A Visit to Huntington Gardens, Part 1

Jan 8, 2020
Next time you are in southern California, make sure to include a trip to Huntington Gardens in San Marino—a paradise for a enthusiastic gardener to visit! Encompassing about 120 acres, the botanical gardens feature 16 stunning themed gardens and some 15,000 different varieties of plants.

On our recent trip to The Huntington, we divided our time between the Ranch House garden, the Chinese and Japanese gardens, the bonsai collection, and the desert garden.

The Chinese garden (the Garden of Flowing Fragrance) features a lake, tea house, stone bridges and waterfalls, against a background of mature oaks and pines.

One of the bonsai exhibits
One of the bonsai exhibits

The Japanese Garden includes a traditional moon bridge and tea house, and a zen garden.

Outside of the Garden, local bonsai associations have dramatic bonsai on display.

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The desert garden contains over 2,000 species in 60 landscaped beds, and its website states it is one of the largest outdoor collections of cacti and succulents in the world. We were surprised to see many cacti flowering at this early time of the year. Stunning cholla, barrels, aloes and agaves are just some of the cacti and succulents that are thrilling to see. Yuccas dominate the landscape and tower above the walkways.

It would be easy to spend a full day or more enjoying all of the gardens The Huntington has to offer – but try to visit on a Saturday so you can enjoy the special treat of a visit to the Ranch House garden.

For more information, see https://www.huntington.org/gardens