This is one of my favorite places to take friends and family when visiting Los Angeles. As one can detect from the title of this article, there is a lot to see on this excursion. For the sake of this article, I will call it Huntington Gardens, but it is so much more than this.
What is great about Huntington Gardens is that it appeals to everyone from children to teenagers and young to old. Since Huntington Gardens has a Library, an Art Gallery, a magnificent Garden, and restaurants throughout the 207-acre property, it has a little bit of everything and will certainly touch the interests and curiosity of just about everyone who visits.
The property is elegant and impressive, and I was informed that 1400 volunteers and employees work to maintain and run the property. I mean 40 volunteers work and maintain the Rose Garden alone. So this is quite the operation.
I have visited the Gardens twice recently, in March and May, and spent over eight hours exploring the property – and I still haven’t viewed everything there is to see and this is what I love about it.
The entire property is a living organism and that means it is constantly changing. The Gardens have different seasons for flowers and the featured books and artwork exhibits are constantly rotating.
The first time I visited in March, it was all about the annual spring flowers and camellias at the Shakespeare and Camellia Gardens as well as the magnificent cherry blossoms at the Japanese Garden. During my visit in May, it was about exploring the Rose Garden, Desert Garden, and Chinese Garden. During this second visit, I had more time to also enjoy the impressive Library and elegantly staged Art Museum which was the mansion where the founders of the property, Henry and Arabella Huntington, used to reside.
Location
The Huntington Gardens are located in San Marino, CA approximately 12 miles from downtown Los Angles and approximately 3.2 miles from Old Town Pasadena. The Gardens are located adjacent to the Verdugo Mountains, which act as a beautiful backdrop to this property.
The Garden
In my opinion, the Garden is the main attraction, but the Library and Art Gallery are certainly worth seeing. 130 acres of the 207-acre property are maintained as botanical gardens, although it does feel much bigger when you are walking the property.
The property exhibits around 13 different gardens and each of the gardens has its own story: feel free to click on the links below to get more detail about each one.
- Camellia Garden has 80 different species of Camellia and more than 1200 cultivated varieties.
- Chinese Garden is impressive with its Zen-like quality, beautiful pond, authentic architecture, and numerous walk bridges. I was told that the Chinese Garden is 15 acres and cost more than $60M to create. Feel free to grab a bite to eat or drink at the newly opened clear water cafe and take in the beauty.
- Palm Garden is one of the first gardens you encounter and has more than 200 different species of Palm Trees which is especially impressive when you realize that California has only one native Palm Tree. This is a great place to hang out to get a bit of shade on a hot Pasadena day.
- Herb Garden is arranged according to the uses made of the herbs which include: medicines; teas; wines and liqueurs; cooking and salads; confections; cosmetics, perfumes and soaps; potpourri and sachets; insect repellents; and dyes.
- Japanese Garden opened in 1928 and has been a visitor favorite and has hosted more than 20 million guests. The garden has a moon bridge and Koi filled pond and if you’re lucky to visit in February or March to see the Cherry blossoms in bloom, it is a wonderful treat.
- Jungle Garden is a refuge from the heat. The canopies of trees along with the ferns, vine trees, and Cycads, keep the air humid and cool within the hot and dry Pasadena climate.
- Rose Garden is three acres with 2,500 individual plants and 1,300 cultivated varieties. During peak bloom season, the fragrance is spectacular.
- Shakespeare Garden is peppered with flowers that were cultivated from England during Shakespeare’s time and many that were mentioned during his numerous plays.
- Lilly Pond consists of two large ponds and three smaller ones and home to turtles, bullfrogs, Japanese koi, aquatic plants, and a Mallard family.
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library is one of the world’s prominent independent research libraries. I believe someone mentioned that it is second only to Washington D.C. The library has over 11 million items spanning the 11th to 21st centuries.
The library includes eight million manuscripts, 440,00 rare books, 454,000 reference books, 900,000 prints and ephemera, 800,000 photographs, and 300,000 digital files. So this is quite a collection of books to say the least.
Only a select number of items are on display at any given time, but even the small sample on display is quite impressive.
Art Galleries
There are three art galleries at the Garden; 1) The Huntington Art Gallery; 2) Virginia Steele Scott Galleries; and 3) MaryLou and George Boone Galleries.
Since I have visited only the Huntington Art Gallery, I will provide you with a brief preview below. I have provided links for more information regarding all three galleries above.
The Huntington Art Gallery is certainly worth a visit and was once the home of Henry and Arabella Huntington, the creators of this magnificent estate property. Henry was an avid collector of books and English Art, and Anabella loved the sophistication of Art and Design of late 18th century France and its association to the royal court of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoniette.
Henry and Arabella tastefully and elegantly merged their passions for collecting and staged the rooms in their house to showcase both the artwork and the 18th-century furnishings throughout the many rooms of their estate.
Touring the Gallery is less like walking through an art museum and more like taking a peek into someone’s elegant estate. Pasadena can get quite warm and this is a nice detour to cool off during your Garden tour.
Food
There are two main restaurants at the Huntington Gardens: 1) the 1919 Café located at the entrance of the gardens; and 2) the Jade Court Café within the gardens on the west end of the Chinese Gardens.
The 1919 Café is a high-end food court with some tasty bites. I had BBQ chicken and vegetables and was impressed with the presentation and quality. You can dine at the 1919 Café without having to pay to enter the gardens. It has an indoor patio and an outdoor one that overlooks the gardens
I did not eat at the Jade Court Café but I did stop by. This is a great spot to grab a bite to eat within the gardens and it looks to have a tasty Asian menu. During my next visit to the Gardens, I will plan my lunch here.
There are also two cafés to grab a coffee, soft drink, and a variety of pastries as well: Fresh Water Pavilion between the Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden and Red Car Coffee Bar next to the parking lot.
There is a Rose Garden Tea Room which will be opening in the fall of 2022. It overlooks the Rose Garden, and I am confident that it will be quite popular.
Pace yourself
When planning your visit to the Huntington Gardens, make a day of it. My recommendation is that you don’t try to visit everything. If the Library interests you, visit it and stroll around a few gardens. If the Galleries are your thing, pick one or two and visit a couple gardens along the way. The estate is way too large to consume everything and enjoy it all in one visit.
There are Free Garden Tours on Wed-Mon between 10 AM and 2 PM. They are 90 minutes long and give you a preview of the estate. These are very informal, but you get some great history and fun facts. It is a great way to get an overview and then circle back to those gardens or areas of interest to pursue in more detail later in the day.
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