Sherman Library & Gardens

These gardens are a hidden gem in the midst of busy Corona del Mar. Only $ 5 entrance fee and you can spend hours wandering the grounds. Visited on February 6 and there was a lovely crêpe lunch special. Excellent value & so tasty.

This was a nice experience for only $ 5. I got to enjoy the beautiful gardens, see some beautiful koi fish, and sit and meditate for a bit since it was nice and quiet.
I enjoyed a meal at the Tea Garden Creperie which consisted of a delicious Chicken, Mushroom and Cheese Crêpe and lemonade. I wandered through the gardens, greenhouses and relaxed among the many benches provided. I took so many beautiful pictures.
I do recommend parking in the lots provided as I heard the street parking is strictly enforced. This is a must see but go early as the location and the restaurants do close earlier than standard businesses.

My husband and I dropped in on Black Friday to check out this hidden garden oasis along the PCH. There is 1 hour free street parking along PCH, or opt to park in 1 of 2 spacious lots free to garden and library visitors.
Admission is $ 5 for adults and $ 3 for ages 11 – 17, under 11 is free.
A stroll through the themed gardens take you on a visual voyage of flowers and plants ranging from vibrantly chromatic to hauntingly bizarre. There is even an olfactory surprise of chocolate scented orchid in the «tropical conservatory».
The Tea Garden is a tranquil mini piazzale complete with fountain to enjoy friends and an afternoon snack.
Interesting historical and garden facts available on cell phone audio tour. Don’t miss stopping by the life sized Pelican statue in the «specimen shade garden» and the esoteric knitting covered Palm trees inside.
(This entry was written by my husband)

Beautiful place for an afternoon stroll. If you’re looking for something to do, or for something pretty to look at, the Sherman Gardens is a great place to hit up. It’s $ 5 per person for entrance. There is a free parking lot for library and garden guests near the library, so don’t worry about finding parking on the road.
The area is relatively small but that doesn’t mean you run out of things to look at. There’s even a Koi pond with some benches. I chose this spot to just sit in and take nature in. This place is great for relaxing. Take your time with the gardens. It’s split up kind of like small different rooms and each section is somewhat themed. There are shrubs, bushes, trees, and more.
There’s also a little café that is open around lunch time if you feel like dining in the garden. I didn’t try the lunch place but I noticed that it was pretty busy so it must be pretty popular.
I would like to come back in a different season to see more flowers that are in bloom.

It’s a small yet enchanted place. It’s been a few years since I came here so the circumstances are a bit fuzzy but the many photos I took show how amazing this place is. It’s definitely not large, yet every inch is perfectly manicured and carefully landscaped. This and the tea room inside the gardens make it a must-​see point.

The food was not good, the portion was little and expensive. The service was awful. I’ll never and ever go there again. The garden is small and nice but not worth 10 $ because you can find much more beautiful outside.

Lunch in Paradise. A hidden gem. Faves: Passion fruit iced tea and flourless chocolate cake. (Notes: $ 5 entry fee per adult to Gardens. Kitchen closes at 2, so your order must be in no later than 1:45.)

Very nice place
Small and simple but very nice
They has a private event at the restaurant
People at the entrance ware no aware
We had to step out for breakfast

Fantastic place! One of the most beautiful places in Newport Beach. I was here in February with friends on the tour and stayed here for about four hours. There are many beautiful flowers and exotic plants here. Very nice atmosphere for walks. We made a lot of beautiful pictures. Lovely café Café Jardin lunch and desserts. There is parking. Entrance for adults and $ 5 for children $ 3. I recommend this place for walking, classes and read books

It’s a beautiful garden. Didn’t have a chance to see the library but it did have a cute little gift shop!

Likes:
— Nice little garden in CDM. Very close to Fashion Island.
— Beautiful views that vary depending on the season.
— Plenty of free private parking in the back.
— The koi pond and turtles are my kid’s favorite.
Dislikes:
— To dine in the restaurant, Café Jardin, you have to pay for admission to the garden, which would be fine if it were made clear during reservation.
Admission (as of May 2015):
$ 5.00 Adult
$ 3.00 Children ages 12 – 18. Children under 12 are free.
First Monday of each month admission is free.

Delicious food!
My short ribs were very tender
The desserts we had: flourless chocolate cake and lemon tart were mouthwatering
Charming gardens

This is a fairly small but very beautiful garden in Newport beach, we went there for brunch, and walked around for about 40 minutes after, It was a very sunny and warm day, the perfect weather for a walk in the gardens!
A beautiful fountain facing the entrance, it cheered me up instantly, the water was so clear and blue, the flowers around it were so colorful and bright. Just don’t expect this to be like The Huntington library kind of garden, this might look like someone’s huge backyard or greenhouse, they have a whole bunch of plants and trees around here, plenty of flowers too, the koi pond in greenhouse is so lovely. The art of Valentine’s Day was so cute and sweet, loved it!
I would suggest to come here whenever you are in this area, it’s a long drive to Newport beach, it wouldn’t worth the trip just for this. Maybe in between a day of shopping nearby or dinner date in the evening, this is a great place to relax and take some lovely photos!
Ps. Plenty of free parking in private lot in front of the entrance, $ 6 entrance fee. Still need to pay it even if you come here for a meal.

This is a hidden (almost) jewel.
What a magical wonderful place to take anyone or go alone. Good food and the gardens and Coi are just the best for a relaxing experience.
Kelly at
loves Sherman Library and Gardens

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE
i came here on my birthday. i think we had to pay a $ 3 entrance fee per person. unfortunately the actual restaurant was closed, but the crêpe café was still open. the crepes were pretty decent. i love the ambiance here. such a gorgeous garden that you can walk through and just relax and enjoy!
i can’t wait to come back and try the restaurant!

This review is for the restaurant, though the gardens aren’t too shabby. We met for our departmental company lunch on a very rainy day. We splashed from the parking lot and as we entered, we were made to pay $ 3 pp to enter the restaurant. After an excruciating round of Who’s on First with the keeper of the gardens (It’s $ 3 to enter the Gardens. But we are here for lunch. Well, it’s $ 3. For lunch? No, for the gardens. WBut we aren’t going to the gardens…). The $ 3 fee wold have been helpful to know on the phone when reservation was made so that the guests of this meal were not made to pay a cover fee. Especially when only some of our party was made to pay, depending on when you arrived.
The food was great and so was the inside dining room with a cozy fireplace. «Airplane» chicken, beet salad, lemon tart.
Despite the rain, we walked around the gardens (well, we did pay for the privilege) and enjoyed it very much.

This hidden gem definitely deserves to be recognized. The selfish side of me kind of wants to keep the secret to myself so that it doesn’t become too overcrowded with tourists and lose the magical feeling that comes from hidden gems, but the non-​selfish side of me knows that I should tell the world what they’re missing out on because I would want them to do the same for me. If you haven’t gone before, go. Now. :)
You could go for the obvious reasons (like Chef Pascal’s fabulous food and the beautiful botanical gardens) or stay posted about their upcoming events and find out when they’re doing their next unique event (like a botanical scavenger hunt with each course served in a different area in the gardens or something equally unique and special).

Garden is beautiful. I didn’t get a chance to see everything before the sun came down though.
There’s a medium-​sized parking lot next to the entrance and an overflow lot towards the PCH.
I had the pleasure of being here for my buddy Jose B.‘s wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony.

I have been looking for a nice place to take photographs that did not require a trip and traffic inducing stress of going to Los Angeles. Luckily this place had popped up!
Right when you walk through the entrance, you immediately notice the zen-​like feel of the surroundings from being right on PCH. No detail was left unturn. The grounds was flawless with every care to plant, pot, and section. Fountains fill the air with calm water noise, Walking through the shaded patio area, with the sun peaking from above, the mix of light and shadows on the plants makes for a very dramatic feel and has a hint of magic.
My favorite, and surprising part of the tour was to the right of the grounds down the steps and colored rails near the cactus. Succulence are planted in between each step that leads to the second level. I thought this was such a nice use of space and a super creative part in whoever planned the layout. So many plants and flowers that play into the architectural elements that you can spend a few good hours shooting rolls.
They have a banquet room that can be reserved for special occasions. I recommend this not only for photography locations, but for avid nature and garden enthusiasts, and afternoon dates.

I have always enjoyed walking through botanical gardens, so last Spring I thought I would search on Unilocal for a botanical garden in Southern Orange County that we could enjoy the day strolling through when I came across the Sherman Library and Gardens located in Corona Del Mar. From their Unilocal reviews it sounded like a great place to take my family to spend a nice Spring morning and enjoy some lunch.
It ended up being such a treat and we have since returned at least five or six times always bringing along other friends and family to also enjoy the spectacular beauty of this lovely garden. They have an immense, amazing succulent and cactus garden, a beautiful rose garden, a lovely turtle pond and mini waterfalls, a large greenhouse filled with a koi pond (Our favorite is looking for their gorgeous, large yellow Koi fish.)and tropical plants including a lot of unique orchids as well as a multitude of gorgeous floral bedding plants bordering their many paths throughout their two-​acre property.
We enjoyed walking through their nicely sized gift shop after our lunch of wine and crepes and bought a couple of knick knacks as gifts and a cute purple shamrock plant, which continues to thrive in our yard. We always have a wonderful time coming here (even our toddler) and will definitely be back! Come check out this hidden gem off of the East Coast Highway in Corona Del Mar. The minimal $ 3.00 entrance fee is definitely worth the money!