The Huntington

My mother came to town to visit. I took her to go see Wicked...very good but not my favorite. At least my mother enjoyed it. But, the excursion I was looking forward to most was an afternoon at the Huntington Gardens. More specifically, the Chinese Pavilion. I love love love going to the Huntington Gardens. My favorites are the Desert Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rain Forest Garden, and now the Chinese Garden. I took photos of the pebble mosaic patios because something about the colors and repeat pattern just make me feel...quiet?

If I were to compare a garden to a rock band, I would have thought that the plants one chose was like the front man of the garden. Thinking that the plants were the heart of the garden, the lead singer, the image of the garden, I had spent a lot of time pondering what kind of lead singers I wanted in my garden. As I develop my gardening skills, I have quickly learned that hardscaping is actually the basis of a good garden...like the drummer. Without a great John Bonham or Tommy Lee, who cares about Robert Plant or Vince Neil?

However, instead of rock n' roll, I think I prefer a good Bach or Chopin or Debussey for my hardscape.

So, this afternoon, Mr. Donaghy is taking me to Home Depot to buy some materials so I can "test" a small mosaic. As Mr. Donaghy says, "Trial and error is the way to tackle this project...Otherwise, you just end up with a permanent big mess."

Quite right, Mr. Donaghy. Quite right.