Japanese Gardens in Southern California
A Japanese garden exhibit at the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia led to the construction of beautiful Japanese-style gardens in the United States. These gardens lost their popularity when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Some gardens fell into disrepair. Others were simply renamed. The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park became the Oriental Tea Garden until its official name was restored in 1952.
One of the characters in my novel I’ll Be Seeing You is a Japanese American gardening expert who befriends the father of my teenage protagonist, Gisela Schwann. Since the Japanese American gardener in my novel resides in Southern California, I chose to visit three Japanese gardens in the Caltech vicinity as part of my research.
Descanso Gardens is about seven miles north of Pasadena in La Cañada Flintridge. Elias Manchester Boddy purchased 165 acres of undeveloped land and built a home on it in the 1930s. When Japanese Americans were sent to relocation camps in 1942, he bought the inventories of local nursery owners. Their camellia plants became the foundation for Boddy’s Camellia Collection. Descanso Gardens moved from private to public ownership in 1953. The Japanese Garden is only one of many botanical gardens on the estate. It is open to the public and is well worth a visit.
The Japanese Garden at the Huntington in San Marino was also once part of a much larger estate which includes a library, art collections and other botanical gardens. Henry E. Huntington amassed a fortune as a railroad and real estate businessman. He and his wife, Arabella collected art, books and botanical specimens. These collections are now part of a private foundation. It has been open to the public since 1928.
The Storrier Stearns Garden was once a private garden on a much larger estate, but most of the property surrounding the Japanese Garden has been sold off. It's hidden in a Pasadena neighborhood. This strolling garden is my favorite of the three because of its intimacy and charm.
https://www.japanesegardenpasadena.com/history-b.html
