Visitors pass through the Cloudy Forest Court in the new Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Jagged rock formations and miniature potted trees accent the newly expanded Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
The garden occupies 15 acres on the 207-acre grounds of the Huntington, a research institution in an upscale residential neighborhood of San Marino.
The Huntington opened 11.5 of those acres to the public for the first time this month after declaring its third and final phase of construction complete.
Susan Holman of Pasadena called the expansion fabulous. She and two friends enjoyed the variety within the garden.
“It ties in so beautifully with what’s been here for years,” she said. “To have this huge, huge space that’s been transformed over the last 20 years is just extraordinary.”
The garden is much more than a collection of plants, according to curator Philip Bloom. It is history and poetry and art.
Here’s what visitors can expect.
A glimpse of the past
The Chinese Garden is also called the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, or Liu Fang Yuan. It is modeled after gardens created during the Ming Dynasty in the city of Sozhou, a city near Shanghai in eastern China.
New sections of the garden expand it beyond the 3.5-acre lake that opened in 2008. A mosaic pathway leads from the lake up a ridge to a series of courtyards on the west.
To the north is new museum space in buildings modeled after the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from the 14th to the 17th century.
The expansion, like earlier phases of construction, was a collaboration between local workers and architects and artisans from China.
Big rocks and small trees
The section west of the lake is called Verdant Microcosm. It is decorated with limestone rocks imported from the bed of a lake near Suzhou. Small rocks accent pathways through the garden. Larger rocks are positioned like sculptures and some feature reproductions of Chinese calligraphy.
In contrast to the rocks, miniature potted trees are on display throughout the courtyard. They are called penjing and are similar to Japanese bonsai.
The Flowery Brush Library at the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A Zen-like walkway at the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Stark white walls make perfect shadows in the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A view from under the waterfall out onto the Lake of Reflected Fragrance at the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors walk through the Terrace that Invites the Mountains in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Lake of Reflected Fragrance at the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Pathway details in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino Wednesday. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors pass by the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Chinese gardens inspired by the Classical Gardens of Suzhou in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors in the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A miniature potted tree in the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Pause for reflection in the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A perfectly framed view of the Cloudy Forest Court in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Detail from the Flowery Brush Library in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino.. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Calligraphy decorates the the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors enter the Stargazing Tower in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino.. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A visitor enters the World in a Wine Pot in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Attention to every detail down to the clay roof tiles are in evidence at the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors pass through the Cloudy Forest Court in the new Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Visitors view the Lake of Reflected Fragrance from the Stargazing Tower in the newly opened section of the Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The high point of the expansion, literally, is the Stargazing Tower, a north-facing pavilion that looks down at the lake and up at the San Gabriel Mountains. It is named for its view of the Mount Wilson Observatory, not for the ability to see stars because the Huntington isn’t open at night.
Room for the arts
To the north of the lake is a reproduction of a Ming Dynasty art studio, an art gallery and a restaurant with counter service. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the interior spaces aren’t expected to open until May 2021.
More to come
Bloom anticipates art exhibitions, monthly horticulture lectures, and concerts in the garden when pandemic restrictions ease.
Admittance to the Huntington is currently limited to guests who make advance reservations online and submit to a temperature check on arrival.
