Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ Walking The Huntington Gardens with Tom Carruth

"Gardening has always been an art, essentially." 

~Robert Irwin

What emotions I felt on the personal tour of the Huntington gardens by Tom Carruth was, I imagine, much like a practicing Catholic being given a tour of the vatican by the Pope would feel. Awe. Reverence.  Filled to the brim with a joyful spirit.  

Volunteers lost in a sea of roses

 For the first time since I learned to write in Kindergarten, I didn't take notes.  The very thought felt irreverent. Instead, I just breathed in Tom's narration of the former farm which grew up to be a grand estate, much as a congregant would if they were walking through a historic church garden with a holy man.

I don't have to ask: I know that when he dreams, he dreams in color. Swaths of long- held chords of color. 

Renowned in the rose world for his creation of some of the most beautiful roses, his business card proclaims he is now the E.L and Ruth B Shannon Curator of the Rose Collection at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. 

If you haven't been to the Huntington in the last 2 years, you haven't been.  If you hurry, you can see the tail end of the most beautiful construction vignettes. Look for little bits of whimsy by craftsmen  -

Such as giving a horticultural name to the tree specimens of cement  arbor originally built in 1915. 

The brilliance of the remodel is that while extensive renovations were needed to transition the dowager garden to meet the safety needs  and sensual expectations of today's public, the spirit of the spaces at the Huntington remains true to the history of its development. 

Alterations to the ethereal beauty of the gardens is best described by one word: enhanced. 

Enough of my chatter. Please enjoy the images in peace and serenity.

  

Thank you Carol May for leaving open so many garden gates open through your GBBD. 

Until we meet again, Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.