THE LURE OF DESCANSO GARDENS

By Charles N. Stevens

Photos by Dolores Seidman

The moment we entered Descanso Gardens we walked among cascading garlands of wisteria falling like water from trellises above. As continued outside into the gardens I was impressed by the layout of the place, gardens of colorful flowers growing among the great oaks that had lived here for hundreds of years, a beautiful blend of the natural world with man-made gardens.

On the warm sunny day we began our trek through the gardens, pausing to admire a colorful bed of red tulips and nearby plantings of purple, yellow and gold, a rich mixture of colors. Trailing through all of this color were miniature railroad tracks over which a small train takes visitors on a delightful ride through the flowers. Unfortunately, the train was not running on this particular day.

Descanso Gardens has quite a history. The acreage we see today was once part of a 36,000 acre rancho awarded to Jose Maria Verdugo in 1784. The rancho stayed in the hands of the Verdugo family until 1869. In 1937 Manchester Boddy, a Los Angeles newspaper publisher, bought the 150 acres of the property that we know as the Descanso Gardens. Boddy later sold it to Los Angeles County. His mansion is still on the property.

Descanso Gardens is located in La Canada/ Flintridge near the merging of the 2 and 210 freeways. The admission is free on the third Tuesday of every month.

We continued strolling, admiring the color of the flowers brought out on such a sunny day. At one end of the gardens I discovered a small pond. Cattails stood erect on one side of it and tall yellow irises bloomed here and there along the edges. The water was greenish and murky, but the sun penetrated to the bottom. The first sign of life that I saw in the pond was a turtle swimming quietly and gracefully, backlighted by the sun’s reflection on the shallow bottom. Its four legs move rhythmically, like oars, as it made its way toward the shore.

Several other turtles had laboriously climbed out of the water onto the smooth rocks at the margin of the pond where they appeared to be sunning themselves. A few thrust their heads and necks out and up as though posing for pictures. Several women with cameras snapped photos of them. When I looked at the turtles more closely, I could see that their heads and necks were delicately striped, one of the wider stripes being a brilliant orange color. I was there with my great grandson who peered at the creatures with quiet delight. As he searched the shore with his young eyes, he noticed the bulbous eyes and noses of three frogs peering out of the muck.

Oher children with their mothers were also looking at the life in the pool, the mothers warning their children not to get too close to the edge. One nervous mother warned her son, saying, “Don’t get too close! You could fall in and get wet. Then we would have to take your clothes off and dress you again with dry ones.” The mother’s imagination impressed the boy as he shied away from the edge. The boy’s sense of adventure was stymied by his mother’s fears.

A pair of Canada geese somehow found this postage stamp of a pond, landing just outside of it then wading into the water. They floated regally by me like two cruise ships. Now and then they plunged their long necks into the water, probing the depths for a bite to eat.

Even though my great grandson, 9 years old, liked watching the animals in the pond, he most enjoyed hopping from one stone to the other in a slow-moving stream not far away. He preferred action and excitement. He didn’t care if he got a little bit wet. He loved showing off his skill and dexterity as he leapt among the stones. Of course it was possible that he would miss the next stone and plunge his foot into the water, or worse, crack his head on a boulder. But he liked the thrill of it.

I remember, as a boy, I liked jumping from stone to stone, but now my speed is watching turtles swimming in a quiet pond.

We had a great time strolling through the gardens in the warmth of the day, but we were at last weary. We had only seen a small part of the far flung acerage and would have to return on a future day to see the camellia forest, the tea house and all we had missed.

Trailing vines of wisteria greet us at the entrance of Descanso Gardens.

A train that people can ride winds through the gardens.

Turtles swim in a pond at one end of the gardens.

Tulips added so much color to the site.

MONTEREY PARK AUTHOR PUBLISHES 4th BOOK – Seeking More of the Sky: Growing Up in the 1930’s:

Charles “Norm” Stevens, a 43 year resident of Monterey Park has recently published his 4^th book: Seeking More of the Sky: Growing Up in the 1930’s. This is the story of a young boy growing up in Inglewood, California in the l930’s. This was a time during the depression when unemployment was affecting many and the banks were closed, while the clouds of war were gathering in Europe. But he was lucky enough to be raised in a loving family, the power of that love reflected throughout his stories.

Stevens is the author of three previous books about his experiences during WWII:

An Innocent at Polebrook: A Memoir of an 8th Air Force Bombardier (Story of his 34 bombing missions from his base at Polebrook, England over Germany and France)

The Innocent Cadet: Becoming A World War II Bombardier (A prequel to the first, telling of his training in the U.S. before going overseas into combat.)

Back from Combat: A WWII Bombardier Faces His Military Future from Combat: (This book details the time from when he returned from combat in England until the end of the war.)

He is known to the readers of The Citizen’s Voice as the author of Travel Log Articles including “Cruising the Rhine and Mosel”,” Best of the West”, “In Search of Snow” ,  “From Paris to Normandy on the Seine”, and “Exploring New York”.  He is retired, having taught for 32 years, primarily in the Montebello Unified School District.

Those interested in purchasing an autographed copy of any of his books, may contact the author at 323-721-8230 or  Normstevens24@gmail.com.