A day at Huntington Gardens Part 1- The Rose Garden

I have seen botanical gardens around Asia.. like the Orchid and Botanical Garden in Singapore, the Orchidarium in Chiangmai, Thailand and in the States--- I have seen the Hakone Garden in Saratoga, The Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Arcadia and now the Huntington Garden. Visiting these places gives me an opportunity to take a lot of photos and admire the many plant and flower species. Each of the botanical gardens I have visited had their strong and weak points... I have enjoyed all. 

Today Ernie and I decided to go and see the much talked about Huntington Gardens at San Marino. The Huntington Gardens or THE HUNTINGTON for short is owned by Henry and  Arabella Huntington. We decided to make our own version of a walking tour around the 120 acres of the Huntington. We carefully planned which themed garden we were going to visit and both of us agreed to leave out the art galleries and exhibition halls for another visit to the place.

If you are planning to go to the Huntington, make sure you are wearing your most comfortable walking shoes because there are 120 acres of themed gardens with an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. You can walk across the expanse of lawns to admire the fountains and statues, sit on a bench under the shade of a beautiful massive tree.

I have decided to make a couple of blogs on my visit to HUNTINGTON -- so you will be able to  appreciate the place like I did. So... please follow me as I take you on a tour around the gardens!!!!!


It was a leisurely 45 minute drive from where I live in the Valley. When we arrived at the Huntington Gardens.. there were a lot of cars parked and people lining up at the register to get their tickets to enter the grounds. One thing nice with this garden is..... they give you a MAP which you can use while you walk around.

The Huntington is filled with an astounding amount of themed gardens ( 13 as of last count )... Ernie and  I were able to visit 6 gardens that day...

1.  the Japanese garden,
2.  the Chinese garden,
3.  the Rose garden,
4.  the Lily ponds,
5.  the Desert garden
6.  and the Conservatory.

Let me take you on a tour of the Huntington Gardens through my lens. I am sure you will enjoy the scenery as much as I did.

Going towards the rose garden we passed by the Library Exhibition Hall.

and the Huntington Art Gallery..

HERE we are..... for our first stop... THE ROSE GARDEN

It is best to visit the Rose Garden when it is in full bloom-- April to June... this garden is a sight to see!!!

The rose fragrance is very strong, the air in this part of the Huntington gardens seems almost heavy with it. According to the map I had with me... this garden is at least 1 acre. Don't worry... there are lots of benches beneath the trees to sit and rest.

There were a lot of sculptures scattered around the garden... and here are some of my favorite sculptures...

After a few minutes rest on one of the benches ... we proceeded to our next stop.... THE CHINESE GARDEN...