'Life' at the library

At the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanic Gardens, the Chinese heritage of our area is on display, not only in Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, which opened mid-February, but also in the rose garden that is 100 years old this year.

Liu Fang Yuan covers about three acres. Guests walk through pavilions, terraces, halls   
and a tearoom surrounding a man-made lake filled with colorful koi and traversed by carved graystone bridges. In spring, dark and light pink azaleas, white camellias and lavender and purple irises are in bloom. Small bonsai are placed on pedestals beside larger bonsai trees. In this young, immature garden, the black bamboo clumps have yet to fill in and the plum trees along one walkway will not bloom this year, but promise a future of pink and white clouds of blossoms next season.

June Li, curator of Liu Fang Yuan, is a native of Hong Kong and a Chinese art historian who came to the Huntington four years ago from LACMA, where she served as an associate curator of Chinese exhibits. She recalled, “At first I felt quite lost in meetings about bio-filters for the lake, soil tests, grading of the slopes and many other engineering issues.”

While the Huntington is perhaps best known for showcasing Western art works, the idea of a Chinese garden was kicked around for nearly two decades. With the local population of Chinese and Chinese Americans, the library staff knew it had to get the details not just right, but historically accurate.

That’s where Li came in, said Laurie Sowd, director of operations at the Huntington. “She comes with a rich intellectual tradition and cultural experience. You can’t pay for that. She’s spent her entire life studying Chinese culture.” Working from landscape architect Jin Chen’s initial conceptual drawings, a team of landscape architects and artists, “Gradually, it became less daunting,” Li recalled. “It was a bit like going to school, and we developed a camaraderie. …We invited the participation of many artists and calligraphers to create poetry and calligraphy for our garden.”

Although the garden is a treat for the eyes, its true purpose is education. “We would like our young visitors to learn about the plants from China, many of which have cultural significance,” said Li.

Oddly enough, you won’t find any roses in the traditional Chinese garden, noted Clair Martin, the Ruth B. and E.L. Shannon Curator of the Rose Garden, during his April 20 “All the Teas in China” garden talk (part of the Rose Garden Centennial Series). Yet China’s rose legacy is everywhere in the rose garden, from the Cécile Brunner, a rose popular as a gentleman’s boutonnière during Victorian times, to the Georgetown Noisette.

The rose garden is in full bloom, making it an ideal time to admire them — but first take a look at the Huntington’s exhibit about the development of modern roses, “La Rose Impériale.” The title refers to the Empress Joséphine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her passion for roses increased their popularity and drove their development.

How does this relate to China? According to Martin, who curated the exhibit, most pink and red remontant (reblooming) roses hark back to Chinese varieties.

In the late 18th century, roses from southern China and central Asia were introduced to Europe. Before then, few European roses flowered more than once in a bloom season. The hybrid Double Delight tea rose, a California favorite, developed in 1977, descends from two Chinese roses.

Wander the rose garden and see markers that identify special roses of historical significance. “Old Blush,” a rose found in 1752, is one of the main parents of all modern repeat-blooming pink roses. “Slater’s Crimson China” was brought from China in 1770 and is the parent of red remontant roses. So-called “tea roses” were named because they came to Europe and America as a result of the Chinese tea trade. You can even see the odd green rose (1856).

Martin mentioned that the Huntington intends to collect more Chinese roses and perhaps they may even make it to one end of the new Chinese garden, but unlike the poetic calligraphy in Liu Fang Yuan, that’s not written in stone.