Huntington Gardens – The Bonsai Exhibit

I felt some excitement as I approached the exhibit. The set up was excellent and showed the trees well. I took in the first area thinking that was it only to find another courtyard full of trees. Quality was varied as you’d expect when trees are donated but I was thrilled to see my first California Junipers and a few trees created by the pioneers of American bonsai. Condition and heath was generally good with only a few showing signs of stress. I fell in love with the Cali Junipers and a few of the olives. Also nice to see shohin getting a display in there even if a few of them were below par with the rest. Perhaps accents would have added to the whole display but again, this might be hard to maintain in an exhibit like this. Well done to all those who donated to make an exhibit like this possible for the public. I can only dream of something like this being possible in Ireland someday.

I was also lucky enough to visit another exhibit by the GSBF at Lake Merritt, but more on that later in the week.

Huntington Gardens – Japanese Garden

Walking on from the Chinese Garden at Huntington, you could feel the change transitioning to Japan. The Tea House was special and there were some beautiful paths that always left you wandering what was around the next corner. The general landscaping was well manicured and full use of the grass areas was being made by the public. Here’s the gallery. Next up the trees from the bonsai display.

Huntington Gardens – Chinese Garden

With so many photos to share, I’m going to break them down a little as I go. My visit, although brief, to Huntington Gardens, was a fantastic experience. Design wise the gardens are one of the best I’ve seen and everything looked in top condition. I got to visit both the Chinese and Japanese Gardens within Huntington as well as the Bonsai Exhibit, but more on that later. First up is the Chinese Garden. It was early in the morning and as the cloud cleared as I snapped away. Beautiful water features surrounded by bridges, buildings and great landscaping including some quality rock features. The detail in the paths alone impressed me.

There was a small display of bonsai/penjing , pretty much an after thought tucked away at the side of a path. A missed opportunity to create a Penjing display worthy of the garden. The Chinese Garden in in for a massive extension in the next few years. Perhaps a chance to rectify this? Here’s a gallery of what was on offer. The toad is real 🙂