A Trip to The Huntington Gardens (& Wednesday Vignette)

Last week was miserably hot.  The temperatures soared above 100F and it cooled down very little at night.  The only gardening I do in weather like that is watering early in the morning or late afternoon.  As we had one heatwave after another during October, with only short breaks in between, I've held off on the plant shopping I usually indulge in during the fall.  Okay, I admit I shop for plants year-round but I taper off during summer's height and make up for it by going a bit crazy in the fall.  After all, fall is the best time to plant here - the nighttime temperatures are (usually) cool but the daytime temperatures are comfortably warm and we can (usually) expect rain as we head into the latter part of the year, allowing plants a good opportunity to get established.  We don't get freezes here so there's no worry there.

With the heat expected to taper off at the end of last week, I cajoled my husband into attending the fall plant sale at the Huntington Gardens.  I hate driving through downtown Los Angeles, even though I did it for 8 years when I worked downtown so I appreciated his willingness to chauffeur me there, especially as the temperature was forecast to be 91F on the first day of the sale.  We arrived minutes after the garden opened, when the temperature was still just 79F, and headed straight for the sale area.

I snapped just a couple of photos of the sale area before I got busy shopping.  This is a portion of the well-stocked succulent area.  Everything was neatly labeled and there were plenty of knowledgeable people on hand to answer questions.

This area included trees, shrubs and perennials.  The plants on offer extended far into the distance.  I can't even draw a comparison with the offerings provided at my local botanic garden's "fall plant boutique."

My camera seized up at one point and I clicked a test shot, not really attending to the the plant caught by the shot until I reviewed my photos at home.  I've no idea what this plant was but I really wish I'd paid more attention!

After 90 minutes at the sale, I paid for my purchases and left them to be picked up later while we had lunch and toured the gardens.  We had our lunch on a patio area attached to the Chinese Garden (Liu Fang Yuan), then made the rounds.

The Chinese Garden was just a short walk from the plant sale area

The lake provides great reflective views

We had our lunch on the patio alongside the pavilion on the right.  It's my favorite spot for lunch at the Huntington.

This Japanese maple provided the only touch of fall color I saw during our visit

As we proceeded into the Japanese Garden, it was already quite hot so we didn't tarry.

The garden wasn't very crowded on a Friday afternoon but then the temperature was up in the 90F range at this point

We wound our way through the Australian Garden but none of my photos of that area are worth sharing.  My husband was interested in seeing a science exhibit (and cooling down) so I made do with just a few panoramic shots of the Desert Garden.

As my husband checked the map to find the location of the science exhibit, my eye was attracted by bright, shiny metal and I walked over to investigate.

I didn't realize it at the time but the Orbit Pavilion, a NASA exhibit, was slated to close just 2 days after our visit

The exhibit provides "soundscapes" to reflect individual satellites as they pass overhead

Interior view

We headed in the direction of the California Garden near the entrance and I snapped several more shots as a busload of teens queued up for a tour.

You can just see the students gathering in the distance

Another view of what I believe are 4 perfect specimens of Yucca rostrata with the Orbit Pavilion in the distance

More quick photos as the teenage horde approached

View of the area looking back in the direction of my first photo of the California Garden

My husband was disappointed by the science exhibit, as it was geared to kids, but I enjoyed the displays in the natural history section, particularly the botanical and anatomical illustrations.  Some of these were perfect for Halloween, like a large illustration of a skeleton kneeling in prayer and a full-sized anatomical drawing of a standing man holding a knife in one hand and his own flayed skin in another.  Unfortunately, flash photos weren't permitted.

We headed back to the plant sale area behind the Children's Garden to pick up my purchases.  My plant-buying hiatus is over it seems. 

This is my haul and my Wednesday Vignette.  (For others, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.)  The first box of plants includes: Aloe 'Marsha Leyhew', Villabrunea pedunculata, Justicia leonardii, Nerine bowdenii 'Stefani', dwarf Grevillea rosmarinifolia, and Dermabotris saundersii.  The second box holds: Sinningia 'Invasion Force', Salvia heldreichiana, Salvia melissadora (not visible), Sphaeralcea ambigua (not visible), Grevillea victorae 'Murray Valley Queen', and Perrierastrum oreophilum (Madagascar Mountain Fern).

The most expensive item in the batch was this Aloe 'Marsha Leyhew', a Karen Zimmerman hybrid.  In a 3-inch pot, it cost $15.  You can find better photos here.

Temperatures continued to fall over the weekend and our marine layer turned.  It's been cool and drizzly since Monday and there's a good chance of real rain over the coming weekend.  Time to start planting!


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party