What a pleasure it was to stroll through the Descanso Gardens last Sunday. Tucked away off of the 2 highway in the La Cañada Flintridge/ Verdugo Hills area, the Descanso is a sprawling botanical delight with a gloriously extensive Rose garden and a Huntington-like series of themed gardens and pathways, including Japanese, lilac, camellia, iris and native California gardens.
The Descanso (Spanish for "rest") was the brainchild of an Los Angeles newspaper magnate -- E. Manchester Boddy -- former owner of the Los Angeles Daily News. He bought up the land in the '30s and then sold the entire spread to L.A. County in the '50s so that nature might forever have a place to "hold court" in the area.
Also worth seeing is the recently restored Boddy House. The Pasadena Showcase renovated the interior in 2007 to very pleasing effect. "Working with Showcase volunteers, interior and exterior design firms completely rehabilitated and restored the Boddy House, bringing it back to life in a contemporary re-interpretation of its original Hollywood Regency style." The Boddy house seems like a great place to hold an event, too.
The gardens also have some interesting upcoming events, including an Argentenian wine tasting in late May, and a series on exotic wild animals in June. Check out their calendar for more details.
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