What, When, Where
If your son the salvia-wise horticulture student is coming home, or your Aunt Lucille--content growing marigolds--is in town, consider taking them to one of our outstanding botanic gardens.
All will be open between the holidays, every day except Christmas and New Year’s.
* Saturday through Wednesday, , the Fullerton Arboretum will conduct one-hour walks beginning at the entrance at 10 a.m. The Christmas-decorated 1894 Heritage House will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to noon. The arboretum is at 1900 Associated Road (at Yorba Linda Boulevard), Fullerton. Admission is free. Information: (714) 278-3404.
On the one-hour tours of the 26-acre grounds, the huge ombu tree and the 40-pound cones produced by the bunya-bunya are sure to impress out-of-town visitors.
* Tuesday through Jan. 3, the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens will hold a Suiseki show. Suiseki is the ancient Japanese art of finding and displaying stones that resemble natural forms, such as mountains and waterfalls. Some camellias in the large collection will be in flower. The address is 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Admission is $8.50 for adults; $7, seniors; $5, students; and free for children. Information: (626) 405-2141.
Also open between the holidays:
* Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, (760) 436-3036. Admission: $3, adults; $1.50, children. This garden is full of subtropicals, exotic fruit trees and a sizable bamboo collection. The holiday “garden of lights” will remain lighted Saturday and Sunday.
* Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden at Claremont, 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont, (909) 625-8767. Free. This garden specializes in native California plants.
* Sherman Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar, (949) 673-2261. Free. A small gem of a garden with lots of color and a stunning greenhouse.
* The Arboretum of Los Angeles County, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, (626) 821-3222. Adults, $5; seniors and students, $3; children, $1. It has water gardens, water-saving gardens, plants from Mediterranean climates and the new Sunset demonstration garden. The arboretum will even be open on New Year’s Day for people who don’t follow football.
* Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge, (818) 952-4401. Admission: $5, adults; $3, seniors and students; $1, children. Camellias will be in flower, and there’s a reservoir up the hill where you can try out those new binoculars and watch birds. This garden is also open on New Year’s Day.
