Tour Features Huntington Library’s Stunning New 50,000 Plant “California Garden”

Scott Kleinrock, landscape design and planning coordinator at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, leads a private tour of the garden on Wednesday, June 1, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The tour features the Frances and Sidney Brody California Garden, which is the stunning new entry that’s among the first things visitors will notice when they arrive at The Huntington.

Landscaped with nearly 50,000 California natives and dry-climate plants and covering an area of 6.5 acres, the garden reflects the local Mediterranean climate as well as both the agricultural and elegant estate history of the 207-acre Huntington grounds.

A long, olive-lined allée leads visitors through garden spaces that complement the buildings in the Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center, which include the orientation gallery, auditorium, café, and classrooms.

The California Garden is named after Frances and Sidney Brody who were avid arts collectors and philanthropists and were influential in the Los Angeles art scene during their time.

Sidney, a World War II army flier who later became a real estate investor and civic leader in Los Angeles, died in 1983. Frances died in 2009 after making her mark as a founding benefactor of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and later as guiding patron of The Huntington.

A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens was founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington, an exceptional businessman who built a financial empire that included railroad companies, utilities, and real estate holdings in Southern California. It is now considered a collections-based research and educational institution.

Tickets for the California Garden Tour are $15 and $20.

For ticket information, call (626) 405-2100, or visit www.huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/calendar.aspx.