We are trying to continue our tradition of exploring the many wonderful public gardens located in the western United States. Recently, we made our first visit to the South Coast Botanic Garden, an 87-acre garden located on the Palos Verdes peninsula, near Los Angeles.
The entire garden is designed with walking paths and has a large circular trail so that visitors can cover the major gardens in about an hour. You could also spend the day! It is a popular location for weddings and other celebrations. (One of the highlights of the garden is a lake, which is currently being reconstructed. If you want to see that area, it will be done in another year or two.)
The end of the summer may not be the best time to visit — although some roses were blooming, there weren't a ton of other flowering plants. We were fortunate to view a special exhibition, “Hide and Seek: Art Meets Nature,” featuring eight sculptures (six contributed by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), carefully placed throughout the garden as a way to encourage nature exploration “with an artful game of hide and seek.”
For some reason, many people have not yet discovered the South Coast Botanic Garden (Edie went to high school and lived in Palos Verdes and didn't know the garden was there!) Now that we've found it, we definitely plan to return to enjoy other (and more flowery) seasons!
Visitor Information: The garden is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, notwithstanding the pandemic, but has added several requirements for a visit:
- online reservations at scheduled time;
- visitors must always wear masks; and
- mandatory physical social distancing from other groups.
More information and reservations are available at their website: https://southcoastbotanicgarden.org/
* Apparently, not really a secret.