The tour consists of walking around the farm and the owner explaining all about the different roses and would cut some off for people to smell. It was an education, and I thought the owner was quite knowledgeable and could answer many questions. I went last year when it was a bit June gloomy and there weren't as many in bloom, but you could tell that the farm was spacious with many different varieties of bushes. After the tour there were some sweets with rose tea. I loved how they had a cake in the shape of a rose and the overall presentation was very dainty and cute. It might be a little pricey for some but I'm a rose enthusiast and so I thought it was worth it since it's rarely open for tours. Pretty much everyone on the tour seemed to be rose gardeners or just loved roses as much as me. Many people traveled up from LA for this tour. The farm and owner were featured on episode 9 of Martha Stewart's Martha's Gardens show. read more

See all

Passionate staff, All roses are fragrant, a special place to have a tour...Find the tour with Picnic deliciousness...

We were gifted a tour of Rose Story Farm by our children as a combined Mother's Day/Father's Day present. What a wonderful treat. Once the gates opened on the day of our tour, we were welcome to roam the immediate vicinity. There were a number of rose plants, a small nursery, and a gift table. We were joined by the owner, Danielle, who was a wealth of information. She gave us a brief but fascinating history of the farm, the roses, and the work it has taken over the years in order to maintain the farm's ability to continue to produce roses in the numbers and varieties that are offered. We were quite a large group (in my opinion); however, Danielle was able to keep everyone involved, entertained, responded to any and all questions. At the end of the tour we were treated to a lovely tea with homemade lemon cake and fresh fruit. All of the guests seemed to enjoy the tour as much as my husband and I did. We were also each given a large bouquet of roses to take home. Ours still looks quite lovely. I am impressed at the level of expertise that exists at this location. I also think it's quite ingenious to create an event that allows for locals and people from far away to share in this experience. Yes, you pay for the privilege of taking a tour. Having said that, its one of the best experiences my husband and I have shared together in recent years and well worth the money you pay. read more

Rose Story Farm - Gifted bouquet even more beautiful days later. - Floral Designers Near Me

I ordered roses 2 weeks in advance for Easter. They did not artive untill the Monday, the day after. I contacted customer service an had no response. I may never buy from them again and will spread the word! read more

Absolutely stunning rose farm! It is hard to get tickets for a tour but we managed to get some and then had a medical problem and couldn't attend. With a personal email they invited us to a future date and we gladly accepted! We got lots of information on all the varieties of roses... And it ended with a lovely garden party with delicious snacks. I bought a beautiful Julia Child rosebush, and at their suggestion, will wait until winter to plant it. It has already bloomed, reminding me of this great trip. read more

So the husband/owner led the Rose tour this time, and I don't know Yelp: The man is very knowledgeable, but he isn't Tour material. They shouldn't have him doing this. He talked for way too long in the beginning during the introduction and it took away from the tour...took away from time we could have used walking through the fields. Save telling some of the history until we're in front of the actual flowers. We didn't see as many flowers this time. He didn't snip/cut as many varieties for everyone like the last guide. And we for damn sure didn't cover the vast amount of farm grounds like we did last time. I'm not at all sexist and I HATE blanket statements, but please hear me: I do feel that sometimes men (generally speaking...not all, though) sometimes lack the attention to detail and the excitement for stuff like this and it shows. Plus instead of being the rosarian like his wife, he's more of the "fixer" guy who handles the caring and growing of the flowers...and he approaches the tour like a fixer instead of a true Rose lover. Get the ladies back on with leading these tours. Or find a handsome hunk who will let us do the whimsical roam through the garden like a true Rose lover would. Cover more ground. Snip more roses. Don't talk so much in the beginning. Get to walking and smelling and cutting. The lady last time was perfect. She spoiled us. And for 8 dollars more (the tour is $48/pp now), the goal here should be improvement. Being better than last time. Even though it wasn't as great as last time, I STILL LOVE IT HERE AND WANT TO COME BACK. The roses speak for themselves. read more

See all

The good parts: It is beautiful to see 10,000 roses blooming. They were all gorgeous. Some had fragrance(even though we were told that 90%of them did). Our noses are all different. There was a super friendly cat that let me carry her for like 20 minutes! Roses. Roses. Roses. Lunch was nice. Seeing so many roses in their cooler room was glorious! But $48 per person for the tour and lunch is excessive IMHO. And there were so many RULES! You can't walk in the rose fields. STAY ON THE ROAD because you could bring weeds! You can't walk up the steps to the top of the hill to get a fab view because of insurance purposes. My friends got scolded for sitting at a table & chairs near the bathroom. Our tour was so slow that the other tour lapped us. Walking for me is good. But standing too long hurts my back. Maybe this would be good for a casual rose grower. But we were a group of the Los Angeles Rose Society and I am a professional rose gardener. I'm not saying that we know more. But the tour was kinda dumbed down. Of course they don't know they levels of the attendees. Except that you pay in advance and they knew our group was coming. Go see their roses if you have the money and are in the area. If you are nearer to LA, go to The Huntington Library's rose garden for less than 1/2 the $$$ and enjoy ! read more

See all

It's a beautiful place to visit. Obviously, it's a farm of roses... so you see rows and rows of rose flowers. My parents owned a flower farm for years... so this is probably much more impressive for someone who hasn't grown up with things like this... I went on a "tour" of the rose farm and it was lovely. The tour guide was very nice... but I felt as though, not very knowledgeable. I don't know.... I wasn't that impressed. Other than that, they give you a little brunch/lunch deal. We were with all much older people (well, everything I like to do typically works out that way...) but it was lovely. Rose tea... definitely the best! Rose lemonade I believe too... :) Some finger sandwiches... they were okay... but I don't eat mayonnaise so I ate half the sandwich (minus the other half with the "bad stuff". hahaha!) It was lovely... but not something that I feel the need to do again... read more

Nestled on 20-some acres, a weekend getaway there totally surpassed any expectations I might have had. My wife and I spent the weekend with another couple at one of the cottages on the property that is a specialty rose farm but also has four quaint, well appointed cottages scattered about where the setting makes you feel you have been wrapped in a warm hug of tranquility. You might never stay at a place where you wake up to so many roses, literally tens of thousands of individual plants. The place is a riot of color, set off in orderly rows or in groups of color, like the butter yellow Julia Child roses that surround a bench that sat in her garden. The tour lasts an hour, a bit less, but you get some sense of what the owners are trying to do with an organic approach to growing specialty roses. They grow and provide roses for weddings, funerals, special events and to individuals. The small crew of workers arrive early to cut each day's order. And they have lovely cottages to rent Our cottage was fully appointed, with a kitchen, diswasher, stove/oven and bbq grill on the front porch. Flat screen TV and plenty of furniture made it comfortable. There are plenty of great things to do and see in the area (Santa Barbara, Ventura) and excellent restaurants are not far away. Being surrounded by tens of thousands of rose bushes while you sit on the front porch with a glass of wine is guaranteed to make you smile. read more

After recently losing my mother, my daughter was going to treat me to a birthday tour. Unfortunately Rose Story cancelled our reservation because it was too much trouble to honor the paid for reservation. Please don't waste your time, energy, or money on this place. read more

A beautiful walk learning about roses. Delicious lunch as well. Thank you. It was a nice way to spend two hours. Thanks. read more

Rose Story Farm - Beautiful lunch and tour! - Floral Designers Near Me

Beautiful experience. The roses were still in bloom and the sights and smell is indescribable. Our guide Sarah was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. The picnic lunch was romantic and relaxing. No rush,very laid back. The small store was cute and very country. Just wish they sold bouquets to the visitors. We learn so much about roses. Please stop in just to smell the roses. read more

I called a couple months ago to ask about a possible wedding location at this rose garden. Apparently, I must've been an idiot because the Kiki (I believe that was her name) treated me like I was the only person who hasn't heard of the farm. Had no idea this is a by appointment only place, I asked several questions that any place who might be looking to make a few thousand dollars off an eager bride might answer. She gave me a rate, it wasn't unreasonable, but it was just out of my range. I said so, politely, but before I finished my sentence, click. She hung up on me. The end. read more

I just got home from my tour today and let me just say I'm not impressed. I read about this place and saw numerous pictures of this farm. I wanted to take my mother somewhere special on mother's day and I thought of this beautiful place. We drove 2 hours to get there and we expected to see something breathtaking. However, there were so many rules: you can't wander around and you have to stay on track. I was even scolded by Patti (the mother) because I was talking with my mother before the tour began! She seemed stuck up and didn't show a sense of hospitality. Throughout the tour, she looked bothered and didn't even care to smile. As a family, they seemed very protective of their roses as if we were going to ruin them. Some roses were beautiful, others weren't. They said they have about 25,000 roses but you barely see 1,000 - 2,000 roses. You see the others from a distance but you couldn't climb the stairs and see them from up-close. And we even passed by dozens of roses that weren't even in bloom due to them being in the shade! The good ones were in the middle or in the back and you couldn't even get there because you'd "bring weed" if you got closer. Also, we were supposed to learn about roses in this tour yet I feel like I didn't learn anything. We were divided into 2 groups, one that went with Patti and the other that went with Bill. I felt like Bill was more knowledgeable and was more cheerful than Patti. She just wanted the tour to be over. We started at about 11:20 after a long speech by Dani, the owner. Then we stopped at 12:25 for lunch. And that was it. It's about an hour and not 2 hours as they say. Also, there was a dog wandering around without a leash which made us super uncomfortable because we are allergic to dogs. Overall, $48 per person (we were 4) is way too expensive for what I witnessed today. For what I payed, I think we deserved better. Would I ever visit again? Not really. If you have the money and you still feel like you want to visit, go with Bill and avoid Patti. read more

I just got back from the Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria. This is an absolutely incredible place - it's twice been featured in Martha Stewart Living, plus in Oprah, Victoria and just this summer a write up in the Wall Street Journal. It's a unique business - a commercial farm that grows the most spectacular old-fashioned, heirloom roses that look and smell divine. I wanted to stay forever. read more

Awesome Saturday tour and lunch. We thoroughly enjoyed the day, enjoyed the conversations with both Bill the owner/guide and with other guests, enjoyed smelling the many roses, and enjoyed the delicious lunch. It was a peaceful and beautiful setting, and a wonderful special out-of-the-ordinary adventure. Being among the roses felt like we were in a mini vacation and it was an oasis. Even though it is a little pricey, it is worth every cent and is something we will do again with out-of-town guests next time. We bought some Mother's Day gifts for family in the gift shop too, and our family loved them. Just for the record, we are not rose connoisseurs but do appreciate roses and love the fragrance. We learned some new things, definitely identified some favorite roses, and left inspired to grow our own rises one day. My husband loved this tour as much as I did, so I would say any man who enjoys nature and doing something a little different for a couple hours would also enjoy this. There was one other man on the tour and he thoroughly seemed to enjoy it too. The lunch was sooooo nice. So many sandwich choices and fresh fruits. Thank you for a wonderful time! read more

Pretty much the same experience. I LOVE their roses and send them often as gifts. The farm itself is beautiful but when I ordered several bunches for a party and went to pick them up, it took almost an hour for them to 'find' them. When they finally gave them to me and as I was loading my car (no help from anyone) an angry woman flew toward me and began yanking them from my hands saying I took the wrong ones. She and another woman proceeded to get into a loud argument about whether they were the right ones or not, for several minutes while I waited, once again, to get my roses and get the heck out of there! I also called re: having an event there. Before I gave ANY details about my party or the number of guests, I was quoted the price of $17,000 not including food or drinks. Wow. I called many hotels, winery's & restaurants after that and no one even came close to that price for the facility alone. read more

Great place to take your Mom for a tour and picnic lunch. Nice flat walk on the tour that lasts about an hour and afterward they have a catered lunch in the garden. Lots and lots of roses, the docent gives interesting stories and history. A nice experience. read more

I'm really surprised that more people haven't heard about this place. If you love roses you are in for a treat. We took the in-laws here for Mother's Day and had a delightful time walking, sniffing & many ooh & aahs on the tour. The roses are lovely and unique. The luncheon was yummy. The gift shop super cute. The weather perfect and everyone at the farm was super nice and accommodating. I can't wait to go back. It was a very lovely day out at the farm. read more

I spent a few days in this glorious rose garden early this year. The cottage felt like home, the grounds were wonderful, and the family story is remarkable but I must say the view from the top of the rose hill at sunrise, watching the the sun's first rays hit the Pacific Ocean, was soul satisfying. This is a very special place. read more

I am a big fan of Rose Story Farm. Last month I made my third visit. I had taken the tour and lunch twice before but this time planned a special birthday lunch for eight friends who had never been. Our tour was similar to the ones I had in the past but I asked for a special celebration lunch and they exceeded my expectations. Following the excellent one hour tour with our very knowledgeable guide, we sat down to a special table in the gardens, set with antique rose patterned china and glass wear, antique tea pots filled with rosses and a very chic arrangement of vintage mismatched linens and chairs. It looked like a picture right out of a magazine. My guests took tons pictures and were so impressed. Lunch was a delicious salmon salad and a happy birthday chocolate rose shaped cake. The staff is delightful, their planning and organization of my event was impeccable, and I am very fussy. They saw to every detail. They were delightfully pleasant and made us all feel we were in a magical garden, which we were. All though the price was higher than the normal tour and sandwich lunch; I found it quite reasonable and good value for the money. If you are planning a special event or just want the standard tour and lunch you will not be disappointed with this lovely secret garden. read more

Oh Thank You for opening up your rose farm! I recently took your tour (on my birthday to boot) and was thrilled with every second spent there! The roses, the mansion, the grounds, the animals, the people - all made for a magical day! Your mama even made sure that there was a gluten free lunch for my hubbie and me at the picnic! My husband purchased a bouquet of roses from you and oh me oh my our hotel room never smelled so heavenly! I went to sleep to the fragrance of roses swirling around the room and then awoke to the heavenly scent too! THANK YOU for being a part of my magical day! I'll be back in May with my special girlfriend for the BIG bloom! =o) read more

This is a gem! Tour and lunch were fantastic. Definitely worth the trip especially if you love roses.

Had a mini reunion in Santa Barbara of friends we have known for for many years and decided on the Rose Story Farm after reading about it in a magazine. Since most of us enjoy our own garden roses we were really looking forward to the tour and lunch. We were very happy. The setting was spectacular and well arranged. A golf cart was provided for my elderly Mom, who got first class attention and treatment. The tour guide was vivacious and very knowledgable. We learned a lot about the commercial side of growing and cutting roses for shipment. We all got many cut roses to smell and keep in a little bouquet ( or in our hair!) . The outdoor lunch was delightful! Fresh lemonade, sandwiches ( if gluten free you should bring your own bread to put fillings into), fruit and Lemon Cake. We loved the huge pitcher of roses on each table and the cute tablecloths. It was a great peaceful spot to chat and catch up with friends. The store was darling and full of great gifts and treasures. The staff was so friendly and helpful. Will be going there again to see the roses in the Spring. AAA+ read more

I went to Rose Story Farm for the tour this weekend and loved the experience! With thousands of rose bushes in bloom, it is a charming farm experience to see and learn about all the different kinds of roses. The lunch was sandwiches, rose ice tea, salad and lemon cake. It was all plentiful and tasty. There is a gift shop there with an amazing array of rose items to select from. This is a nice experience, I went with friends and also saw small groups and families. They gave us all some freshly picked roses to take home too! read more

I'm a 22-year-old guy who had no expectations for Rose Story Farm when my mom decided to take me, my sister, and my girlfriend here for my girlfriend's birthday. However, after the walking tour of the farm and the really delicious picnic that followed, I was thoroughly impressed. There was fresh local fruit, great salad, and even better sandwiches. The people were exceptionally friendly, the surrounding landscape was beautiful and had a tropical look, and the roses were beautiful, not to mention this farm only cultivates top-notch scented roses (none of those beautiful but scentless store bought varieties). I highly recommend this place to any type of person. It was peaceful and gorgeous. read more

The rose story farm is undeniably beautiful. But its owner, Danielle, is ridiculously difficult to work with. I second Michelle's review, that any place looking to make money off a bride should be willing to answer basic questions and provide simple information. But Rose Story apparently thinks it doesn't need to do this, since we were unable to get any sort of help from them. They initially wouldn't return phone calls or emails, and when they finally did, made it seem like we were lucky they did so because they get thousands of requests. When we asked what their site rental fee was, she responded "what's your budget?" Hmm. Doesn't seem like the start of a good wedding planning experience when the farm's owner is dodgy. She continued to be unhelpful and then, after we told her we weren't going to hold a wedding there, got unpleasant, emailing me out of the blue to say that she didn't care and she had found plenty of great brides to work with instead. Seemed like an immature response from someone trying to run a business.... read more