“I’d be safe and warm if I was in LA” John & Michelle Phillips
While in Anaheim last month, I had a few hours free – the weather was sunny and warm and the LA County Arboretum and Botanical Garden was a short drive away. A beautiful public garden north of Los Angeles and nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, it is spectacular in January when the South African aloes and other tropical plants are in bloom. With six more weeks of “groundhog predicted” winter here in Pennsylvania, I’m still California dreamin’. Enjoy the photos!
All photos ©2012 Lynn Emberg Purse
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composerinthegarden 
It would appear that winter in California is much like winter in Brisbane, pretty much perfect. It is cold and raining here in Bagni di Lucca, but that’s OK too.
Debra, thanks for visiting. I wish I could spend the winter in S. California, but a week in January is a great experience. Sunny blue skies, not too hot or humid, and lots of flowers and green growing things.
Beautiful winter color…love the peacock! Thanks for coming by and the “like”. My Best…
Joni, thanks for coming by to visit. I enjoyed looking at your weavings, such beautiful colors!
Desert plants are so wierd, I used to have
quite a collection, till the freeze got them.
😦
I find it funny that these type of plants are used extensively in Tomorrowland at Disneyland – very futuristic!
Great wonderful photos. And Happy New Year of the Dragon!
Thanks, Jean and Happy New Year of the Dragon to you as well. This is my year 🙂
You are so lucky, I’m just a dog.
Though by some some interpretations,
I’m a wolf, Awoooooooooo! 😀
How wonderful to experience these tropical plants in January! I love visiting arboretums and botanical gardens in other areas; always great inspiration and rejuvenation.
Paula,”inspiration and rejuvenation” is exactly right! I go to Phipps Conservatory in the winter to enjoy the tropicals but being outside in the sunshine, with birds singing and bees buzzing, was a special treat.
Botanical gardens offer a lot – and for this one to be outside in SoCal is even better. Super pictures and a perfect fit for Super Bowl Sunday. Love the coral aloe pic. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Frank. It was an incredible day there – the visual impact was so strong along with the warm sun and blue sky. The growth patterns of the aloes were fascinating – some of them very “fibonacci” in form.
Beautiful, warm and sunny images. Makes me feel almost summery. 🙂
Hi Robin. Preparing the photos brought that day back to me – warm, sunny, and a world away from our winter here 🙂
Lovely photos! I’m starting to miss summer, and trying to convince myself that I don’t… It’s snowing…
Thanks for visiting, Anne. It snowed here yesterday, then melted, then refroze so this morning the roads are an icy mess but nothing looks pretty. Oh, I am really missing summer! Now is the time of year I drag out all of my garden DVD’s – my own and some commercial ones – and treat myself to 20 minutes of looking at beautiful blooming gardens every morning. It helps me get over the late winter hump!
Nothing like this warm scenery available here in Ohio now! 🙂 Wonderful images!
I know; we had snow here today in western PA. Thanks for visiting!
Always nice to see something blooming at this time of the year. (On that note, I’ve seen crocuses in central Indiana beginning at the tail end of January. Crocuses!)
Great stuff, Lynn. It looks like a place well worth spending some time. Are there peacocks strolling all over the place (i.e. I’m wondering if the one you photographed was one of many or just a few)?
Kerry, I have snow drops and Hellebores blooming here, about 3 weeks earlier than usual. Crazy winter!
I’ve visited the LA Botanical garden several times, usually in January, but it is beautiful every month – in July, the plants blooming are more typically like American northern gardens. (I put a link to their website in the post above – they have a monthly bloom calendar and lots of photos) I love the spectacular aloe displays in January since they are so unusual for eastern US gardeners and have so many dramatic graphic elements. I didn’t think I would have time to visit there, so I only had my iPhone4 with me. With a good DSLR and some telephoto and macro lenses, the photographic opportunities would be endless. I can only imagine what you would come up with! And yes, the peacocks are everywhere but especially around the cafe, looking for some free food.
Ah! Warmed my spirit: how lovely! Thank you!
Thanks, Catherine. Preparing these photos brought back memories of the scent and sound of the garden and the warmth of the sun on my face – glad to hear that it warmed you too!
such beauty to begin my day with, a day when it is -15 outside. brrrrrrrrrrrr
Color does lift the spirits, doesn’t it? Like you, I have grown to appreciate the subtlety of the winter landscape, but I still find myself craving a little color nourishment now and then:-)
That is such a world away from our home gardens. That is until I saw the magnolia! Photo looks like several I have taken here of M. Lilliput. Thanks for sharing, Lynn.
Bobbie, walking through the South African and Australian sections of that garden is like visiting an unknown world! But the herb and perennial gardens are very much like our eastern US gardens. That is what amazes me about California – the breadth of what can be grown here is a gardener’s dream.