Japanese and Chinese Garden at the Huntington

Mr. Mouse and I have always had a soft spot for Japanese gardens, and one of my fondest memories is of a week in October that I spent in Kyoto, going to a different garden every day.

The Huntington gave us an opportunity to see not only a spectacular Japanese garden, but also a Chinese garden - and right around Chinese New Year!

We were already impressed by the grand path to the Japanese tea house, and I much appreciated how this garden really looks great even during dry times of the year (or the decade, in this case).

With mature trees and sculptures, the garden is beautiful year round - and we had the good fortune to be there for the first ornamental plum blossoms.

Beautiful against the blue sky.

I also very much enjoyed the bonsai - several of them California native trees like this Juniper.

And this Juniper.

The garden did have just the right amount of styling - don't you love the water, the bridge, and the tree that's hugging the bridge (reflected in the water)?

We lingered for quite some time, but then we were ready to join the crowds at the Chinese garden. Even walking there was special.

The first white blossoms, with a small statue underneath.

More blossoms in the garden itself, which was decorated with red lanterns and had a variety of craftspersons showing off their skills.

We were especially impressed by the many river rocks, place decoratively around the central lake with several bridges.

The lake had the dry stalks of lotus blossoms - and yet, we all felt that a new year was about to begin (hopefully with some rain).