The Huntington Gardens/Library/Mansion is a jumble of things. I didn't see the library, since it's closed until the fall. But Dillard and I strolled through the grounds, which included a Japanese garden:
And a mess of bonsais! (I'm really into bonsai trees, now, since Francisco asked for one for his birthday. I never got him any, but I'm obsessed. You know ones that are 40 years old can sell for several thousand dollars?! I need to start growing them ASAP, so that I have money with which to retire someday.)
They were beautiful and old and varied--everything from miniature cypress to miniature gingkos!
(This one was called a prostrate juniper.)
The Chinese gardens were also lovely and peaceful and were accompanied by a woman purportedly playing a zither. Or playing a purported zither.
This was my favorite view, although I couldn't photograph it well: Standing looking out of the front of the mansion, you could see this row of statues in front of a row of palm trees. You could also see tall mountains visible beyond the trees.
The house had a museum inside--the ground floor was lavishly furnished and decorated with British portraits. Upstairs, there was everything from a tangentially related contemporary exhibit, to decorative arts, to fine arts.
I love the mix of fine art and fine settings that, from what I've seen so far, seems to characterize California museums.
No comments:
Post a Comment