I Found It! Huntington Gardens (Revisited, Part One)

On February 3, 2013, I found spring.

At Huntington Gardens.

To be honest, what I was really looking for was something different.

I was hankering for my old friends from England and New Jersey:

the cool exhalations of narcissi, snowdrops, hyacinths, daffodils......

And if not necessarily them, then the stalwarts of the English winter: hellebores and bergenias.  And OK, yes, maybe some swathes of naturalizing crocus?

I went straight to where I thought they might be found, but instead, a fairly confusing scene presented itself.

The roses were still in their sharply pruned state and deeply bank with mulch.  (Though roses are blooming in my neighborhood.)  The camellias had mostly finished, their blooms curled and yellowing on the trees and ground.

There were stands of stocks, and delphiniums, the latter looking a little desultory (when they should have been jubilant and regal - but aren't they - summer flowers?)..........Some straggling iris from the late fall blooming season.  

And parterres of Icelandic poppies.  (But no primulas.  Sad face.)

You could not call it a cohesive display of blossom....or statement of season....to someone who is accustomed to more definite ones.  And not remotely a profusion.  Which is what I sought.  (Very big on profusion, moi.)

I am a very spoiled person.  For two years I lived 10 minutes from Kew Gardens in West London.

And I was able to visit it in all seasons.  And always find there inspiration.....

in form.  Texture.  Color.  Harmony.  Drama.  Balance.

Wonder.  And Profusion.

Solace.

Life.

At the Huntington, on February 3,  all these were to be found.  AND Spring.  In the DESERT GARDEN. 

Since I am in  Southern California, I guess I really should not have been surprised.