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Huntington's Whitelock Cycad Collection Installation Nears Completion
The extraordinary Loran Whitelock collection of Cycads donated to the Huntington has been gradually appearing in several areas of the garden.
I took a Huntington map and crudely approximated the locations of some of the Cycads:
There are now Cycads in areas surrounding the Entrance
Garden, along the east side of the mansion, and also some near the Palm
Garden, and in the Subtropical garden.
A mass of Cycads can be seen at the far side of the lawn, on the right:
A special place was chosen for the choicest plants in
the collection: on the south-facing slope below the Beaux-Arts mansion,
now an art gallery. Previously the slope held a mundane group of shrubs on a steep, shallow slope. The shrubs were removed and the slope reworked to be more gradual and wider.
Blogger in habitat. Photo by Beloved:
A large amount of stone was added to the slope. It looks great. Stone is something I hope to figure out how to add to our front slope.
The project is not yet complete. Plants are still being added.
Small places in the stone are good homes for Aloes.
The lawn below the slope was removed. There is a wide path now at the base of the slope, with another large section of Cycads along the concrete walkway just above the Subtropical garden.
Some panorama shots taken by Beloved:
It's really wonderful that this extraordinary collection has been preserved, and can be viewed and enjoyed by thousands of visitors. This is yet another stellar recent improvement to the Huntington's gardens.
Boa entrada de 2019!
ReplyDeletejanicce.
Obrigado. Muitas felicidades para um belo 2019!
DeleteAnd yet another reason I need to get back to the Huntington soon! Thanks for the photos.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons are piling up, and the pile is getting tall.
DeleteExtraordinary collection indeed.
ReplyDeleteA man's life's work. He chose--wisely.
DeleteI didn't realize that Whitelock's cycads hadn't all been installed but I guess I should have suspected it given the sheer size of his collection. I'm glad the Huntington is giving the installation the attention it deserves. As to the stone, I bet those were hauled in using cranes.
ReplyDeleteOne of the Huntington articles said there were approximately 3,000(!) cycads in the collection. The stone is gorgeous. We wants it!
DeleteI'm fascinated by cycads, these photos were wonderful. They did a great job incorporating those boulders into the slope. I wonder if I can cram a cycad into the greenhouse somewhere. I used to have a Cycas revoluta, but it died. Maybe I should try again.
ReplyDeleteThere are more cold-hardy species than C. revoluta--low 20's with a little protection. How cold do you get?
DeleteYes, those boulders...
It must be fun for a Gardener to open up a swathe of space and add treasured plants.
ReplyDeleteWill the Huntington be doing 'captive breeding' and selling young plants?
They are doing scientific research on Cycads, the Huntington is a scholarly institution as well. See:
Deletehttps://www.huntington.org/frontiers/2017-spring-summer/passion-cycads
There is a note that they will be doing 'captive breeding' in hopes of preserving the plants in the wild. :)
Always loved cycads because they remind me of dinosaur dioramas! This installation is like a mini version of the lotusland cycads... I also second the stone, very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think Lotusland's cycads might actually be a mini version of the Huntington's!
DeleteWe wants that stone!
Oh. My.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be worth every penny of the gazillion pennies no doubt spent to acquire the collection, prepare the site, and replant the cycads. That stone! It looks as if it's been there forever; not an effect that can be achieved without a lot of study (and, on that scale, expert effort).
Thanks very much to both of you for the visit to the increasingly irreplaceable treasure that is the Huntington.
No, the Whitelocks donated the collection along with an endowment to care for them.
DeleteMuch more info...see: https://www.huntington.org/frontiers/2017-spring-summer/passion-cycads
(The article says 1,500 cycads, another said 3,000. Not sure why--perhaps it was 1,500 cycads and 1,500 other plants? )
Happy you liked the post! Thanks!
Gerhard had a shot recently of a glowing, flawless, endearingly chubby little blue Encephalartos in the Desert Garden, in his Old World post. There was no label, and it just occurred to me that it too might be part of the Whitelock acquisition.
DeleteIt might be. It's a beauty.
DeleteOh gorgeous! We just visited a few days ago (drug the family out there) and I was so happy to see the progress in this area. It will only continue to get more better! And all the cycads sprinkled everywhere gave been fun... There are a bunch in the palm garden (at the bottom!) also.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great visit. It was gorgeous the day we went.
DeleteThat is a lot of cycads. They look great the way they have arranged them. I love the rock. It is beautiful and enhances the cycads. I have a pet cycad. I have no idea what kind it is. I bought it as a $5 plant, small. It has grown quite a bit over the years. One of these days it will be too large to lug in and out of the house. It spends its summer outside.
ReplyDeleteI have a $5 one too, probably the same kind. Only difference is mine can stay outside year-round.
Delete