Descanso Gardens - one of our favorite things!

     So, I realized a while ago that I haven't once mentioned one of J and my favorite places on this blog. How could this be? Well, I've been meaning to correct this huge oversight for a while now, but for some reason, I just haven't gotten around to it... until now!

     After moving to LA, J and I wanted to explore our new-ish surroundings, so we made an effort to check out as many hiking trails and gardens in the area as possible. That year saw us going to many memorable places, from hiking in Malibu, to visiting The Getty for the first time, and checking out the Huntington Gardens and Library. With all of this exploring further and further from home, we were surprised to learn that there was a large garden right in our metaphorical back yard!
     So, on one hot summer Saturday, we decided to take the short trip up 2N to La Canada Flintridge, where a 160 acre garden lays tucked away in a small residential community. The Descanso Gardens were once a part of the estate of one E. Manchester Boddy, who took great care to preserve the land and planted many of the plants still there today! As with most of the gardens in our area, there is a small fee at the gate. In the case of Descanso, it will cost about $8 (cheaper for kids, students, & seniors) to go for the day. At the end of our first visit, we decided we liked the place so much that we should get annual passes ($75 for both of us for the whole year)!
     When you enter the gates, and under a pergola covered in wisteria, there's the cafe patio on the left with small tables and chairs surrounded by the main building one one side and a small pond on the other. Beyond this, there is a small garden to the left, surrounded by trellises covered in crabapple. In the spring, the secluded grass garden is bright green, and the crabapples along with the two main trees are in full bloom. Small purple bulbs surround the garden, along with a few tulip and dogwood trees. On our most recent trip, they set up a stand of herbs and vegetables for an annual event called "Tomatomania".

      Following the main path to the right, you can either walk straight through the promenade, or into the rose garden on the right. In spring, the promenade is especially beautiful, with clumps of brightly colored tulips and daffodils. J and I usually choose to meander through the rose garden. In early spring, the garden becomes full and green, with roses starting to bud and bloom, and by mid-Summer, the roses are in full bloom. Several large tunnels of rose-covered arches meander around the garden, shading the path, smelling fragrant and sweet, creating a very romantic feeling.
      Elsewhere in the rose garden sit three huge domed trellises are completely covered in grape and hops vines. In the center of these structures sits a small lily pond, home to the occasional guppy and tadpole. Also, if you keep very quiet, you may get to see one of the garden's other small residents: rabbits.

     At the heart of the rose garden is the Rose Pavilion. This is one of the spots within the garden that you can rent for a wedding ceremony, and it's easy to see why. A wrought iron gazebo, covered in vines of white roses, sits in the center of the main lawn. The pavilion itself is a great wooden no-wall structure, perfect for sitting to rest a while amid the lush rose bushes and cherry trees.

     At the far side of the garden, after you've passed the rose pavilion and walked through the rose archways, a large fountain sits in front of a large curved bench beneath yet more rose-covered arbors. J and I usually find ourselves stopping to sit here beneath the shade of the vines, listening to the fountain and looking up past the trees and to the hazy blue mountains beyond.
     Near the exit of the rose garden sits a small structure raised on a hill overlooking a lake. This serves as a bird observation tower of sorts. Most of the birds found here are varieties of ducks and geese with the occasional egret or two. More commonly found here, are the turtles that like to sidle up on the bank to sun in the afternoons, and the large fish that can be seen lurking just below the surface.

     Up a small hill from this spot, are several small trails leading up to higher views surrounded by native plants. At the center of everything is a large oak forest: A large strip of green grass covers the ground throughout spring, making this the perfect place to sit. This area makes me wish it were possible to have picnics inside the gardens. It would be the ideal place to spread out a blanket and just lay beneath the canopy of giant oaks.

     One of J and my favorite place to sit and relax, is by the small pond near the oak forest - the one with the small waterfall. The pond is full to the brim of brightly colored fish (mostly koi), as well as ducks, and the occasional frog and turtle. Because of the critters, and also thanks to its central location, this is a favorite place of the children who come to the park. They love to come and look at the ducks and koi, and occasionally throw a pebble or two and watch the ripples. It's fun to watch, and it is definitely a reminder of what it is like to be a kid again.. to be so happy and amused by the littlest things.

     Surrounded by Japanese maples, azaleas, and camellias, sits the Japanese garden. A small "river" spans along the length of this garden, housing several bright yellow and orange koi, and reflecting the tea house. A traditional zen garden sits on the opposite side of the tea house, while a bright orange bridge spans the other side at the garden's exit. Unfortunately, the tea house only appears to be open during limited times and for special occasions, or else I know we would definitely spend more time there (J loves Japanese gardens - almost lost him in Huntington's).

     At the top of the hill above the gardens, sits the Boddy House. This house was once the private estate of the same Boddy who created the gardens, and while it has been updated and modernized, is still a beautiful old house. We got the chance to peek around inside the house and into Boddy's old office, which is filled with photographs and newspapers chronicling his life, as well as a bit of the garden's history. Across from the house sits a small art gallery, filled with works from local artists of the gardens.
     The camellia gardens are perhaps the most impressive (in my opinion) and most recognized within the garden. In fact, it "has been designated an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society" (didn't even know there was such a thing!). The garden is home to thousands of camellias of every shape and size, some of them quite rare. Many of these camelias are so old that they've grown into full trees, making this a true flowering forest. The brilliant thing, is that camellias bloom in winter (January&February are best), making Descanso a truly year-round garden. Each garden is on a slightly different blooms schedule, which means that the garden will look different upon almost every visit. And trust me, we go often enough to know!

    ...in fact, when we visited just a few weeks ago, the lilac garden was still just a speckling of green leaves atop gangly bushes. But, when we returned this past weekend, the garden was in full bloom, bursting with bright and pastel purple flowers clumped into clusters like grapes. Unfortunately for J, lilacs are extremely fragrant, and his nose started to itch, signaling it was time to leave.

      Descanso Gardens has a little something for everyone it would seem, it has hills and small scenic trails, ponds with turtles, fish, and frogs, and some of the most beautiful gardens around. No matter what time of the year you go, it seems to have something to offer. In summary, the Descanso Gardens is a beautiful (and usually tranquil) retreat, and a place that J and I have grown to love.

NZ - last one! for real this time.

    Of course I couldn't complete my New Zealand photoblog series without mentioning the penguins! I got to see emperor and gentoo penguins up close and personal (well, as up close and personal as possible without traveling to Antarctica) at the Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium in Auckland. I also got to see giant sting rays (seriously, they were huge!) and a dead giant squid, but, unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries... I didn't even get to take as many photos of penguins as I wanted :( I probably could have spent hours in there.. seriously, I could. But anyway, without further ado! PENGUINS!!!

LOOK! PENGUINS!!

squee!

stretchin'

there were baby gentoos!

helloooooo!!

these guys were way too fast in the water!

New Zealand Part 5 - Otanewainuku

    There are countless things that I still haven't mentioned on the trip (and may never get around to) - for instance, going to a concert on New Years Eve (NZ is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate new years!) with J's cousins. There was also a sailing adventure, in which I, along with J and his brother and dad, got to sail around the Bay for a few hours - it was my first time on a sailboat, and a LOT of fun! There were also a few quiet days in-between, one of which was spent getting family portraits taken, and another with a trip to the movies to see The Hobbit. The adventure I will be sharing today is that of our hike up Otanewainuku.
     Otanewainuku scenic reserve is just a hop skip and a jump from Tauranga, and a place where J and his family have often hiked, so it made sense for us to visit here. On the drive there, we passed a pick-your-own fruit place called Somerfields.

 
    We came primarily to pick up some strawberries for later consumption, but I was more interested in the kiwis. Along the drive to Rotorua, we had seen numerous kiwi orchards, but most are surrounded by huge hedges to protect them from the wind, which made them difficult to see. Here, I got to see them up close and personal (and take a few pictures). For those of you who didn't know (I didn't before this trip), kiwifruit grow on vines, much like grapes in a vineyard. In fact, if you didn't know any better, you might think it a vineyard of very large non-bunched grapes.

    The rest of the drive took us down a winding dirt road (occasionally very bumpy), through rolling fields and pastures and into the bush. After climbing out of the car, and applying copious amounts of sunscreen, we made our way to the trail head. 

    Before we trekked, I stopped to take in the literature - which involves a lot of warnings and no dog signs (as dogs are known to eat kiwi), as well as some fun facts about the kiwi. It also includes a little legend summary, which reads as follows:

    "In Maori legend Otanewainuku is a chiefly mountain, powerful and proud. The beautiful mountain Puwhenua chose Otanewainuku over Mauao (Mt Maunganui). The bereft Mauao asked the patupaiarehe (fairies) to drag him out to sea, but was caught by the daylight and remains stranded on the edge of the ocean."

At the trail head... let the hiking commence!

    The trail we took is the Summit Loop, and trails up and along the mountain (which is yet another extinct volcano) up to its peak and then back down the other side. The path is pretty rough at times, and since it isn't always clear which way to go, there are these handy neon arrows to point the way!

     Above are two examples of the trail on the way up the mountain. The ground was very rough, and, at times, very steep. I particularly loved this one natural staircase made entirely of tree roots (left). As you can see, the trail is almost completely covered by the canopy of trees and climbing vines, with only small rays of light finding their way through to the ground to the reach the ferns below. The shade kept us cool as we trekked up and up. Though the trail doesn't gain a whole lot of height, there are a lot of dips and steep hills along the way, which made me feel as though I'd climbed a much higher peak.

    These two are great examples of just how wild and overgrown this bush trail is. On the left is a photo taken directly to the side of the path, showing the net of vines growing up and around us. On the right, is just one great example of just how interesting and unique some of these trees are - the way it bends and twists, as well as the covering of vines, ferns, and other plant life. It truly felt as though we were in the middle of a jungle wilderness - with the canopy above, the fern-coated ground below, and the happy chatter of birds all around us.  (check out the video below to hear a sampling of NZ bird songs)

    As with most peaks in New Zealand, you know you've found one when you find it's marker. In this case, there is a surveyor marker on the ground as well as a large wooden platform. A short trip up the stairs and onto this platform, is an amazing 360 degree view of the Bay of Plenty. J tells me, that on a really clear day, you can see all the way to Mt Maunganui. Unfortunately, this day turned out to be cloudy and a bit hazy, but the view was still pretty fantastic - it was as if we were on top of the world.. or, at least, above the forest canopy.

And now I give you... the view from the top of Otanewainuku!

 
    The path down was much faster, although slightly treacherous, especially for someone with short legs, like me. I put my camera away until we reached the base, where there is an incredibly large tree (one of the tallest in NZ according to it's little sign).

J in front of the tree we thought was
THE tree, but which turned out to be
only another rather large tree. 

    From here, it was a short (and relatively flat) journey back to the trailhead, where the rest of the party were waiting. Several bottles of water later, it was time to make the journey back home. Back home to the sunset view from the balcony, dinner and drinks, and a basket or two of fresh picked strawberries.

A Portrait Post

I've been doing things, I swear!
    Last week, I went to visit my family - mostly for Easter, but also to help my mom and sister make favors for our cousin's bridal shower (which is next weekend! gah! I will definitely be taking lots of photos!). While I was home, my friend Beth (owner of Decadent Dragon) asked if I could take some photographs of her for her website, etc. So, of course, I said yes. And so it was that on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, we met for lunch and went to the Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto for a portrait shoot. It was a lot of fun, despite my being rather nervous, and I think the photos turned out rather well :)
Here's a montage of my favorites.

Higher resolution shots can be found on my photography website.
    A big thank you to Beth for trusting me to take her picture, and for letting me practice my portrait-taking skills.
On a side note, I may or may not have one more New Zealand entry to post. So, look out!