If you are planning a trip to visit the Mendocino Coast in Northern California I would highly suggest visiting Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens located between Ft. Bragg and the quaint town of Mendocino.
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I grew up in Mendocino County and had never visited this Botanic Garden until a few weeks ago! My mother and I enjoyed a few peaceful hours exploring the grounds of this 47 Acre Botanic Garden, trails through various gardens and with the Prize attraction towards the back of the land – the annual Dahlia Festival! Dahlias… the Dahlias – so many Dahlias. Not surprisingly, it was the Dahlias that inspired me to visit the Botanic Gardens, a few people had told me that I *must* go see them in all their blooming glory. I hadn’t been prepared for just how glorious the entire Botanic Gardens would be and to top it off they offer a retail nursery full of unique plants. I came home with a Purple Bell Vine (see picture below).
I had a hard time narrowing down the photos to include in this post as I had taken so many! Enjoy 
Purple Bell Vine
The Gardens are right on the Coastline just south of Ft. Bragg, California.
They have the coolest Heather Garden, rolling heather in various colors.
