What to Know
- 50 "once-in-a-lifetime opportunities" are available, including private gallery tours and a family sleepover
- The fundraising effort will help support the historic San Marino gardens after a challenging year of partial closures
- All opportunities are "first come, first served"
Every visit a flower fan makes to The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens will always be different from the last, even if they stopped by the serene San Marino spot the day before.
A barrel cactus may be sporting overnight blooms, or lotuses may be opening, or the leaves on an oak tree will suddenly seem just a tad more golden.
But what if your next visit to the historic and spacious property could be incredibly different, and distinctive, and bespoke? The sort of memory-building moment that can't be attributed to nature's ever-changing ways but rather a curated experience crafted by a team of Huntington humans?
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That could happen, if you choose one of the new, "once-in-a-lifetime" offerings now found in the destination's "Sharing the Love" curated experiences catalog.
To treat Huntington devotees to something very special, and to help raise needed funds after a year of partial pandemic-related closures, the idyllic attraction has created a host of unique, made-for-one-person-or-a-small-group in-garden adventures and opportunities.
Some of the experiences available for those eager to donate to the program?
Look for "an after-hours tour of the American art collection," "an intimate, traditional Urasenke Japanese tea ceremony in the historic Japanese Garden," and "an up-close and personal encounter with the Gutenberg Bible," all the sorts of sublime times a person might talk about for, well, ever.
A catered dinner in the Chinese Garden is another delight, and naming a rose that will be planted in The Huntington's world-famous Rose Garden?
That, too, is available, along with a Champagne ceremony for you and 19 of your friends and family members.
A Family Sleepover is another straight-from-the-bucket-list way to connect with the gardens.
Prices start at $250 and go up, depending on the experience. And, indeed, these experiences will take place when it is again deemed safe to do so.
"(Y)our donation goes directly to support The Huntington’s mission of enrichment, education, and stewardship," says the site, so ponder that as you browse the exquisitely presented, photo-fabulous catalog.
But like each living thing in a garden goes through its season, the petals on this program will soon fold, too: Each experience is "first come, first served," and Sharing the Love will only last for a limited time.
