Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden

The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden is located in Pasadena, California. Designed and constructed beginning in 1935 by Kinzuchi Fujii for Charles and Ellamae Storrier Stearns, the garden has been meticulously preserved through the restoration efforts of the Haddad family, ensuring that this remarkable landscape remains both authentic and beautifully maintained.

Website: https://www.japanesegardenpasadena.com/

The garden is the only intact example of a residential Japanese garden in Southern California dating from the period between the late nineteenth-century fascination with Japan and the outbreak of World War II. Many gardens created during this era reflect a distinctly Western interpretation of Japanese design, presenting an "Orientalist" vision rather than an authentic expression of Japanese garden art. The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden stands as a notable exception.

It is one of the most authentic residential stroll-and-pond gardens I have ever visited outside Japan. Every aspect of the design demonstrates a thoughtful adherence to traditional Japanese garden principles. Hardscape elements and plantings exist in careful balance, with neither dominating the other. Decades of growth have allowed the trees to mature into an elegant canopy that provides welcome shade, while the open spaces surrounding the ponds admit light and create a succession of carefully composed views. Each turn along the winding paths reveals a new perspective, encouraging visitors to slow their pace and appreciate the garden's subtle beauty.

Ornamental features such as statuary, lanterns, and bridges are used with remarkable restraint. Rather than serving as decorative focal points, they complement the surrounding landscape and reinforce the impression of a natural environment shaped in harmony with nature. The result is a garden whose beauty lies not in extravagance but in balance, proportion, and quiet sophistication. 

The teahouse is a faithful reconstruction of the original structure, which was destroyed by fire in 1981. Beautifully executed, it is among the most authentic teahouses I have experienced within a private North American residential Japanese garden and serves as a fitting centerpiece for the landscape.

Without question, the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden ranks among the finest historic North American residential Japanese gardens I have visited. It was the final stop on my tour of twenty-five gardens throughout the Los Angeles area and, appropriately, one of the most memorable. Its historical significance alone makes it worthy of a visit, but it is the exceptional quality of its design, its authenticity, and its remarkable sense of tranquility that leave the deepest impression. Anyone wishing to experience one of the finest examples of a traditional Japanese garden in North America should place the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden at the top of their itinerary.

The Huntington Penjing Collection

The Huntington Penjing Court, known as the Verdant Microcosm, is located within the Chinese Garden (Liu Fang Yuan) at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. One of the finest public collections of Chinese penjing in North America, it features beautifully trained miniature landscapes and trees that reflect centuries of Chinese horticultural artistry.

Website: https://www.huntington.org/watch-read-listen/verso/art-penjing

As visitors explore the complex, they move through a series of interconnected courtyards, including the Cloudy Forest Court, the Pavilion of Myriad Scenes, and the World in a Wine Pot. Each space offers a slightly different perspective, yet all share the same purpose: to present miniature landscapes as complete, self-contained works of art within a carefully composed architectural setting.

Beginning at the Single Leaf Pavilion, visitors meander through a series of open-air rooms filled with remarkable penjing displays. Windows and doorways frame the surrounding scenery, creating beautiful views and making effective use of borrowed scenery.

The World in a Wine Pot introduces visitors to a variety of penjing and serves as a central connection between the surrounding courtyards. 

Nearby, the Pavilion of Myriad Scenes provides a quiet place to pause and admire the collection, while its spacious forecourt offers broad views across many of the miniature landscapes.

One unexpected delight during my visit was a Dark-eyed Junco, which briefly stopped among the displays before disappearing into the surrounding garden.

The Cloudy Forest Court was perhaps my favorite area. Here, penjing are displayed against white plaster walls where changing sunlight casts ever-shifting shadows throughout the day. The result resembles a living Chinese ink painting, with light, shadow, and carefully placed scholar's rocks becoming part of the composition.

Another feature I especially appreciated was the variety of gate styles connecting the courtyards. Each passageway creates a sense of anticipation, revealing only glimpses of what lies beyond and adding an element of discovery as visitors move through the garden.

Overall, the Huntington's Penjing Court is much more than a collection of miniature trees—it is an immersive garden experience. Every courtyard and display offers something new to discover, making it impossible to fully appreciate through photographs or descriptions alone. To truly understand the artistry and beauty of penjing, you simply have to experience it for yourself.

Liu Fang Yuan (The Garden of Flowing Fragrance) at the Huntington

The Huntington's Chinese Garden, known as Liu Fang Yuan (Garden of Flowing Fragrance), is located within the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. Opened in 2008 and expanded in later phases, it is one of the largest classical-style Chinese gardens outside of China.

Website: https://www.huntington.org/botanical-gardens/themed-gardens/chinese-garden

Inspired by the renowned private gardens of Suzhou, the 15-acre garden features tranquil lakes, pavilions, bridges, scholar's rocks, and carefully composed plantings that celebrate the art, architecture, literature, and philosophy of traditional Chinese garden design. It is also home to an impressive Penjing collection.

The Flowery Brush Library is an impressive hip-and-gable-roofed structure fronted by a spacious courtyard known as the Courtyard of the Assembled Worthies. Details such as the roof ridge and its open-mouth dragon-fish ornaments were inspired by the Hall of Distant Fragrance in the Garden of the Humble Administrator in Suzhou, China.

The Clear and Transparent Pavilion features moon gate-style screens decorated with the traditional "cracked ice and plum blossom" pattern. 

Nearby, the hexagonal Pavilion of the Three Friends, also inspired by a structure in the Garden of the Humble Administrator, is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy views across the pond.

Another favorite of mine was the Terrace of the Jade Mirror, whose circular doorways symbolize the full moon, a recurring image in Chinese poetry.

Traditional limestone scholar's rocks appear throughout the garden. One particularly large example, pictured below, resembles a seahorse when viewed from certain angles.

The Waveless Boat is another classic feature commonly found in traditional Chinese scholar gardens, both in China and in North America (see Dream Lake Garden in Montreal, Canada).

Perched on a hillside overlooking the garden, the Stargazing Tower offers sweeping views of the surrounding landscape and the Chinese garden below.

Five beautifully carved stone bridges span the waterways throughout the garden, including elegant segmental arch bridges whose reflections form graceful circles on the water, such as The Bridge of the Joy of Fish, show below.

These railing posts are topped with decorative carvings resembling lotus flowers.

The elaborate zigzag bridge is both beautiful and symbolic. According to Chinese tradition, "hungry ghosts" can travel only in straight lines, so the bridge's winding path prevents these spirits and, their negative energy, from crossing the water into a sacred space.

Overall, the Huntington Chinese Garden is an extraordinary landscape and one of the highlights of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. No review can fully capture the richness of its architecture, symbolism, and carefully composed scenery, and I have only touched on a small portion of what there is to experience. Every pathway, pavilion, and garden view offers something new to discover, including the occasional human surprise. 

It is a place well worth exploring.