Shutter Sisters

California Dreamin’

By

Earlier this year, on a particularly hot day in February, my mom and I ventured up to the Huntington Library in San Marino, just outside of L.A., about an hour’s drive from where we live in Orange County. We’d always heard about it and wanted to visit, but for some reason never made it there, even with all our trips to our beloved Getty Museums.

And we were absolutely blown away. “Why didn’t we come here before?” we kept asking each other. We spent most of the day there and saw maybe half of what this amazing place has to offer. Their gardens seemed to go on forever and are a treasure trove of native plants and include nearly a dozen different themed gardens. For an amateur Shutter Sister who was just starting to really explore and devour nature photography, I couldn’t get enough of wandering through them! Especially the part that looked straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Talk about inspiration. There’s definitely something for everyone – art, architecture, gardens, water features and of course the library itself. For extra savings, the first Thursday of every month is free admission, as long as you reserve your tickets in advance. And parking is always free – that can be a rare thing in L.A.!

This is one of the main reasons I love Southern California – for all its traffic and crowds, there are tons of things to do within driving distance. The Huntington is something that we’ll be making a permanent part of our Staycation schedule as well as where we’ll be taking friends and family when they visit. I can’t wait to go back and explore some more!

Photography and words courtesy of So Cal sister Trude Ellingsen, Recovering Firecraker.

Feel free to share your favorite garden shot today from near of far. Blooms always welcome here.

Comments

  14. This library is on our list for staycation too! In fact, we may go this weekend! Friends of ours went and told us how much we’d love it.

    I don’t have time to dig up my botanical garden shots right now, but have recommendations! We lived in Buffalo, NY where there is a great little botanical garden. It is housed in an Olmstead park in a beautiful green house similar to others in NYC. Also, the best ever is Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. It is world renown, built on the former DuPont estate. It offers so much to the community — the gardens, classes, shows, you name it. Just my 2 cents!