Facilities

Greenhouse

The greenhouse, a controlled growing facility covering approximately 740 square feet, holds plant collections from tropical and arid regions as well as plants grown for student projects, campus greening, and the annual fall plant sale. The greenhouse is equipped with a cooling system, a shade system, and an irrigation system, all installed within the last five years as part of the greenhouse renovation. The greenhouse allows plants that are not adapted to our California climate to still flourish under warmer temperatures and higher humidity. Unique specimens including Rock Plants, Carnivorous Plants, and Orchids can be viewed and appreciated. For more information and to organize a visit, please email sswope@mills.edu.

Lath House

The lath house is an outdoor timber structure which provides shade and cooler temperatures for young seedlings and shade-loving plants. The collection of plants within the lath house changes seasonally, although much of the year, the lath house is the site for most of the seed propagation of California native plants. As young seedlings mature, they can be moved out of the lath house where they can tolerate more solar radiation and higher temperatures in the nearby outdoor growing areas.

Thematic Garden Beds

The majority of the Mills College Botanic Garden is dedicated to thematic beds which reflect different botanical concepts or natural plant assemblages. The following is a working list of the existing thematic beds within the garden:

  • The Oak Woodland Bed features two Valley Oaks (Quercus lobata).
  • California Native Plant Collections features plants with different pollination syndromes.
  • The Convergence Bed features evolutionarily distinct genera with similar traits such as Opuntia, Mammilaria, and Euphorbia.
  • The Fern Diversity Bed features a diversity of native and non-native ferns (Mesozoic Era 245-65mya).
  • Women's Healing Bed includes plants that provide physical and emotional healing, as well as specimens that are part of the campus-wide Healing Plant Tour.
  • Coastal Forest features plants native to northern California's coastal region.
  • Native Grassland features Purple Needle Grass (Nassella pulchra), a quintessential native perennial grass. This grassland represents what large areas of California once looked like.
  • Native American Healing Garden includes a collection of plants native to North America that are significant species in herbal medicine.

Recently installed thematic beds include:

  • The Arctostaphylos Diversity Bed reflects the morphological and geographical diversity of one of California’s quintessential genera.
  • The Ceanothus Diversity Bed is a collection of plants from another quintessential California genera, the California Lilac.

William Joseph McInnes Memorial Garden

The William Joseph McInnes Memorial Garden, part of the Mills College Botanic Garden, was dedicated in the fall of 1947 in memory of William Joseph McInnes, a horticulturalist and the husband of Blanche Rice McInnes, alumna class 1900. Blanche Rice McInnes was a generous supporter of the Botany Department, contributing to the greenhouse, lath house, and funds for grounds maintenance. In acknowledgement of Blanche Rice McInnes' generosity, the Joseph McInnes Memorial Garden was established.