fall 2016 39 garden, subtropical garden and jungle section, as well as herbs. Two of the most popular spots are the finely detailed Japanese Garden, begun in 1912, and the now-expanding walled Chinese Garden. To me, though, the desert garden is among The Huntington’s most stellar attractions, with 2,100 species jammed into 10 acres. It is one of the largest collections of arid plants in the world. Golden barrel cactuses number 500, and taken together they form majestic mounds of wicked geometry. To walk the trails of this garden is to be utterly astounded by the variety and beauty of these plants. Tall, buggy whip-like Alluaudia procera and upright Delonix adansonioides come from Madagascar. You’ll see purple prickly pears, a 100-year old cereus, all manner of aloes from South Africa and a bromeliad, Puya alpestris, from the highlands of Chile. Euphorbias and agaves of every ilk have joined the crowd. The hairy plants are here too: Oreocereus celsianus—the old man of the Andes—is joined by many mammillaria that stick close to the ground. Abromeitiella lorentziana from Argentina covers a boulder like a star-studded blanket of miniature bromeliads, while the Barleria rotundifolia from the Transvaal produces lemon-yellow flowers atop its barbed stems. The size and scope of this collection will keep luring you back again and again. The Huntington also includes a children’s garden. Adjacent to that is the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science, with its beguiling entrance sign: “Plants are Up to Something.” Here, children and adults can crank wheels to see seeds fly, lift doors to discover how roots grow, test the energy content of different flower nectars, learn how water moves through wood and measure nutrient levels in water. An adjacent rainforest beneath a massive glass dome (put on by helicopter in 2005) receives a goodly morning shower; a cloud forest luxuriates in its mist, and a bog is alive with carnivorous plants. The usually-off-limits greenhouses are full of 10,000 orchids, handsome aroids and several young Amorphophallus titanum plants as yet unflowered but growing robustly for the day they will produce their big stink. The orchid collection is overseen by Brandon Tam, who began volunteering at the garden when he was 14. Now, at 24, he is building a Cymbidium collection as well as serving as orchid grower, accession manager and host for the American Orchid Society meeting. Orchid collections are offered occasionally to the gardens, but, “we’re very picky about accepting orchid donations,” Tam says. “Each orchid has to have a record of its ancestry and a current name.” And as with all orchid enthusiasts, Tam is running out of greenhouse room. The library displays two works important to plant lovers: John Gerard’s 1633 “Herball or Generall Histoirie of Plantes” and Maria Sibylla Merian’s incredible “Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam,” printed in 1790. While we were visiting, an origami exhibit made its debut. Called “Florilegium, Folded Transformations from the Natural World” by Robert J. Lang, each piece was from a single sheet of paper. Koi, cactus, orchids, birds and even a rhinoceros beetle were awe-inspiring. Another exhibit, “Gardens, Art & Commerce,” was on loan from the National Library of China as well as other museums and private collections. It showed Chinese woodblock printing from the 16th to 19th centuries. Forget the bucket list. Go now. ABOVE (L-R) A moon bridge is a feature in the Japanese garden. BELOW The main hall of the library.
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