Botanical Gardens - The Huntington, San Marino

The fiery red flower of Aloe Principis in full bloom on Aloe Hill in the Desert Garden

My dear friends, I suspect you may be feeling that end of winter ennui that tends to settle in around this time of year. I remember what it's like to desperately want to be done with snow and cold... The cusp of spring is in sight but feels like years away. In the spirit of needing to see and smell green here are some photos I took last month at one of my favorite places to visit in LA - The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. 

I will spare you the history lesson about founder Henry Huntington and the role his trains and cable cars played in encouraging LA to spread and sprawl into the ginormous metropolis it is today. Instead I will take this opportunity to vent about why I feel like I'm having a long distance relationship within the confines of my own city: I live on the East Side while my bf lives on the West Side (known to some as the Best Side or Blest Side).  Sometimes - like when we'd just like to have dinner and enjoy each other's company for a few hours on a school night but can't bear the thought of traffic, or it takes him over two hours to get to me on Valentine's Day when it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes - it feels like I'm having a long distance relationship! ...Uh, back to the gardens...

I used to favor the Japanese Gardens but they are closed until spring. This trip I felt particularly inspired by the Desert Garden. Plants of these varieties (over 5,000 species) were not widely known and unappreciated at the turn of the century - even Mr. Huntington wasn't too gun ho about the idea - yet it grew to become one of the world's largest (and oldest) collections of cacti and succulents. 

Over 120 acres of the 207 acres of grounds are devoted to the gardens. There are Chinese, Japanese, Australian, herb, rose (with tea room), jungle, Subtropical, and Shakespeare gardens. There are lily ponds and a children's garden to explore... And there are rare books and manuscripts in the Library's  collection. You can see Gainsborough's "The Blue Boy" in the Art Gallery. The Huntington has always been a favorite place to take visitors or just to enjoy a restorative day on my own. If you find yourself near Pasadena be sure not to miss it. Eat at nearby Julien for an amazing experience and energy to walk the grounds - and be sure to wear comfortable shoes!

Happy Friday my friends - and don't despair, spring has almost sprung.