorite displays from last year, including the Garden of Lanterns, Light Rings, and the Christmas Tree of Lights — and some new things, too, of course. “We don’t want to spoil any surprises,” said Sundblad, “but we’re adding two completely new displays this year, including one with an ‘under-the-sea’ theme!”
First conceived four years ago, Nature Lights was the brainchild of local artists and garden staff. “Many of the light displays were originally envisioned by Kody Cava, but have been added to over the years by garden staff including Jon McGann, Janine Stillman, and Jerry Williams,” said Sundblad.
Nature Lights officially begins this year with the Flip the Switch Party on Nov. 26, and runs Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 27. In years past, peak weekends have sold out, with more than 9,000 ticket sales being recorded for the season. The Flip the Switch party requires a separate ticket, but will be well worth it with catered food, wine, beer and cocktails, a dessert bar, live music, and silent wreath auction. “More than a dozen local artists are creating their own version of holiday wreaths,” said Sundblad. “We’ll have wreaths made of glass, handmade paper flowers, carved wood, succulents, and more.”
Throughout its run, Nature Lights promises an evening you’ll want to share with family and friends. No matter which pathway you choose to stroll, you’ll find something new. “It is impossible to choose one display” as a favorite, said Janine Stillman, the garden’s executive director. But for organizers, “the first time we can stay late, and start to see what everything will look like at night, (it) is magical!”
Music to your ears
Two main stages — Terrace and Acorn — will feature live music each evening. At Terrace, ample seating is available with tables, benches, and a fire pit under the market lights. Acorn, meanwhile, is ready for your selfies, with a beautiful backdrop surrounded by light displays, as well as seating areas. Both will have beer, wine, and cocoa for sale, and space heaters for chilly Central Coast evenings.
So what’s playing onstage? “Everything! We’ve got a cappella, Americana/blues, classic rock, even sea shanties, and fiddlers! All of our performers are local. You may recognize some of the names from other venues around town,” said Sundblad. “We’re excited to welcome back Hakeem, B & The Hive, Gary Wooten, and Joy Polloi. New to our stages are That’s the Key (Cal Poly’s a cappella group), Big Sierra, Aaron Russell, Keilo Smith, and more!”
During the Christmas holiday week, Sundblad added, “We’ll have some very holiday special performances by local favorites Bellissima Handbells and the Jingle Belles. I’m also personally excited to have That’s the Key back to the garden and at Nature Lights for the first time. They are such fun and have great energy!”
Fuel your stroll
Special guest chefs are slated for each evening, including Garrett Morris of Sichuan Kitchen SLO and Carolyn’s Kitchen Team (part of Achievement House), among many others.
Local beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available at multiple locations. “We also offered a ‘spiked’ cocoa last year that was a huge hit with the adults, so expect that to make a return this year,” said Sundblad.
Holiday shoppers, rejoice
Also returning this year is the Artists’ Marketplace, filling the Pavillion with local artists and makers Nov. 26 to 29 and Dec. 19 to 23. Think jewelry, art, home goods, candles, fine art, cards, and more, all from area vendors.
The garden’s own gift shop and nursery will be open each evening, too. The gift shop has some great SLO Botanical Garden merch, as well as items from local artists. “Our retail nursery features a wide selection of drought-tolerant plants suitable for local planting, most of which are propagated on site in our greenhouse by volunteers,” said Sundblad. “The nursery also has a selection of outdoor art if your garden needs some extra pop!”
More than just a holiday hot-spot
The roots of the SLO Botanical Garden go back to the late 1980s when a Cal Poly SLO student, Eve Vigil, had the idea to start a garden highlighting the plants of the Mediterranean climates of the world: South/Southwest Australia, California, Central Chile, Mediterranean Basin, and South Africa (Cape Region). Plants from one region often do well when grown in the other regions — even though they’re vastly different — because the climates are similar. This fascinated Vigil, and less than a decade later, the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens were born, highlighting the best of each region.
The Preview Garden was the first of many at the SLO Botanical Garden. It opened in 1997, thanks to local and national grants, with help from students in Cal Poly’s construction engineering classes. Cuesta College’s technology department also pitched in a few years later to help further expand the garden. Over the years, the Botanical Gardens have continued to grow, with several new spaces and features — the Fire Safe Garden and the Chumash Heritage Garden, among them.
Today, the sprawling 150-acre garden features not just a wide variety of plants from the Mediterranean regions, but also offers educational programs for kids and adults, special events, a large horticultural library, gift shop, retail nursery, and inspiring examples of green building, fire-safe garden planning, and water conservation practices.
Can’t make it during Nature Lights? There is a slew of other events slated throughout the year, including Mushroom Discovery Workshop Weekend (typically in February), the Ladybug Release (March), Faerie Festival (May), and Boo-Tanical Garden (October). There are also “fused glass classes, succulent wreath workshops, and Little Acorns, our weekly parent participation class for kids under 4,” said Sundblad. “In addition, we offer two free programs each month — Free Family Days (second Sunday) with nature-themed activities especially for children and families, and Nature Sundays (fourth Sunday) our signature adult education program.”
Events aside, the gardens themselves are well worth the trip, no matter what time of year you happen to be in the area. Find the buckwheats, sages, and manzanitas of California; Peruvian lilies and silver puyas of Chile; aloes and cone bushes of South Africa; rock roses and succulents of the Mediterranean; and the bottlebrushes and kangaroo paws of Australia. Learn about sustainable practices and the best things to plant to ensure a fire-safe garden at your own house. You can even take home your new favorite plant from the garden’s retail nursery.
The SLO Botanical Garden is located at 3450 Dairy Creek Rd., San Luis Obispo. For tickets, resources and more, visit slobg.org/naturelights.