Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden in La Cañada Flintridge, California, spanning about 150 acres and incorporating both cultivated garden sections and natural oak woodlands. The site divides into several zones with rose gardens, camellia groves, and a Japanese garden section connected by paths and open lawns.

E. Manchester Boddy acquired the land in 1937 and began transforming the former grazing landscape into a garden with ornamental plants and collector holdings. The site later opened as a public garden and remained as a nonprofit institution.

The camellia collection displays varieties from different world regions that grow together here and open their blooms in winter. Visitors follow paths through these planted areas and see how different cultivars thrive side by side.

The site opens daily and offers enough space to spend several hours moving between the different garden areas. Wide main paths lead through the grounds, while narrower trails branch into quieter sections.

Many of the camellias come from Japanese-American nurseries that had to sell their plants during World War II when their owners were interned. These plants now form one of the largest collections outside Japan.