The Huntington Library and Gardens: Plants and Structures

The Children's Garden opened in the summer of 2004, and we visited in the Spring of 2005. Unfortunately the intervening winter had had some nasty weather and some of the new plants, including some nice topiaries, had been killed or damaged. It was still fun, especially this little structure that spayed water randomly. The Chinese Garden opened in 2008 and seems more developed. The Chinese stones they imported were wonderful, the one on the right looks like an abstract sculpture.

I thought the Leaf Window was especially lovely, and also liked the pavement laid with little rocks. I suppose I was especially enchanted since I've spent the last couple of years working on tiled flooring in my house and laying stones of my own in my front yard. Whatever the reason, I quite liked the Chinese paving, labor intensive though it would be to do!

Pinkly blooming shrubs, the pinkest is hibiscus.	Above is a foxglove, spring 2005.
A break from pink, spent lotus flower pods.	Amazing bonsai azalea in full bloom, spring 2007.

The Chinese version of bonsai is called penjing, potted landscapes or a scenic view in a tray. Above is one I thought especially nice, to the right is another Japanese bonsai in glorious bloom. To learn more about bonsai and pinjeng, take a look at the National Bonsai Foundation web site, which supports the Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. Hey, if the Huntington has great bonsai, and now some penjing, why not the U.S. Government too?