Huntington Gardens!
After almost six years of living in Los Angeles, I find there are very few places we haven’t been to or experienced. Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens outside of Pasadena was, however, one of the few places left to be explored. With Bob’s parents in tow, we set out to San Marino for a lovely spring afternoon amongst the flowers.
The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens is actually a 120 acre walk through memorable landscapes from around the world. With a traditional Japanese garden, South African desert oasis, Chinese pond, Australian outback, southern rose garden, and lily pond section, almost every part of the world is beautifully represented.
While it seemed like most people were walking from section to section, there were also a lot of people who brought e-readers or actual real books (believe it or not!), found a nice spot on the lawn or in a shaded bench and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and peaceful atmosphere. The local college isn’t too far away and I could totally see escaping campus and retreating to the lush gardens.
Bob’s favorite part was by far the desert oasis area- mainly because we’ve just never seen anything quite like it before. Besides just the earth colored cactus, there were a surprising number of beautiful flowers, buzzing with bees of all sizes, and in a rainbow of colors. Not even the rose garden could compete with the sensory overload that that desert flowers gave.
After four hours of exploring the gardens and art galleries, we were hot, thirsty and ready to put our feet up! It was exhausting even though we were just walking around looking at plants! Highly suggest looking at the map and picking out what area you are really interested in and visiting that area first, so you don’t get too burned out (and well, just sunburned!). Also, bring a hat, wear sunscreen and pack a bottle of water. You won’t regret it!
Even though we can now cross it off our LA Bucket List, I know we will make return visits to the gardens and galleries. It’s just too beautiful for only a one time visit.
These photos were included in Budget Travel Sandbox, Thursday Travel Photo. Make sure to check out the other bloggers photos too!
