Shedding Light on Evening Gardens

Thanks to the Huntington Garden’s 1993 Fall Plant Festival, you can relax after a long day at work by watching the silver foliage in your drought-resistant garden bloom in the night air while nibbling on a salad made of home-grown flowers.

Three authors will show you how this weekend. Today, Cathy Barash will speak at the festival on evening gardens: what kind of plants bloom in the night air and glow in low light. Bob Perry will speak Friday about plants that need minimal watering. Barash will tell about edible flowers on Saturday, and John Greenlee will discuss ornamental grasses on Sunday.

Home gardeners also will have an opportunity to purchase a garden. More than 1,000 varieties of plants, many of which are not commonly found in nurseries, will be on display.

Many of these plants start off as ghastly looking tubers and deformed mushrooms, but their end results are crimson Aztec Lilies, starlike Ice Follies and golden Unsurpassables.

“It brings out the optimists in us when we plant bulbs,” said Shirley Karins, one of the managers at the gardens.

Fall is a perfect time for planting, she said. Fallen leaves provide compost and the soil is still warm from summer, allowing strong root growth. Plus, the cooler fall air takes some of the sweat out of gardening.

“We do have seasons in California,” Karins said, “they’re just very subtle.”

The Huntington Botanical Gardens 1993 Fall Plant Festival will be open today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

The author presentations will begin at 2:30 each day and end with book signings. Plant sales are from 1 to 4 p.m. Donations of $5 for adults and $3 for students and children are requested. Information: (818) 405-2141.