In early May, I was fortunate to get invited by the Huntington Botanical Garden to give a talk about Classical Chinese Gardens in Suzhou. While over there, I went back to visit the Classical Chinese Garden on site, Liu Fang Yuan (流芳园) The Garden of Flowing Fragrance.
Befitting the prestigious status of Huntington, this newly constructed (2008) Chinese garden is clearly aiming to be the best of its kind outside China. It is nested on twelve acres of oak-studded rolling hills with views of the San Gabriel Mountains. The location and topography alone will be the envy of even the best of Suzhou gardens, since traditional Chinese design theory vastly prefers garden sites with natural slopes and distant views to borrow.
The hardscapes(buildings, pavements, rocks) are very authentic since most of them were sourced from China and were constructed by Suzhou craftsmen using traditional techniques. The contrast between the white walls and the black roofs are most magical when it is rainy and cloudy. However, they still look quite good under our extra strong California sunshine.
There are many bridges to connect the islands and to divide up the big lake for more interest. With age, these granite bridges will darken and show less contrast. The size of the big bridge is larger than most if not all garden bridges in Suzhou, and I wish the guard rail panels could have wider openings to lessen the visual effect of sheer mass, but it is governed by U.S. building code so maybe some climbing vines can be trained to grow on the side walls as a remedy.
Most of the plants used in this garden are the traditional plants in Suzhou gardens such as the Three Friends of Winter (Pine, Mei Hua, Bamboo), hardy bananas, camellias, and azaleas. I was lucky to see some of the last blooms on tree peonies.
One shrub that is beyond the traditional palette is Pittosporum brevicalyx ‘Golden Temple’ shown on left below. With Huntington’s prowess, I think more Chinese exotics can be strategically incorporated into this garden. Many of these newly introduced Chinese plants would surely have made their way into the original Suzhou gardens had they been available. Examples are Cycas debaoensis and Radermachera Kunming. Some are already in Huntington’s possession, such as this anemic Fatsia polycarpa in the big on-site nursery shown on right below. This elegant beauty from Taiwan is begging to be planted out and take on the star role in a sheltered corner inside the Chinese garden.
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