Reactions to the Huntington Gardens

[Anonymous]

What a fantastic opportunity to immerse our students in asian culture. This was the first time I had a docent led tour of the gardens and it was really something that must be experienced first hand. I think that it would be almost impossible to get the resources together for my students to make it down to the gardens as part of the government or economics curiculum, but I am excited about discussing the possibilities of some kind of a joint field trip with my agriculture department as well as my architecture instructor. Understanding these gardens as botanical, growing, physical expressions of beauty and culture will make better agriculturalists as well as architects. I am very close allies with the ag department and I believe we might just be able to pull it off. Possibly selling the ag teacher on the idea of creating a bit of an Asian garden in one of the corners of our school farm if I could get the kids and him inspired with a trip? Would anyone have ideas about what resources could be marshalled to get kids all the way from Bakersfield to come have a day at the Huntington?

[Anonymous]

The visit to both the Chinese and Japanese gardens was a great experience. Our guide was knowledgeable and thorough in her explanation of the various aesthetics. I found it interesting how the Chinese walls emulated the back of a dragon. The way mythology manifests itself in architecture seems very unique. I also appreciated the influence of commerce from the Silk Road. Many of the geometric patterns in the woodwork and stonework remind me of an Islamic influence in Chinese art and architecture.

[Anonymous]

I agree the symbolism espically in the Chinese garden. The circle of life that was created from the bridge's reflection on the water was a greater example. Another example of the influence of Chinese culture was the stream that flowed under the dark bridge relating to the story of Shangrila.

[Anonymous]

The appreciation of nature was also impressive in the Japanese garden with the use of shading with the variations of the color green in the garden. Our guide mentioned that most of the gardens color comes from the plants changing color with the season.

[Anonymous]

I had not visited The Huntington Library in over 10 years so it was like going for the first time. It was beautiful and amazing. The gardens were so spiritual and well executed. I truly appreciated the information from the docent. I now know that a Chinese garden needs to have 5 essential elements: water, rocks, plants, calligraphy, and buildings. A Japanese garden on the other hand has 4 aspects: tranquility, simplicity, natural, and not seen at the same time. I truly enjoyed this trip and could've stayed there all day!

[Anonymous]

It was my first time experiencing the Chinese garden. What an experience! I was impressed by the beauty and tranquility of the garden. The effort that was taken to harmonize the structures with the natural landscape was very impressive. It was also interesting to learn the differences between the principles used to create the Chinese garden and the Japanese gardens. Both cultures have a deep appreciation of nature, but they emphasize different things in the design of their gardens. I will definitely return to explore the gardens more closely.

[Anonymous]

Since the start of the school year I have gotten the agricultural department on my campus on board with a field trip to the Huntington gardens, and our administration seems to be on board with the plan as well. The plan right now is to take some of my government and economics students who are also in agriculture, all of the ornamental horticulture class, and agriculture students who are in drafting and design and are thinking about studying landscape architecture in the future. Obviously we will make the trip as directly relevant to our individual courses as possible but being the odd man out as the government/ econ teacher I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to the connections I can make to my course. I plan to talk with the students on the way down about the history of the Huntington family and how they made the money to build such an excellent estate, how the Chinese garden is almost completely a perfect case study in civic participation and community service, and how the government and the laws of California and the United States have impacted the gardens and forced the builders and care takers to adapt non-traditional features into the gardens. I have high hopes for the discussion that might be sparked before and after the visit but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on developing further connections. Thanks for any ideas.

[Anonymous]

I loved learning about the differences between the Chinese and Japanese gardens and even got my project idea from the Chinese garden. I noticed a wooden decorative piece in the Chinese garden that was comprised of many geometric shapes and thought there might be an interesting way to incorporate how these figures influenced Chinese art.

Arno Madathian

[Anonymous]

I too have lived in LA my entire life and have never even considered visiting the Gardens. Looking back, it's amazing how every part of nature was used in the making of the gardens. The tour guide even said that genuine artisans from China were brought over to work on many of the garden's architecture which tells me the funding behind it is genuinely concerned with keeping the gardens authentic and true to the culture.

[Anonymous]

The Huntington Gardens offers a meditative path away from the often harsh realities of the hustle of making a living. The Japanese and Chinese gardens heighten that retreat. They are special gifts to the visitors. They throw us out of ourselves to enjoy the interplay of nature and human care. It teaches us that everyone in the world is deserving of tranquility, the space and time to have the highest order of beauty and art present in our lives if only for a short while.

[Anonymous]

What a wonderful way to wrap up the week. The symbolism and intricacies that would have been lost if not for the wonderfully patient docent. A visual comparative essay, Chinese and Japanese cultural elements coming alive in color, lines, and materials.
I've been remise as I left the Huntington resolute in making time to go to the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Nevertheless, as I finish up my requirements I recommit to going to the Garden as it is much more feasible that I could take my students (after the AP exams) when we could all use time to meditate and find our center.

[Anonymous]

It's been a while since I went to the Huntington. I'm pleasantly surprised at the changes and especially the expansion. I'm certainly going back when the weather is cooler and will take my time to explore.
I have taken my first and second graders on field trips to the Huntington in the past (15 years ago) when it was possible to carpool and we did not necessarily need a bus to transport our students. Now, transportation is a problem. I'm going to look into transportation grants that may give us bus money. It's worth exploring. The children will get a lot out of the Japanese and Chinese gardens.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Still finding places to park all the info from this morning. What a fantastic place and as Kevin said, it was a place you wanted to just go and sit down around every corner. Asian gardens just seem much more specialized than our gardens. It seems like everything is in a particular place for a particular reason and it seems that Japanese and Chinese people understand those reasons. Everything has symbolism.... like a great piece of art. Each number, each flower, each rock is there with meaning. The landscape gardener as artist. Do every Chinese person and Japanese person understand that symbolism? Or is it just the cultured? When does that come to the US? What does Olmsted gain from this and does he apply anything to his Central park plans. What are the reasons for our gardens and what are the reasons for the Chinese and Japanese gardens? How much of it relates to religions and differences in those religions? How much are related to the wide open spaces that we have had compared to the very limited spaces that japan and china have traditionally had?

[Author]

Posts