Now Blooming: Water Lilies and Lotus

At the end of the olive-lined allée, the garden transitions to the historic core of The Huntington property. A Celebration Garden greets visitors with a gentle slope lined with terraced flowered beds and a shallow stream of recirculated water that empties into a rectangular pool.

The Lake of Reflected Fragrance (Ying Fang Hu 映芳湖) shimmers in the same natural basin where water once collected after seasonal rains. The Love for the Lotus Pavillion is one of the original features that opened in 2008.

Among the first garden features developed at The Huntington, these are at their seasonal peak in July. William Hertrich, Henry Huntington’s first superintendent of the gardens, created the five descending ponds from natural springs on the grounds in 1904. Hertrich first planted lotuses and water lilies in the Ponds in 1905 and, later, lined the shores with bamboo groves and added landmark redwoods and other conifers nearby.

At the far end of the garden rises a sumptuous late Baroque Italian fountain against the dramatic backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. This is what the Huntingtons would see when they descended the grand staircase in their mansion and looked out their windows more than 100 years ago.