Huntington Library With The Porters 4/14

Visiting The Huntington Library Is Always a Treat

Time To Visit The Gardens And Library...


The Walk Begins

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Our cameras were busy

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The sky was clear and the temperature 86

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The walls are so thick that it is always cool inside

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Hummingbirds everywhere

Did You Know? - Callistemon is a genus of 34 species of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, all of which are endemic to Australia. It is sometimes considered a synonym of Melaleuca, and four Callistemon species from New Caledonia were moved to that genus by Lyndley Craven and John Dawson in 1998.

Callistemon species are commonly referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers resembling a traditional bottle brush.

They are found in the more temperate regions of Australia, mostly along the east coast and south-west, and typically favour moist conditions so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering.

However, at least some of the species are drought-resistant. Several species are used in ornamental landscaping elsewhere in the world.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
All the vegetation was in full bloom

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Talk about yellow.... Wow!

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Wait for me.... Here I come


A Tender Moment In The Garden by Federico Andreotti

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Simply beautiful...

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
On our way to the Rose Room for tea

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The walls were insulated with greenery

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Talk about bright red.... This would put a fire engine to shame

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Pat... Do NOT pick the flowers

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
We were stuffed with scones, tea sandwiches, salads and tookies....
Oh... and champagne

Did You Know? - Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour that many people enjoy.

Tea originated in China as a medicinal drink. It was first introduced to Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced it to India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on the product.

Tea has long been promoted for having a variety of positive health benefits. Recent studies suggest that green tea may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, promote oral health, reduce blood pressure, help with weight control, improve antibacterial and antivirasic activity, provide protection from solar ultraviolet light,[9] and increase bone mineral density.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
To the "Kitchen Garden"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The orange tree was "loaded"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Everything in the garden is edible or used in the kitchen

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Every color under the rainbow

Did You Know? - Although roses have been selected and grown in China for over 1,000 years, the forerunner of the rose garden as we know it today was planted by empress Jos?phine de Beauharnais at Malmaison, France in the years between 1799-1814.

Jos?phine imported both leading gardening talent and scores of roses, financing many plant collecting trips. At her death in 1814, the garden included more than 250 varieties of rose. It is said that her plant hunters also introduced some 200 other plants to France, among them the dahlia.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Blue, white and red... Almost patriotic

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The rose was a "Fireworks"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The arbor has just been redone... Looking good

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The smell of the roses saturated the area

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
"Stand still Pat"

Did You Know? - In 1986 it was named the floral emblem of the United States, and it is the provincial flower of Alberta (the wild rose) in Canada. It is the state flower of four US states: Iowa and North Dakota (R. arkansana), Georgia (R. laevigata), and New York (Rosa generally).

Portland, Oregon counts "City of Roses" among its nicknames, and holds an annual Rose Festival, as does Pasadena, California, holding the Tournament of Roses Parade since 1890 in conjunction with the Rose Bowl since 1902.

In April 2011, the United States government space program agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration celebrated its 21st anniversary by releasing an image of spiral galaxies positioned in a rose-like shape.[

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Pink...

Did You Know? - Pink is a pale red color, which takes its name from the flower of the same name. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink, especially when combined with white or pale blue, is the color most commonly associated with femininity, sensitivity, tenderness, childhood, and the romantic. However, when combined with violet or black, it is associated with eroticism and seduction.

Pink was first used as a color name in the late 17th century.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The geese were enjoying the water

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
"Geese... Did you say Geese??"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
They were not fishing....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Koi and Coin Fish

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
"See what I can do on one leg?"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Preening....

Did You Know? - Individual animals regularly clean themselves and put their fur, feathers or other skin coverings in good order. This activity is known as personal grooming, a form of hygiene.

Extracting foreign objects such as insects, leaves, dirt, twigs and parasites, are all forms of grooming. Among animals, birds spend considerable time preening their feathers. This is done to remove ectoparasites, keep them in good aerodynamic condition, and waterproof them.

To do that, they use the preen oil secreted by the uropygial gland, the dust of down feathers, or other means such as dust-bathing or anting.

During oil spills, animal conservationists that rescue penguins sometimes dress them in knitted sweaters to stop them from preening and thereby ingesting the mineral oil which is poisonous.

Monkeys may also pick out nits from their fur or scratch their rears to keep themselves clean.

Felidae cats are well known for their extensive grooming. One reason advanced for such grooming is to remove all traces of blood and other matter so as to not alert prey with the scent.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Red minature maples were all over

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Great day for walking

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Green??? Where is the yellow??

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Bonsai... A must visit

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Careful of the alarm

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Tiny bonsai on display

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Diane is our resident expert on bonsai

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Just ahead

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The new buildings are nearing completion

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Lilly pads were looking great

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Great rock formations

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The moon bridges looked great

Did You Know? - A moon bridge is a highly arched pedestrian bridge associated with gardens in China and Japan. The moon bridge originated in China and was later introduced to Japan.

This type of bridge was originally designed to allow pedestrians to cross canals while allowing the passage of barges beneath. When constructed using the climbing ascent and descent this had the further advantage of not using space from the adjoining fields for approaches.

In formal garden design a moon bridge is placed so that it is reflected in still water. The high arch and its reflection form a circle, symbolizing the moon.

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Called "Patching Up The Sky"

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Very tranquil

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
A view out the window....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Amazing... The backside of a waterfall

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Just us.....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Paul's legs scareds the birds

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The new pavillions looked fantastic... The garden is geeting to be huge

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14

 

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Warm and moist inside... We did not stay long!

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The Blue Door... Childrens Garden

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Colors were magnificent

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
We found Sue's turtle

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Here they come....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Pat and Paul could not do it.... Too hard on the back!

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Amazing white roses

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Guess who did this art???? First name Andy!

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Had to snap the picture.... We had a train themed dance Saturday!


The side entrance

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Someone had a tough job cleaning these puppies

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Find Pat

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Wonder how they were before electric....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
They had it tough

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
DO NOT slide down the bannister

Back Outside Under The Silk Tree

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
The pods were in process of exploding....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
"Silk" would rain down....

Huntington Gardens with the Porters 4/14/14
Mother Nature is quite amazing

Did You Know? - The earliest written and safely dated literal references to the term "Mother Earth" occur in Mycenaean Greek ma-ka (transliterated as ma-ga), "Mother Gaia", written in Linear B syllabic script (13th or 12th century BC).

The various myths of nature goddesses such as Inanna/Ishtar (myths and hymns attested on Mesopotamian tablets as early as the 3rd millennium BC) show that the personification of the creative and nurturing sides of Nature as female deities had deep roots.

In Greece, the pre-Socratic philosophers had "invented" nature when they abstracted the entirety of phenomena of the world as singular: physis, and this was inherited by Aristotle.

Later medieval Christian thinkers did not see nature as inclusive of everything, but thought that she had been created by God; her place lay on earth, below the unchanging heavens and moon.

Nature lay somewhere in the centre, with agents above her (angels) and below her (demons and hell). For the medieval mind she was only a personification, not a goddess.