Summer Events at Huntington Library!

 

JULY

Ranch Open House

Saturdays 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

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Stop by The Huntington’s urban agriculture site during its weekly open hours and pick up some fresh ideas for sustainable gardening. Volunteers from the L.A. Master Gardener program will be on hand to answer questions and offer seasonal tips. The half-acre Ranch Garden, part classroom, part research lab, draws inspiration from The Huntington’s agricultural heritage to explore optimal approaches to gardening in Southern California’s semi-arid climate. The mission of the Ranch is to reconnect people with their food in beautiful and livable ways, inspiring visitors to incorporate edibles into the landscape of their home gardens. From the Teaching Greenhouse, follow signs to the site. Cancelled in the event of rain. General admission. Ranch Garden

Family Drop-in Program

Weekend Botanical Art

Through Aug. 26 (every Saturday & Sunday) noon – 4 p.m.

Drop by the Botanical Center any weekend during the run of the exhibition “Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens” (through Aug. 26) and enjoy family activities centered around botanical art. The activities are facilitated by members of the Botanical Artists’ Guild of Southern California, a chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists. In addition to on-going demonstrations by the artists of various media and techniques—watercolor, pen and ink, etching, graphite—there will be opportunities for adults and children to engage in hands-on botanical art, such as leaf rubbing, sketching and drawing, and making observations of plant structure under magnification. General admission. Brody Botanical Center

Music in the Chinese Garden

Wednesdays 1 – 3 p.m.

Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A different solo musician will perform each week in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion, adding to the garden’s ambience with the sounds of the pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) dizi (flute), yangqin(dulcimer), or guzheng (zither). General admission. Cancelled in the event of rain. Chinese Garden

Garden Talk and Sale

Advanced Propagation Techniques

July 12 (Thursday) 2:30 p.m.

Horticulture instructor Joe Stead of Orange Coast College will give a presentation on advanced propagation techniques for hardwood and semi-hardwood plants, such as camellias, azaleas, hydrangeas, and grape vines. The program will include a demonstration of grafting and air layering, followed by a plant sale in the nursery area. Free; no reservations required. Ahmanson Room, Brody Botanical Center

Pasadena’s Busch Gardens:

Adolphus Busch’s Early Amusement Park

July 29 (Sunday) 2:30 p.m.

When German brewing magnate Adolphus Busch purchased a mansion on Pasadena’s “Millionaires’ Row” in 1904, the property did not include enough land for a proper garden. But Busch quickly bought up some 60 additional acres stretching from Orange Grove Blvd. down to the bottom of the Arroyo Seco and developed it into a lushly landscaped park. Busch Gardens, which opened to the public in 1906, featured exotic plants, terraced hillsides, a rock grotto, waterfalls and ponds, and “fairy scenes” drawn from the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Local historian Ann Scheid will give a fascinating lecture about this once-famous theme park, which no longer exists except in period photographs and in a few intriguing remnants that can still be glimpsed around the neighborhood where it once stood. Free; no reservations required.

AUGUST

Ranch Open House

Saturdays 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Stop by The Huntington’s urban agriculture site during its weekly open hours and pick up some fresh ideas for sustainable gardening. Volunteers from the L.A. Master Gardener program will be on hand to answer questions and offer seasonal tips. The half-acre Ranch Garden—part classroom, part research lab—draws inspiration from The Huntington’s agricultural heritage to explore optimal approaches to gardening in Southern California’s semi-arid climate. The mission of the Ranch is to reconnect people with their food in beautiful and livable ways, inspiring visitors to incorporate edibles into the landscape of their home gardens. From the Teaching Greenhouse, follow signs to the site. Cancelled in the event of rain. General admission. Ranch Garden

Family Drop-in Program

Weekend Botanical Art

Through Aug. 26 (every Saturday & Sunday) noon – 4 p.m.

Drop by the Botanical Center any weekend during the run of the exhibition “Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens” (through Aug. 26) and enjoy family activities centered around botanical art. The activities are facilitated by members of the Botanical Artists’ Guild of Southern California, a chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists. In addition to on-going demonstrations by the artists of various media and techniques—watercolor, pen and ink, etching, graphite—there will be opportunities for adults and children to engage in hands-on botanical art, such as leaf rubbing, sketching and drawing, and making observations of plant structure under magnification. General admission. Brody Botanical Center

Music in the Chinese Garden

Wednesdays 1 – 3 p.m.

Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A different solo musician will perform each week in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion, adding to the garden’s ambience with the sounds of the pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) dizi (flute), yangqin(dulcimer), or guzheng (zither). General admission. Cancelled in the event of rain. Chinese Garden

Garden Talk & Sale

Plant Sale Nursery Open House

Aug. 9 (Thursday) 2:30 p.m.

Join us for our second annual Plant Sale Nursery Open House and Sale and pick up seasonal gardening tips on propagation, watering techniques, and xeriscape gardening during a series of informal talks in the nursery. Best of all, take 20% off all plant purchases. Complimentary refreshments will be served, including freshly squeezed lemonade. Free; no reservations required. Plant Sale Nursery