Spend a Lawn Time at the Norton Simon's Garden Party

So you say you're a devotee of costume dramas?

Then you've likely seen characters strolling in a beautiful garden, multiple times.

They might be sketching, or lounging in a dapple of sunlight, or listening to the lilting sounds of a nearby instrument.

Sadly, though, the opportunities to crank up the costume drama quotient in our modern lives don't come around all that often, and strolling and sketching in gardens isn't something we often find time to do.

Unless, of course, it is the near the sweet start of summer, and we're at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, on the very evening that the art institution's annual A Night in Focus: Garden Party is taking place.

That night, Saturday, June 29, is on the sun-dappled horizon. And the fee to join this Sculpture Garden-set celebration, which lingers from 5 to 7:30 p.m.?

Oh, good news: It's included with museum admission, which is $15.

Activities include plein air sketching — indeed, you'll be able to try your hand at this time-honored alfresco pursuit, with materials supplied — and the creation of flowery crowns.

Live jazz will lend loveliness to your lovely time, which may simply include you taking a seat, somewhere cool and green, all to watch the unhurried, savor-the-moment scene.

A scene that doesn't require 19th-century costumes, parasols, or handfans, no. Feel free to come as you are, in your favorite sundress or seersucker shorts, and watch the sun bid the day farewell in one of the Crown City's prettiest places.

A place known for its famous sculptures, its stately trees and flowers, and its ethereal feel, which finds its exquisite inspiration in Money's Giverny garden.

So are you ready to spend a lawn, er, long time lounging, sketching, people-watching, sunbeam-sitting, or gently swanning about?

We can't simply step inside the garden seen in our favorite costume drama, but we can call upon this slice of bucolic wonder, just off Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, for an enchanting evening.