Ruth Bancroft’s beautiful cactus garden gets surreal sculptures in Walnut Creek

Cacti are weird enough – bulbous, spiny and sprouting flowers and fruits where you’d least expect them.

Take a historic cactus-and-succulents garden and add artwork — like a pregnant woman’s torso made of blue leaves, a motorcycle/spider hybrid and a hairy satyr taking a dirt bath — and you have the perfect mix of nature and surrealism in Walnut Creek where an outdoor exhibit, Sculpture in the Garden, has taken root in a famous botanic garden.

The 2023 iteration of this event (now in its 29th year) at the Ruth Bancroft Garden and Nursery features 25 local artists and nearly 50 sculptures in media from ceramic to metal to mosaics. Opening night this past Saturday drew throngs who admired art strategically placed among serrated fronds and stalks that reached high into the sky like giant, flower-dripping beanstalks. There were plenty of picnic tables for sipping wine – aside from daily visiting hours, two other wine and art-appreciation events are happening on July 7 and Aug. 4 – and a koi pond for quiet contemplation about just how giant fish can get.

All of the art is for sale. It’s important to the garden, a spokesman said, to partner with local artists and support the community.

The show is included with normal admission ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $5 kids, free to members). And if you like a cactus or other succulent you see, it might be available to purchase for your home garden at the on-site nursery. Take a look below at some of the art that’s now on offer.

Details: Exhibit is open during regular garden hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday until Aug. 13 at 1552 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek; ruthbancroftgarden.org.