When I was a little girl growing up in Southern California, my Mom used to take me to the
Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Garden as a treat. It was commonly referred to as "Lucky Baldwin's" back then -- after Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, who purchased the property way back in 1875 -- and it was always a thrill for me to see the peacocks there.
 |
| There are many diverse plantings. |
There are many peacocks there today, as I happily discovered while attending the Garden Writers Association's annual symposium in Pasadena recently.
Some folks might recognize Baldwin's guest house, known as "the Cottage," from the old "Fantasy Island" TV series. (you know, "Da plane! Da plane!") It's situtated on the edge of Baldwin Lake.
So what all does this have to do with gardening? Plenty! In 1947, Los Angeles County purchased acreage surrounding Baldwin's homesite, for the purpose of creating an arboretum and it has been steadily expanded upon over the course of many years.
 |
| "The Cottage" |
Visitors will find orchid greenhouses, a formal rose garden, an herb garden, perennial test gardens, water conservation gardens, the Prehistoric and Jungle Garden, a waterfall and more. You would be amazed by all of the different plant collections representing Australia, Africa, Madagascar and the Canary Islands. And oh yes, there are lots of peacocks!
I've assembled some photos here to give you a mini tour of the gardens. It is well worth a visit!
 |
| Part of the formal rose garden. |
 |
| Zucchino rampicante (similar to what I grew this summer). |
 |
| Beautiful raised beds in the vegetable garden. |
 |
| Turtle pond. |
 |
| Oh, and did I mention peacocks? |
thank you for this post! I grew up in Los Angeles, and have been up in north Idaho for 30 years now. Lately I've been using the 'net to seek out places I used to go- nostalgia hitting hard. I realize that the Arboretum is going to be totally unlike what it was around 1970, but it's still good to see it.
ReplyDeleteHi, Laurie. I'm glad you enjoyed my post and the trip down memory lane! I have a lot of fond memories of going there when I was little.
DeleteIn your beautiful post there is a place vacant for pond. I was not building a pond and thought I couldn't manage the cost of it. Be that as it may, my companion proposed me you can assemble it independent from anyone else. He guided me to manufacture pond. I succeeded and it has been working since two years. I introduced EPDM Pond Liner Repair to close it.
ReplyDelete