I have been to Descanso Gardens like 25 years ago with then family members. Since then, I haven't…read moregone there until yesterday morning around 10am. One can't just spend time here in an hour. They have so much going on that you honestly can't see in a day, even if you try. I was there for a good 3.5 hours and still didn't get to see everything. I packed myself two sandwiches and bottled water, and decided to go and be in the arms of nature. I am so glad that I did. It was AMAZING in every way. Flowers blossom year round, but is more beautiful during Spring time. There is so much to see and every corner is peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing. Love it! Did like 15 minutes of hiking, before it was time to eat. This garden was established back in 1953. They have trails, benches, a gift shop, and a restaurant. Since I had my own lunch, didn't need to eat at their eatery. They also have a snack shop near the entrance that sells snacks/beverages. Admission is $18.00 for adults. Not sure for kids and seniors. Didn't buy anything from anywhere. Ate my own lunch and drank my water. The landscape is huge and the meadows were kept well maintained. If you do a lot of walking, then you need to chill for at least 15 minutes, recharge your own batteries and start moving again. It was a nice way to clear my head. From where I was standing, I saw this cute, small house decorated with lots of pumpkins. Some of the gardens that they have are: a Rose garden, Japanese garden, huge section for festival camellias, native oak trees (that's always beautiful to look at). They also have indoor and outdoor venues that you can hold events such as weddings, meetings, and corporate events. It was a nice way to start my day. I highly recommend Descaneso Gardens to anyone who loves zen, nature tranquility and more. Great place to go on a date, solo, with family and friends. Plenty of parking spaces free of charge!

We visited Descanso Gardens' Carved Halloween experience as a surprise for my son's birthday, and…read moreit was a lovely family outing! Everything was cute, festive, and family-friendly, especially for kids. There are plenty of fun spots to take pictures and enjoy the Halloween decorations. We were able to see everything in about an hour and a half. The experience is on the smaller side, and you can see the map in my photos to get an idea of the layout. I paid $29 per ticket on a Tuesday, which felt reasonable. However, weekend tickets are around $50, and personally, I think that's a little too expensive for the size of the experience and what you get to see. Overall, it's a cute Halloween activity for families with kids, especially if you enjoy taking pictures and getting into the Halloween spirit!

The Huntington Gardens have always been an amazing place to visit in the Pasadena area. I remember…read moregoing on a high school trip in the 1980s, and being amazed by all the foliage. You purchase your ticket ahead of time - though maybe you can get one when you show up. They do have free parking and it was easy enough to find a space. We walked around the Chinese and Japanese gardens mostly, and they were really lovely. It's kind of amazing just how much space there is, how much it is kept up. There are lovely paths everywhere. It was a little hot when I visited, so I probably would have wandered longer if I wasn't as hot. It does look like they have a shuttle now to get people around, and and also more accessible access for people with mobility issues.

This is my second time back here, last time was over 7 years ago! Definitely worth the trip, I…read moreabsolutely love it here. Tickets are on the pricier end, but its an all-in-one spot, with the vast botanical gardens grounds, art museums, however note that the library is currently closed for reconstruction. It was still beautiful and I had an amazing time exploring this place with my friend, and its his first time here. I love their attention to details, which you can tell with the beautiful gift shop bags. All of the gardens were beautiful, but as pictured - the Japanese and Chinese Gardens were my obvious favorites. Would highly recommend checking this place out, and I may come back again someday.

This ambitious 1906 Renaissance design mansion with 4.5 acres flower gardens was presented to the…read moreCity of Pasadena in 1958 by the Wrigley family. William Wrigley Jr.'s 3-story, 21-room mansion is now the permanent home to the official headquarters of the Pasadena Tournament Of Roses. The surroundings are peaceful grounds which offer scenic views within a beautiful residential neighborhood. The exterior grounds feature a 4.5-acre floral display of more than 1,500 varieties of roses, camellias, and annuals. The arbor/rose garden also has a fountain garden and terraces that lead up to the front of the mansion. The very front of the property has a Little Free Library book exchange box shaped and crafted to look like the mansion itself. I had around 5 or 6 different books to donate, so I put them in there, so that someone else can grab them, enjoy them and read them. The whole property is beautiful and perfect for a peaceful afternoon stroll.

It's fine for a quick walk, but don't plan your whole afternoon around it…read more Wrigley Gardens is decent enough for what it is. It's definitely nice that it's completely free and open to the public, and the roses and grounds around the Tournament House are well-kept and pretty.

Beautiful and serene little tea house in the park. I come here when I want a relaxing time away…read morefrom the hustle and bustle of city life. The tea house is very beautiful! And the koi pond is awesome as well! Unfortunately, my days off does not correlate to their schedule of events, so I have never had an opportunity to be a part of a tea ceremony here. So, I enjoy my time here by bringing my own tea set and drink tea on the grass. I come here to meditate, journal, and read as well. And I always feel refreshed afterwards! 10/10 would recommend visiting this park and tea house!

The tea house sits behind a small Japanese garden with a pond with koi fish, bridge, waterfall, and…read morelotus flowers. While small it's very serene and has mostly everything a traditional Japanese garden needs. The teahouse has some events but it's rarely open. You need to really pay attention to their website and keep checking back the event page. I find this is the most current, even more than their Instagram. I saw an event for matcha tea whisking workshop, but it was sold out unfortunately, but it looked cool and I was able to catch a glimpse inside of the teahouse which looks very traditional. The garden around the teahouse is open Mon-Thurs 10am-3pm. This is a really cute place to stop by if you live in Glendale/Burbank and walk around and sit near the pond or bring a book and sit in the grass. If you live farther just be forewarned that the gates to the garden are not always open when they say they are open. I've been here around 3 different times, and it wasn't open which was really annoying because I don't live anywhere near Glendale and I came out specifically to see the garden. The best bet to go is when there is going to be an event at the teahouse that way you can be certain or if you are already coming out here to go on a hike in the mountains behind the park. For something larger check out my list of other Japanese Gardens: bit.ly/3CLXWV9

What a stunning garden. It really takes me back to my time in Mexico City. I truly appreciate a…read moregood place with nature

My family and I visited Thanksgiving weekend and had a blast wandering around all the light…read moredisplays in the garden! This isn't necessarily a holiday-themed "Christmas" light experience, but it put us all in the holiday mood nonetheless. The themed light displays are well curated, the event is organized, staff are friendly, and the free parking is orderly and well managed. There are ten different themed exhibits found on the mile-long path. By far our favorite was the Ancient Forest, but the Garden of Good Fortune and the Fantasy Forest were close seconds! They do a wonderful job of using the light displays to really compliment and highlight the giant oak trees and other featured plants - as well as excellent music choices to really immerse you in a serene fantasy forest type experience. Some of the exhibits are interactive, like the Symphony of Oaks where you can step on the lights to make them change colors and sing - so fun! They also had a large village of tiny stained glass houses and other buildings you could actually enter and walk through - really beautiful. Another display I loved was the giant light built to resemble the moon - it was placed directly over one of the ponds and the reflection was magnificent! And everyone loves the massive, sprawling field of tulip lights which has a rotating show that will occasionally send waves of lights towards you. We spent a good hour and a half meandering around the path, which is well maintained and mostly flat with plenty of maps to find your way around the exhibits. The staff did a great job of respecting ticket entry times and the exhibits are so well laid out that we hardly noticed the crowds. Very well done! They don't sell tickets at the door so be sure to purchase online in advance. Booking our timed entry tickets was very easy via their website. They also take advanced reservations for their on-site Farmhouse restaurant and for valet parking. The restaurant and gift shop area was packed so I'd recommend restaurant reservations. But the parking was ample, even at 6pm on a Saturday and so well staffed and managed that we found a spot easily with zero chaos. This was my first visit to Descanso Gardens and now I'm wishing I had seen it in the daylight so I could compare haha! Tickets are a tad pricey but ee loved their Enchanted Forest of Light and can highly recommend it. Plus you're supporting a local botanical garden! I'll definitely be back to see all the splendor of the garden in the daytime.

Very cute and small park in Pasadena! There's plenty of street parking. We went around golden hour…read morebut there's a lot of mosquitoes so don't forget bug spray. My partner and I came to do a mini ceremony and photoshoot for our California wedding. There's a lot of photo-op places thats free so I recommend it! It's just teeny tiny so it'll be a quick walkthrough but there's only a few groups people so you definitely enjoy the peace.

The Arlington Garden is a nice, public garden in Pasadena. Admission is free and street parking is…read moreplentiful. It's not a big garden, yet it does a great job at displaying native species, sustainable land scaping, and climate appropriate plants. I came during the hot days of summer, so there's not a lot that's in bloom. I did spot plenty of California poppies, milkweed, and yarrow. The trees, like the holly leaf cherry and eastern redbud, were beautiful on its own. I also had the rare privilege of seeing a flowering agave plant. The citrus area is a standout. They have some dwarf species and trees that were rehoused after being part of an art installation. They use the fruit to make marmalade. What's unused gets donated.

My husband and I went on Valentine's Day one year and it was so beautiful and peaceful. Then I went…read moreanother time with my sister and back then you could sit in the Tea House and it was lovely every place we sat down and looked around was gorgeous.

Background On Visit: Last Sunday (4/12/26), the venue hosted the Pasadena Festival Of Tea. We were…read moreone of the participants for this event. Hours Of Operation: They welcome visitors to the garden on many Friday and Saturday evenings and during the day on Sundays. You can check out their schedule of events and admission cost on their website: https://japanesegardenpasadena.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/japanesegardenpasadena/event.jsp?;=&event=1612& Admission Cost: Mostly, $15 on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, it's $12. For other events, they post the cost on their website. Location/Parking: Located across from the Arlington Gardens (Free). It's kinda hidden, but just use the gps on your phone to guide you. Parking can be found along Arlington. For special events, they encourage you to park at Westridge School (Orange Grove and W. State St.) and walk up to Storrier Stearns. Ambiance/Decor: The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden is a beautiful and charming retreat with a quiet and tranquil elegance. The place is small which contains many of the much admired design features found in the most lavish of Japanese-style gardens of its era. As Kendall Brown states in his book, California Japanese-style Gardens, "this is the genius of Kinzuchi Fujii: this was once a flat area of two tennis courts; now it is a masterwork. 1) Classic Niko-an Teahouse, the garden landscape offers a variety of other beautiful details. 2) Numerous gathering points, seating areas & vistas 3) Four original bridges plus the original cedar log Japanese Waiting Bench 4) Two large interconnected, irregularly shaped koi ponds 5) The sounds of two waterfalls, one cascading down a 25-foot hill 6) An artful dry riverbed for rain overflow winding through the garden 7) Cooling shade everywhere from spreading sycamores & old oaks 8) Many tons of boulders & stones 9) Granite statuary & stone lanterns Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden For Thought: Wouldn't mind coming back to re-center myself. I did a have nice time.

I've been going to Penelope's for more years than I can remember!…read moreMy family and clients love going here. First, thank you to everyone for giving 4+ and 5 Stars. It is the BEST place to meet with friends to catch up and have an amazing meal. It's disappointing for me to read some reviews stating that the waitress was not friendly. NOT TRUE! And, who does not wait 15 minutes these days to get a table, menu, order...etc..? Patience is a virtue that too many people do not have these days. We never had a problem being served in a timely manner. The staff, including the owner, are all fantastic and helpful. Yes, calling Penelope's during lunch hour a person should be prepared to know that no phone calls will be taken. This is a wonderfully quaint & fabulous restaurant with great food, staff, ambiance and truly an A+ accommodating owner and group of employees. One reviewer was clearly not thinking when she gave them two stars because they would not answer the phone. Some folks expect to be treated like Royalty by everyone. And, really this person had to give just two stars to the finest and most colorful restaurant in the entire area!?! Just because you want a big or private party there...Really!?! Penelope's has been in this area for a very long time. The owner is AMAZING, KIND, and a GENIUS at running this fantastic eatery. Perhaps Ms. two stars should also breath in/breath out and be more kind and patient with people. We're all working here! Show some respect. Being kind & thoughtful is important. I could not imagine living in this area without having Penelope's in the area. And, Ms 1 Star...Really?!? So sorry you did not have some other family member or yourself there to spread the pbj into place. Yet, this was important to you to give only one star?!? Please respect our wonderful people who provide these amazing places for us to sit down with friends for a yummy meal and conversation. They work hard to please everyone. I do not care if my child did not have a pbj sandwich that needed help. I would have handled it! Part of me thinks this person is trying to rate this fabulous Penelope's stars down to a very small # of people that love to be there? Personally, I know hundreds of people who have eaten at Penelope's through the years. We all love it. Why do you want to attack a great restaurant...perhaps opening your own eatery? Thank YOU Felicia B. for giving the BEST review of Penelope's. You are spot on, kind, truthful, and an amazing person. Thank you for being YOU!

came here right when they opened for a weekend breakfast. the hostess and staff were quick and…read morefriendly, no issues there. sat on the cute outdoor patio near the fish :) interestingly here they do not offer pancakes or eggs so keep that in mind if you have children or a picky appetite lol. i got the belgian waffles and they were good! the syrup tasted unique, i don't think they use store brand/bulk brand for that, but it was still good. the bacon was crispyyy like i wonder if they cooked it in hellfire or something lol. the chai latte looked a little bland at first but it actually had a very lovely spiced flavor.

Very beautiful space…read more I came here for a small "UNPLUGGED" wedding ceremony. This place reminded me of my favorite childhood movie called The Secret Garden. A beautiful atmosphere that holds wonder, power, and magic. I felt special even though this day wasn't for me. Inside one of the rooms displayed beautiful art work from a man who happened to be there overseeing everything go down at the event. He is kind and tells good jokes about his art work and in general. The two ladies who own this place came by earlier and indeed are nice and friendly. Now that I know of this place maybe I, two will hold something magnificent in this small gem that is surrounded by a bustling city,

Trace's artwork is provocative and unforgettable. Go to https://www.tajartinc.com/ and check out…read more"exhibitions" or "shop" to see what I mean. But she also showcases work from other artists. A portion of the sales are donated to charities to help animals worldwide, so you are also making the world a better place for our furry friends while you enjoy and own some beautiful art. I've met Trace, and she's as charming in person as she is passionate and talented. It's a pleasure to know her, and I look forward to supporting her in the future.