Gardens of the World - Free Public Garden in Thousand Oaks, CA

My dear friend and I recently visited a lovely public garden in Thousand Oaks, California named Gardens of the World. What a treat it was. The garden is free and open to the public. It was created by Ed and Lynn Hogan, founders of Pleasant Holidays, as a way of giving back to the community. The garden features several separate gardens commemorating some of the cultures they have experienced in their travels around the world. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so these iphone photos aren't the best quality. 

There is an old-fashioned bandstand which is surrounded by lawn, and in August there is live jazz every Sunday evening. Apparently they also host art exhibits, but they do not allow weddings or private parties. This leaves the gardens open to the public, and the general feel is calm and non-commercialized. 

The most serene little Japanese garden features a koi pond and Japanese pagoda.

Entering the pagoda we were suddenly struck silent, our conversation paused to savor the calm.

We Californians are proud of our unique history which includes a series of Spanish missions established in the 1700's and 1800's by Catholic priests to spread Christianity. At the garden, a Spanish mission courtyard represents that history, and features a tiled entry and fountain with citrus and olive trees.

Perhaps my favorite area is the English perennial and rose garden. Shaded benches provide the perfect spot to rest and relish the lush flowers.

The French garden features a large cascading water feature which I neglected to photograph. Here you can see the trimmed hedges.

In the Italian garden we rested in the shade under the grape arbor and enjoyed the sound of the water feature which is lined by stately cypress trees.

The pathways are paved making walking easy, and also wheelchair friendly. The garden is relatively small, we spent a little over an hour there and enjoyed every minute!

Gardens of the World is located at 2001 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks CA 91362.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens

Walking through the Huntington Botanical Gardens is like traveling the gardens of the world in one afternoon.

Curving paths lead from one specialized garden to another representing regions of Australia, Japan, China, the southwestern desert of the US, the jungle, an herb garden and a rose garden too. It is located in San Marino, California which is near Pasadena, in the Los Angeles area. It is the former residence of Henry E. Huntington and his wife, Arabella. Mr. Huntington was an astute businessman who made his fortune in the railroad business, as well as water, power and land development. He was a collector of books and art, and his home was built to showcase his massive library which contains 6 million items. The collections includes important works such as a Gutenburg Bible, and Thomas Gainsburough's The Blue Boy. The library and art museums are open to the public. The price of admission allows access to the gardens as well as the buildings containing the art displays and the library. 

Near the entrance of the property is a lawn flanked by statues. 

Some are sweet.

Some are not.

The rose garden is a lovely area overlooking the treetops below. 

Our drought is evident at The Huntington, as the sweeping lawns between the garden beds are looking thirsty. It has become a common sight in our area, lawns slowly turning brown, getting just enough water to keep them partly alive. In our area, lawns only grow with regular watering from sprinklers and we are allowed to water our lawns only twice per week. While the lawns are struggling, the gardens at The Huntington are beautiful.

Next to the rose garden is the herb garden which was simply buzzing with bees. There is also a tea room and conservatory there which we did not explore.

My husband, seeking shade. It was 90 degrees that day.

Perhaps one of the prettiest gardens is the Japanese garden. The koi ponds and the shade of the bamboo provide a cool spot to rest from the warm sun.

The bamboo was too many shades of green to count; soothing and mellow. I want to paint my den these colors.

Strolling through the Australian garden, the scent of eucalyptus is fresh and comforting but that section was too hot to stop for photos. Skipping the desert section was an easy call. I grew up in the desert. Let's just say I've seen desert plants while walking in the hot sun before. We took our time through the jungle sections though. The sounds of rushing water and singing birds mask the noises of the people making it peaceful and rejuvenating. 

I could have spent an hour in the jungle just relaxing near the stream but we still wanted to see the art! One building has European art and the other has American art. There are painting, statues, ceramics and glassware, furniture and tapestries. Here are some of my favorites.

What can I say, that last one spoke to me. Am I right, ladies? I have no idea what scene it represents, but the abdominals are impressive. 

On a more serious note, we thoroughly enjoyed our little trip around the world provided by The Huntington and I would highly recommend spending the day enjoying the art and gardens. I imagine it is amazing when the first roses of the spring are in bloom. I won't miss that next year.

I didn't take many photos when we visited as I was there with my husband celebrating our wedding anniversary. I took a few quick photos with my frustrating little camera, but mostly I just wanted to enjoy his company. He knows how I have longed for a good camera, and he surprised me and suggested we go to the camera store on the way home. What a sweet man! We bought a Sony mirrorless camera and I am so excited about it I can hardly stand it. Once I really learn how to use it, I would love to go back to the Huntington to take better pictures. There are so many beautiful scenes there, and now that I have a good camera, I may need a membership so I can go back throughout the seasons to take pictures.