Succulents and More™

This post continues my late-afternoon ramble through the Desert Garden at the Huntington in San Marino. Click here to read part 1. Here are some fun facts about the Desert Garden: Fun fact William Hertrich (1878-1966), the Huntington’s first superintendent of buildings and grounds, worked at the Huntington from 1904 to 1948 when he retired. In the Desert Garden’s early days, he went on a series of large-scale collecting trips. In 1908, he hauled three railway wagons of cacti from Arizona, including a wagon of saguaros. This was followed in 1912 by two wagons of cacti and other succulents from Mexico. The Huntington estate had its own spur line, making rail transport easy. [ * ] Borzicactus fossulatus and Agave parryi var. truncata Diamond cholla ( Cylindropuntia ramosissima ) Agave potatorum with emerging flower stalk The showiest Agave potatorum I’ve ever seen Just look at these spines and teeth... ...or should I say fangs! The bud imprints on the leaves are sweet, too Agave marmo...

On my recent trip to Southern California, I was able to sneak in two separate visits to the Huntington in San Marino, one of California’s great estates. Established by businessman Henry Huntington in the early 1900s on what was originally a 600-acre ranch, the 207-acre property comprises a world-class library , art collections and 16 themed gardens spread out over 130 acres. The main attraction for me, needless to say, is the Desert Garden. Started in 1907 by garden superintendent William Hertrich , it now encompasses 10 acres—60 landscaped beds filled with more than 5,000 species of desert plants from both the Old and the New World. Immaculately curated and maintained, it’s considered of one the best succulent gardens in the world. I’ve been to the Huntington many times before (see  list of previous posts ), but usually in the morning or in the middle of the day. This time, I visited later in the day. As you can see from the photos below, the late afternoon sun bathed the plan...