Succulent lovers know there’s nothing quite like seeing these architectural, drought-adapted plants thriving in carefully curated displays. While your home garden might contain a few prized Aloes or Agaves, public botanical gardens offer a broader vision—lush dryland landscapes, massive specimen plants, and regionally inspired designs that can’t be replicated in a pot. Whether you’re a collector, designer, or weekend wanderer, visiting a botanical garden is one of the best ways to deepen your appreciation for these resilient beauties. Here are ten must-see destinations across the U.S. (and beyond) that highlight succulents in all their stunning diversity.
1. The Huntington Botanical Gardens (San Marino, CA)
Highlight: Expansive Desert Garden with century-old Aloes and massive Agaves.
What to look for: Winter-blooming Aloe forest, rare cacti, and bold design structure.
The Desert Garden at the Huntington is one of the oldest and most expansive collections of succulents in the world. With over 10 acres of paths and dryland plantings, visitors can see massive Aloe marlothii in full bloom, spiraling Agaves, and columnar cacti interplanted with drought-tolerant grasses and perennials. It's a mecca for dry garden inspiration.
2. Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix, AZ)
Highlight: A showcase of Sonoran Desert flora, with global dryland plantings.
What to look for: Agave displays, saguaros, and rotating art installations among succulents.
This world-renowned garden features over 50,000 plants, with a strong focus on arid-climate species from the Americas, Africa, and beyond. The garden's well-designed trails lead visitors through Agave parryi colonies, desert wildflowers, and towering cacti, making it a visual feast and an educational hub.
3. Ruth Bancroft Garden (Walnut Creek, CA)
Highlight: One of the first dry gardens open to the public in the U.S.
What to look for: Aloes in bloom, rare Mangaves, and thoughtful plant combinations.
A pioneering garden in water-wise design, the Ruth Bancroft Garden showcases bold, sculptural planting in a residential-scale landscape. Aloes erupt in color from fall to spring, while Agaves provide evergreen structure. The garden also runs events and classes for home gardeners.
4. UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (Berkeley, CA)
Highlight: Global dryland collections, especially South African and Mediterranean.
What to look for: Mature Aloe species, Crassulas, and companion plantings.
Situated in the hills above campus, this garden features a striking dryland section with some of the oldest cultivated succulents in Northern California. The South African beds are especially strong, featuring Aloes, Euphorbias, and mesembs in wild-looking arrangements.
5. San Diego Botanic Garden (Encinitas, CA)
Highlight: Coastal succulent displays and xeriscaped trails.
What to look for: Aloe arborescens hedges, cascading succulents, and shade-tolerant species.
This family-friendly garden offers a range of climates and themes, but its succulent plantings are standout. The arid gardens include not just Aloes and Agaves, but also semi-tropical dryland species suited for Southern California's coastal conditions.
6. Boyce Thompson Arboretum (Superior, AZ)
Highlight: Desert flora in a natural canyon setting.
What to look for: Naturalized Agaves, dryland trees, and rugged terrain planting ideas.
Arizona's largest and oldest botanical garden, Boyce Thompson blends botany with geology. Trails wind through canyons lined with succulents and native trees, creating a naturalistic experience that feels like walking through a living desert ecosystem.
7. Lotusland (Santa Barbara, CA)
Highlight: A fantastical, artistic garden by opera singer Madame Ganna Walska.
What to look for: Massed cactus and Agave displays in surreal, theatrical arrangements.
Lotusland is part sculpture garden, part plant museum. The Blue Garden features silver-foliaged succulents and blue-glazed pottery, while the Cactus Garden is a dense, geometric grid of rare columnar cacti and Agaves. It's a dreamlike experience.
8. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson, AZ)
Highlight: A blend of botanic garden and desert wildlife zoo.
What to look for: Native succulents in habitat settings, plus real-world landscape ideas.
More than a museum, this is a full immersion into the Sonoran Desert. The garden trails integrate native Aloes, cacti, and ocotillo into sweeping vistas with wildlife enclosures and interpretive signs, ideal for gardeners looking to mimic natural desert scenes.
9. South Coast Botanic Garden (Palos Verdes, CA)
Highlight: Beautiful succulents integrated into themed garden zones.
What to look for: Aloe hybrids, rock garden design, and SoCal-native dryland plants.
Built on a former landfill, this garden is a testament to renewal. While it spans many plant types, its succulent zones are artfully arranged, with elevation changes, rockwork, and mixed plantings showing how structure and texture can shape space.
10. Jardin Exotique de Monaco (Monaco)
Highlight: Cliffside garden with one of the world’s best global succulent collections.
What to look for: Towering Euphorbias, Aloes overlooking the Mediterranean, and rare species from Madagascar.
While not U.S.-based, this garden is worth the journey. With winding paths along a cliff edge, it houses extraordinary succulents in jaw-dropping Mediterranean light. The mature plantings offer lessons in scale, form, and drama.
Bringing Botanical Beauty Home
Inspired by these incredible gardens? Many of the standout plants featured—like Aloe ferox, Agave ovatifolia, and Mangave hybrids—are available from our nursery. Whether you're designing a new dry garden or looking for statement plants to elevate a container collection, we grow exceptional succulents with the same passion these gardens embody.