Taft Gardens & nature Preserve
Based in Ojai, California, the Conservation Endowment Fund (CEF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve. This 264-acre property, nestled in the Ojai foothills near Lake Casitas, stewards cultivated gardens featuring a variety of plants that thrive in California’s Mediterranean climate and over 200 acres of Nature Preserve and vital open space.
Aloe Garden
With a focus on South African species, this garden features a vast collection of aloe plants, some reaching impressive heights of 8 to 12 feet. From mid-winter to early spring, the collection comes alive with striking red, yellow, pink, and orange blooms in stunning spiral patterns that attract a variety of pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Guests will find a number of interesting varieties, such as the Aloe ferox, known for its fierce-looking spines and towering flower stalks. Other notable plants include Aloe speciosa, with its stunning pink-to-green gradients and distinctive way its flowers tilt to one side, and Aloe arborescens, a beautiful and fire-resistant succulent.
SOUTH AFRICAN GARDEN
Planted in the late 1980s, this garden was designed by Laurence Nicklin, a Horticulturist who worked at the renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town. Enamoured by exotic plants, John Taft brought Lawrence to Ojai to help propagate a collection of flora native to South Africa. The plants were selected for their ability to thrive in Ojai's Mediterranean climate, and the garden was designed to come alive with vibrant color in the Springtime. Here, you'll discover a medley of intriguing shapes and textures, including small, bell-shaped blossoms that grow in dense clusters (Ericaceae), big, plasticky pincushion flowers and pom pom flame tips (Protea), as well as tall flowering bulbs like Watsonia.
Lily Grove Lawn
Nestled in the center of our cultivated gardens is this beloved lawn area shaded by majestic, old-growth oak trees. The grove provides a serene backdrop for professional photoshoots, picnics, and is, most notably, a premier wedding location at Taft. It is also a key transition point, situated at the juncture of the South African and Australian Gardens, where you can see the whimsical South African cabbage trees (Cussonia) on one side and stately Australian grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) on the other. This elegant space is adorned with Natal lilies (Clivia) and calla lilies (Zantedeschia) from March through May, making it a perfect spot for a springtime ceremony.
AUSTRALIAN GARDEN
Designed by Jo O’Connell of Australian Native Plants Nursery in nearby Casitas Springs, this garden was established in the early 1990s. Jo cultivated the collection by bringing seeds from Australia and gathering clippings of Australian plants already thriving in California. This section of Taft Gardens features a diverse range of drought-tolerant flora, including iconic species like grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) and the bulbous (and very huggable) Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris), which produces striking purple flowers in the summer. Showcasing the extraordinary color and shapes of Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea, and Dryandra, as well as multiple varieties of bottlebrush (Myrtaceae), this garden attracts a wonderful variety of hummingbirds and other wildlife.
