One of the reasons I love living in Los Angeles is access to all the parks and gardens. The Gold Line recently added six more stations, all the way to Azusa. One of those stations is Arcadia where the 127-acre Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is located. The free shuttle bus that stops at the mall, Santa Anita Race Track and The Arboretum now also stops at the train station.
Yesterday several explorer friends and I visited The Arboretum. Most of us met at Union Station in downtown LA for the trip on the Gold Line.
The Arboretum is known for its peacocks. They are VERY raucous and can be heard “meowing” throughout the park. The above photos are of the same peacock back and front. Both views are pretty impressive. They are not shy about posing for the camera.
The Arboretum is made up of small pocket gardens, sprawling lawns and water features. We decided to take the 2 1/2 hour docent-led tour
This wood creature was part of a temporary art exhibit but he looked very much at home.
This is jacaranda season and the purple trees are showing off all over town.
The garden, like everywhere else in Southern California, is suffering from the severe drought. But this “flowing” pond is made of stone and needs no water.
Can you find the hummer? Maybe not as impressive as the peacocks but certainly a sweetie.
A giant lizard slithering across the path? No, just a peacock all folded up for travel.
Eucalyptus deglupta Mindanao gum showing off its rainbow bark.
The pea hen is looking for lunch. The female has no need for extravagant opulence to attract a mate… there are plenty of males strutting around the premises.
The Seed Saving Garden is dedicated to growing heirloom vegetables and herbs.
We had several ideas about what these extraordinary giant flowers looked like, I thought of elephant ears.
Even the Arboretum is not free of exotic bugs!
Effects of the drought on these trees.
The once beautiful ponds are also ravaged by the drought.
But this turtle family doesn’t seem to mind!
If you were a fan of the TV show Fantasy Island, you will recognize this Queen Anne cottage. It was where Tattoo rang the bell when visitors came to the island.
There’s a lot more to the park but we were pretty tired and hungry after the tour so it was time to head out to lunch. We took the shuttle to the California Pizza Kitchen close by. I always order the Moroccan Spicy Chicken Salad at this restaurant chain… but I decided to be a little daring and ordered the Roasted Veggie Salad instead. That is now my new favorite.
Click on an image below to start the slide show.
The Arboretum even has its own song!
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