Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Botanical garden in Arcadia, United States.
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden covers 127 acres (51.4 ha) in Arcadia, with plants grouped by geography: South American, Mediterranean, South African, Australian and Asiatic-North American gardens, plus the Aquatic Garden, Herb Garden, Native Oaks and a palm and bamboo collection. Baldwin Lake, the last of the area's sag ponds, lies beside the Queen Anne Cottage, and the Tropical Greenhouse opened in 1975–1976.
The land was part of Rancho Santa Anita, a Mexican land grant awarded in 1839 to Hugo Reid and his Tongva wife Victoria; Reid built an adobe house by the lake that year, now a California Historic Landmark. After several owners, Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin bought the ranch in 1875 and added buildings, a winery and a rail link with Henry E. Huntington and the Santa Fe Railroad. In 1947 the county and state bought 111 acres for an arboretum, opened to the public in 1956.
The garden preserves a Queen Anne Cottage and Coach Barn that now serve as a museum and popular photo location. Visitors come here to walk through the historic rooms and imagine how wealthy ranchers lived during Southern California's founding years.
The grounds open daily in the morning and close in the late afternoon, allowing ample time to walk through the different garden sections. Wide paved paths make walking and wheelchair access easier, though some areas include slopes and shaded rest stops are advisable during warm weather.
Peacocks roam freely across the grounds and are descendants of birds Lucky Baldwin brought from India in the late 19th century. They nest in the trees and strut along the paths, sometimes displaying their open feathers, which often surprises and delights visitors.
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