If the past few years taught us anything, it’s that being connected to nature, our neighborhood and one another, is more important than ever before. Many quickly felt the realities if all were taken away amid the coronavirus pandemic, and three years later, we can’t think of a better place to appreciate the beauty of nature than in a flourishing garden in the springtime. Orange County happens to have an array of gorgeous green spaces — with many located on historic properties — filled with native plants. Many gardens offer tours, group classes and events that not only make it a beautiful retreat but a gathering space as well.
Take Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, it’s the only oceanfront public garden in southern California and thanks to its unique environment, “its microclimate causes flowers to bloom every month of the year,” Amy Behrens, Casa Romantica Executive Director, tells GRAZIA USA. The 2.5 acres of coastal flora has 10 themed gardens which overlook the ocean for spectacular views of the San Clemente Pier and Catalina Island. The property also contains the historic Spanish Colonial Revival house that was built by the founder of the city of San Clemente, Ole Hanson, in 1927. The house had many owners after Hanson, but was eventually registered as a historic landmark, revived, and transformed into not only a garden, but a cultural arts center for the community that opened in 2004.
The center throws over 100 multicultural events each year and the latest event is occurring on April 26-30. “Casa Romantica will host a five-day festival celebrating Celtic arts and traditions headlined by Hollywood’s most recorded piper, Eric Rigler (whose music can be heard in Titanic and Outlander), with a tasting garden and family-friendly activities on the weekend,” Behrens shares. Acclaimed jazz singer Alicia Olatuja will perform on May 11 for a benefit concert supporting Casa Romantica’s historic preservation and programs.
Another historic landmark in the area that contains both beautiful scenery and engaging cultural programs is Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano. Between the Spanish Colonial architecture, cobblestone paths and garden, visitors are transported to another time. The grounds feature the Serra Chapel, The Ruins of the Great Stone Church, and plenty of greenery, including agave, succulents, Oak trees, Elderberry trees and the official state flower, the California Poppy, and when it blooms, it creates an “ocean of orange in the front courtyard,” Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence Adams tells GRAZIA USA.
There are cactus gardens and an ornamental rose garden but what makes this space so different than others in the area is the juxtaposition against the decaying ruins of the Great Stone Church, which fell in 1912, and the original mission. “There’s no place you’re going to see something like this because we have a group called the Gardening Angels and an amazing landscape company that work together to keep a sense of renewal and the spirit of the place alive,” says Lawrence Adams. “The gardens are always evolving and changing in color because we don’t have an evergreen garden.”
The space also hosts numerous events and in May, it will celebrate its Home Front America partnership. “We have about 400 six-foot American flags in our central and historic courtyard that are all sponsored in honor of a veteran.”
A unique hideaway in Laguna Beach is the Hortense Miller Garden. The 2.5 acres of hillside landscape was originally created by Hortense Miller when she and her husband bought the mid-century modern property built by Knowlton Fernald in 1958. The teacher, author, gardener and artist tended to the land and as it grew, so did her reputation—in 1969 her home was featured on the cover of Sunset magazine.
“Hortense developed hillside garden over decades using unusual plants from around the world,” says Diane Lannon, past president and current volunteer at the Hortense Miller Garden. “Most were planted as one-gallon specimens or smaller and gave the garden its unique feel over time.”
Lannon explains that Miller created several trails and garden vignettes using trimmed branches and bamboo for fencing. She also repurposed railroad ties, rip-rap from sidewalks and driveways to create retaining walls and “always added texture of boulders or rock to keep the garden interesting.”
In 1973 she donated her home and land to the City of Laguna Beach to share her love of gardening with the community and The Friends of Hortense Miller was formed to maintain the property and offers tours of the garden to the public. The garden is blooming every month of the year but “the spring is obviously a colorful time with the wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle and camellias all in bloom,” Lannon notes.
For more, the Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar is a horticultural oasis with 100 species of palms from around the world, 130 unique varieties of begonias, an extensive orchid collection and a tea garden. There are painting and dance classes, and weekly activities for kids offered.
Noguchi Garden was commissioned by Henry Segerstrom in 1979 and is open to the public. Isamu NoguchiÕs California Scenario is on 1.6 acres at 611 Anton Blvd. in Costa Mesa. Taken August 6, 2015. Costa Mesa, California РStatues and Monuments of Orange County. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
One notable space that’s less flower-filled but equally inspiring is “California Scenario,” by the American artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi. In 1979, developer Henry T. Segerstrom commissioned Noguchi to create a cultural site near South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The artist drew upon California’s ecosystems to create sculptural elements and plantings and also incorporated indigenous plants and materials.
Whether you get lost along the gardens paths or stop by these spaces for events and community engagement, there’s no shortage of inspiration that awaits.
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