Day at the Descanso Gardens

I have NEVER heard of the Descanso Gardens, but I am glad that I have now discovered it. It was so beautiful. And it appears that April was the perfect month to see the gardens in it's full glory.

The Descanso was founded by E. Manchester Boddy, who was the owner of the LA Times. It was eventually sold to the County of Los Angeles in 1953. In this garden you will find an oak forest, where Camelias are intertwined. There is a Rosarium where more than 3,000 roses can be found from all over the world. A Japanese garden with a koi pond that was truly awe-inspiring. And the lilac garden, with more than 500 lilacs, left me speechless - they smelled wonderful. And they had the cutest train ride that went through the Descanso and a bird observation area, where you will find a variety of birds, and you may also be greeted by turtles and fish in the lake. This is only a handful of the things you'll find in your exploration.

As I've stated in the past, I love nature. And I am pleased to now have a group who is as excited by nature as I am. As we wandered through the gardens, all you could think of was paradise. It was so beautiful and peaceful that it seemed to change the attitudes of everyone that was there. People greeted us as we walked by; others would get excited by what they found and include us in their discovery. If we didn't immediately become excited too, they would explain to us, in detail, why it was so wonderful. It was a rare, but nice, scene to experience.

We traveled half of the park and then stopped for lunch. There is a cafe at the entrance, which was really cute and on special days, you may even be able to eat at the teahouse. But, we brought a lunch and some blankets and headed to the picnic area. This area is outside the garden, but you would not have guessed it. After eating, we all wanted to just lay under the trees and relax. But, we were so excited to see what else the garden offered that we carried on. A lot of love was put into this garden attraction; there was no doubt about that. It was truly a perfect day.

Why not take a trip to the Descanso Gardens in La Canada, this Spring? You will feel like you're on vacation without having to travel.

What is Beauty? - Day at the Arboretum

I love nature. There is nothing like a beautiful array of plants. No orchestra can compare to the singing of birds and the sound of water from a stream or waterfall. So, naturally, I ended up at LA's Arboretum.

My family and I were greeted by peacocks everywhere! I was so excited. I looked over the map, planning out our excursion carefully so as not to miss anything. My family decided that we should eat lunch first. Soon after they ate, a debate began. This was normal among my husband's family, but this time I could have died. Don't they know where we are at? Taking me to the Arboretum was comparable to taking a five-year-old child for the first time to Disneyland. Since I am in my late twenties, I wouldn't be justified in throwing a tantrum. So I sat for a moment smiling, then wandered around the restaurant take pictures of the peacocks running through our lunch area.

Finally, my hero! My husband's grandmother had enough of the conversation and began walking to an area that she wanted to see. I followed close by. Where were we going? To the tropical greenhouse and orchids? To the Asian plants? We were about to be awed and amazed!! We ended up in... the water conservation garden. In other words, cactuses and weeds. She explaind in detail all the plants that were sitting there. Some she even had in her own garden. I was not impressed. Why would you plant a weed in your garden? And why, of all the plants to look at, would you want to come to this area?

She must have seen the apparent look of dissatisfaction because she chose to explain the plants to me in even more detail. I thought, "If I run into a cactus, that would be something to write home about." But, I talked myself down and decided to just enjoy the time with her. After a few minutes of my weed lesson, I started to see what she was seeing. She pick up the flowers and pointed out the little intricate details. She made me smell them - even had me taste some of them.* And I quickly realized how amazing those plants were. I've walked by similar plants many times while camping or hiking. To me, they were nothing, but plants used to take up space. What caught my eye were the big beautiful plants that demanded attention, like the Magnolia trees or the Giant Sequoias. But, the so called "weeds" I was currently staring at had a beauty of their own. No, their beauty wasn't as apparent as most of the other plants at the Arboretum, but that's what made them exciting. I had to search for it. Stepping out of my definition of beauty and opening my mind helped me see a new world of attractiveness. The beauty in nature is everywhere. And when I enjoy where I'm at, I'm at ease.


*Please do not eat plants unless you know that they are edible.