Growing roses

Water-wise lawn replacement 

Take these Hot Gardens online tours, too:    

Huntington Gardens Desert Garden    
Tucson Garden Tour   
Santa Barbara Garden Tour  
Phoenix Desert Garden Tour   
Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden  (on our sister website, Pasadena Neighborhoods)
Tropical Garden in Dominican Republic

Descanso Gardens in La Canada, California is not far from the Huntington Gardens and among our favorites in California, in part because of its smaller size.  You can spend an hour or two and see most of the gardens.

Originally an estate, Descanso Gardens is famed for its large  collection of camellias and roses.  The camellias flower from December through April.  Then, as the camellias fade, the roses in a sunny part of the gardens burst into bloom.  It is heavenly to breathe in the fragrance of the roses like those that surround the Mission Garden section of the rose garden, above.

At one end of the rose garden is a charming boxwood maze just the right size for children and at the other, a bird watching station.

The Descanso Gardens rose collection includes hundreds of specimens from around the world, including England, France, Japan, Ireland, and China.

Some sections of Descanso Gardens' 80 acres are devoted to drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants and native plants of California.  Many plants from both these regions thrive in hot, dry climate conditions.  

Trails, some paved, some not, wind through the oak woodlands where the camellia collection grows and blooms.  On a hot, sunny day to walk along the paths in the shade of old oak trees is incredibly refreshing.  Click on this photo to enlarge.

At the far end of the gardens, you will discover the Boddy House where the original owners lived.  Paintings and ceramics by local artists are exhibited and for sale here.  

You will find a Japanese garden complete with a tea house at the Descanso Gardens.  And, not far away, a redwood grove and a small lilac garden. The lilacs are varieties suitable for the hot summers and mild winters of Southern California.

After you have explored the gardens, you can enjoy refreshment under a wisteria-ladened arbor near the entrance.  On weekends in the summer there is live entertainment and, quite often, special gardening events.   There is a fee for entry to the gardens.