Huntington Library Botanical Garden Tour

There is always that one amazing garden with enough flora and fauna to keep us wondering where it all possibly could come from. Well-kept rows of hedges bordering roses or violets, fountains with cherubs and other mystical beings. Sweeping expanses of gorgeous flower fields and secret, hidden enclaves. The Huntington Library Botanical Garden affords its visitors endless sensory enjoyment as well as a crash course on a variety of plant-related topics. A 120-acre garden surrounding a research institution in Pasadena, California is where it all takes place.

The Huntington estate was originally a residential place for Henry E. Huntington and his wife, Arabella. In 1928 the library and garden opened for the public. Today you'll discover over 6 million books within the library and hundreds of thousands of plants in the garden.

The Huntington offers plant sales and tours throughout the year, with a wide array of different gardens to traverse as well as a varied assortment of unusual and unique plants. Visitors can choose from 4 different tours, depending on what they prefer or would like to see at the time. Within the park, 14 interconnected gardens each harbor their own theme and showcase different plant varieties.

The Australian Garden

The Australian Garden is a 5-acre garden with meadows and groves that is quite a change from the fenced and well kept gardens surrounding it. This garden affords its visitors a more natural and free-flowing feel, without borders or organized plants. The Australian garden showcases native Australian plants among native Californian plants. A few species include the well known Eucalyptus, Acacia and Cycad. The best time to view this garden is in the spring time when the trees start to bloom and the wild flowers unfurl their petals. However, many of the trees also bloom in late winter as well.

The Camellia Garden

This garden is absolutely filled to the brim with more than 1,200 species of camellias. While their blooming season is typically January to March, somehow within this magical area, these flowers manage to stay in bloom for much longer than stated. Within the camellia garden you'll discover lanes and pathways to stroll down between the camellia shrubs as you read plaques detailing the history of the garden.

The Children's Garden

The most interactive garden of all, the Children's Garden offers an area for children and those with young hearts to explore. It includes 4 unique themes of water, fire, air, and earth. Each area has a special activity for play such as the magnetic sand that can be pushed around to create different shapes, or the prism tunnel that casts a rainbow of colors down from the sky. Not only are they fun, but these activities also teach how each element affects plants and animals in nature.

The Chinese Garden

Huntington Library's Chinese Garden offers a look at its home country's architecture as well native flora and fauna. Within the garden a man-made lake is surrounded by towers and gazebos and a white bridge crosses the expanse of water. You'll find trees of fragrance such as plum, cherry, and lotus, whose blooms perfume the entire area with a sweet, intoxicating scent. Walking along the many paths, one can find new perspectives within the garden and something even more gorgeous on one of the garden's islands or pavilions.

The Conservatory

Another interactive garden for young children and families, the conservatory offers more interaction with plants. The three different featured exhibits include a lowland rain forest, a cloud forest, and a carnivorous bog. The rain forest houses unusual palms as well as the Corpse Flower that on rare occasions will bloom. The cloud forest presents trees wrapped in orchids and moss for all to see how life above the canopy lives. The bog showcases plants such as the Venus fly trap that likes to snack on any bug that has the misfortune of passing by. Within the plant lab you'll discover a plant petting zoo that illustrates all the needed parts of a plant.

The Desert Garden

Here you'll find one of the biggest and oldest assortments of cactuses and succulents in the world. The Huntington Library's Desert Garden began as a modest little patch on the hillside and has expanded into a 10-acre garden. There are over 5,000 species of plants in about 60 garden beds. Accompanying each plant is a tiny description of the name as well as the Latin name. The biggest collections are of agave and related genera, and countless other types from countries such as Africa and South America. The Desert Garden also presents a conservatory to observe succulents that would not thrive anywhere else.

The Herb Garden

From much of the Huntington wafts a sweet floral scent, but here in the Herb Garden you'll be reminded of some of Mom's best dishes. The herbs here are organized in ways one would use them in cooking, such as tea, salads, and confections. Signs planted in the herb beds help visitors distinguish the plants as well as offer a little bit of information. While the best time to smell the herbs is in spring, most other seasons bring aromatic herbal enjoyment as well.

The Japanese Garden

With style similar to the famous tea garden in San Francisco, this garden presents a look at a Japanese garden from centuries past. Overlooking a pond with an arched bridge stands a 5-room house and various pagodas. At least partially built by a Japanese craftsman, the house offers visitors a glimpse of how the Japanese once lived. From January to April you'll come upon fruit trees blooming as well as lavender and wisteria. Graceful bonsai trees and weeping willows create a serene and peaceful feel.

The Jungle Garden

Images of the movie The Jungle Book come to mind when strolling through this garden. Tropical rainforest plants make their home here, as do gargantuan palms, climbing vines, and orchids. There is an understory and a high forest canopy that visitors can view throughout. A waterfall lies in the middle of it all, supplying water for the surrounding plants to thrive on.

Lily Ponds

The Lily Ponds were created as a way to turn an unsuitable gully into something much more gorgeous. Water is constantly recycled in the three large ponds and two small ponds where many different hues of Egyptian lilies grow. At least one type of lily grows from mid-spring to mid-fall, with the summer flowering lotus blooming in mid-July. Geese, Japanese koi, bull frogs, and turtles are among the wide assortment of animals who make their home here. Visitors can admire the striking seahorse and other sculptures scattered amongst the ponds.

The Palm Garden

A wide array of palm trees cover this part of the estate, as many of them can survive California 's brutally hot summers. This display is one of the biggest in all of California , offering over 200 different types of palm. One of the less formal areas of the Huntington, the Palm Garden presents its trees in natural formations without hedges or fences. The Canary Island palm can reach heights up to 60 feet tall, with a 50-foot wide crown. As botanists find new plants they are added to the gardens every growing collection of palms.

The Rose Garden

Another romantic and feminine garden, the Rose Garden presents over 4,000 individual rose plants for visitors to admire. In the peak season of April through June, this garden transforms into an enchanting experience both for the eyes and the nose. Stroll through, smell the roses, then relax among the flowers at the Rose Garden Café. You'll find more common roses as well as hybrid roses, making this a prominent stop in the spring for guests.

The Shakespeare Garden

As the name announces, this garden hosts a Shakespearean theme, showcasing a bust of Shakespeare and an assortment of plants and flowers including poppies, marigolds, pinks and daffodils. Next to each plant you'll notice a little plaque with the exact line of a Shakespeare play, poem or sonnet that it was mentioned in. Once a more formal garden, this area has been expanded to contain herbs and roses, mimicking an English garden.

The Subtropical Garden

More hardy plants that can handle frost grow in this part of the estate. Conveniently placed on the warmest part of the hill, a wide array of flowers and plants thrive here, with frequent changeouts being made to see which do best and to keep visitors coming back for the updates. Chestnut and orchid trees are among the selection of trees included here. Since the plants here are hardy and survive the Californian summer, there is something to see throughout the year.  

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