San Diego Botanic Garden Ushers In Summer Season With Concert Series & Major Exhibition

San Diego Botanic Garden (SDBG) is beckoning locals and travelers alike with a summer lineup featuring a fresh slate of events.

Experience the captivating Summer Nights with extended hours, live concerts, and delectable food and drink offerings.

Don’t miss the extraordinary Savage Gardens exhibition, showcasing carnivorous plants and artistic installations.

And mark your calendars for The Garden Party, a spectacular fundraising event on September 9th, concluding the vibrant season at SDBG.

2023 San Diego Botanic Garden Summer Lineup

Summer Nights

The fan-favorite Summer Nights (July 13 – August 17, 2023) will be returning on select Thursdays and feature extended hours until 8PM, concerts, special events, along with specialty food and drink packages. Featured performances range from children’s group, Hullabaloo, to jazz guitarist, Peter Sprague.

The popular Wine in the Garden event will also return this year with wine tastings and presentations by Certified Sommelier, Dane Kuta, and SDBG Director of Gardens, John Clements, to discuss how climate, soil, and terrain play a role in winemaking.

Amphitheater concerts and special presentations will require a separate “special event” ticket, which varies in price and includes admission to SDBG. Concerts on the Lawn are free with a general admission ticket but with capacity limited, reservations are strongly recommended.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Performances and Special Events include:

• July 13 – Hullabaloo, Gazebo Lawn Garden Concert
• July 20 – Peter Sprague, Conservatory Amphitheater Concert [SOLD OUT]
• July 27 – Billy Lee and the Gulf Coasters, Gazebo Lawn Garden Concert
• August 3 – Euphoria Brass Band, Conservatory Amphitheater Concert
• August 10 – Jessica Fichot: From Paris to Shanghai, Conservatory Amphitheater Concert
• August 17 – Wine in the Garden: Comparing the Left and Right Banks of Bordeaux, Special Series Amphitheater

Guests can pre-order a selection of sweet and savory treats to enjoy during Summer Nights, including charcuterie platters with an assortment of cheeses, crisps, sopressata salami and fresh fruit, along with dessert samplers from local favorite Elizabethan Desserts including apple pie bites, churro mini cupcakes, and caramel and pecan bar bites.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will also be available including various wine, spritzers and craft beers. Visit here.

Savage Gardens

On the heels of World of Orchids, SDBG is entering “The Real and Imaginary World of Carnivorous Plants” with Savage Gardens. The traveling exhibition will run from July 1 through October 29 and spotlight carnivorous plants in the Dickinson Family Education Conservatory along with large-scale artistic installations, presented in collaboration with Tork, a team of experienced artists specializing in unique sculptural installations.

All of this will be in addition to SDBG’s regular calendar of classes and activities across its 15 on-site gardens that represent different regions of the world, 12 demonstration gardens where visitors can learn in a hands-on setting, and the largest public bamboo collection in North America.

The touring exhibition will explore the bizarre and captivating world of carnivorous plants. In addition to a collection of real carnivorous species on display, visitors will get a bug’s-eye perspective with three larger-than-life installations inside and around SDBG’s 8,000 square foot, glass-enclosed Dickinson Family Education Conservatory:

• A 10-foot-tall Tropical Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes) invites visitors to step inside to imagine the fate of an unlucky insect.
• Seven North American Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia) sculptures that reach heights of 15 feet.
• A 10-foot-tall Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) sculpture replicated the closing of the “trap” through the use of hydraulics.

All installations are constructed with aluminum and resin offering incredible interpretations of these unique plants. Vendors will also be featured on select weekends selling plants, potting materials, and other merchandise. Members of SDBG receive free admission to the exhibition. Non-member admissions range from $10-$18. Reservations are required.

Entrance to the exhibition includes access to the vendor booths and the rest of the Garden during the same visit. For more information and to reserve an entrance date and time, visit here.

The Garden Party

The season will cap off with The Garden Party, SDBG’s annual fundraising event, set for Saturday, September 9, 2023, featuring an evening of botanical beauty, fabulous food and beverages, and live entertainment to support critical science, conservation and education programs at the Garden and beyond.

See you there!

For more information on the 2023 San Diego Botanic Garden Summer Lineup, or to plan your visit, please visit their website here.

See you there, San Diego!