If You’re Feeling Crafty: Gee’s Bend: Shared Legacy. Not that anyone needs an excuse to visit the exquisite gardens and mansion in San Marino, California, but now there’s a timely reason to go: The Black women of the acclaimed Alabaman quiltmaking collective Gee’s Bend created prints by pressing original quilted fabric designs onto a wax-coated printing plate. This work is on view alongside some original quilts. Through Sept. 4, 2023

The Huntington’s distinctly themed gardens are easily the most stunning manicured outdoor spaces in SoCal. Add in a historic library and stellar museum, and this San Marino spot is more than worth the cost of admission ($25–$29; reservations required on weekends). Wander rows of roses, climb through a bamboo forest at the Japanese garden, admire the cacti in the desert garden and go for a stroll around the Chinese garden, which recently welcomed a massive expansion.

Let's be honest - there is never really a bad time of the year to visit The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. And while the gardens in Autumn might not pass for the backwoods of Vermont, it's still a wonderful spot to see trees you might not associate with all things Fall (but certainly come alive throughout the season)! Check out the colorful leaves on trees like the American Sweetgum, Koelreuteria Henryi and Lion’s Ear.

“You get your ticket and it gets you access to the garden and the library. They have a lot of really, really old editions of different books, and it’s fascinating for a writer to go visit the library. It’s very beautiful. And I love to walk around the gardens. If it’s May, I go to see the rose garden; if it’s the summer, I like the cactus garden. They have a gorgeous Japanese garden with bonsai and all that. It’s a really nice way to spend a Sunday morning or an afternoon.”

The library portion is impressive (though indoor areas are currently closed), but the true highlights here are outdoors in its vast jigsaw of botanical gardens, arguably the most glorious in the entire L.A. region. The acres and acres of public gardens are divided into a variety of themes, including a prickly desert garden, a serene Japanese garden and bamboo forest, as well as a recently-expanded assembly of Chinese pagodas, pavilions and bridges. (Reservations required; $29)

Don’t be fooled by the Huntington Library’s name—a visit to this destination offers so much more than books to impress your date. (Although showing your date the library’s Gutenberg Bible and the earliest known edition of The Canterbury Tales can’t hurt.) But up the romance with a stroll through the 207 acres of gardens that the property has to offer. Admission is is free the first Thursday of the month, and $25 all other times.

The Huntington boasts a library chock full of rare books, collections and photographs, and the art galleries house classic works to more recent rotating exhibitions. The Children's Garden is a fantastic, splash-tastic exploratory romping space. Be sure to stop by the Jade Court Café in the Chinese Gardens for a bite or grab a meal at the 1919 Café where you can sit on the patio and enjoy the grounds.

This Southern California treasure encompasses 130 acres, over a dozen themed gardens, and a wide range of ecosystems to stroll through. The Chinese Garden is one of the largest in the world, complete with ornate pavilions to take in the lake views. For a romantic setting, the Rose Garden is hard to beat, with its 3,000 heavenly-scented blooms. Be sure to make an online reservation ahead of time, and grab a to-go drink and snack at the Gardens’ 1919 Café.

Stunning botanical gardens featuring plants from all over the world. The garden is divided into 16 different themes (desert, Japanese, Chinese, rose, Australian, palm, lily ponds, and more). Find your favorite and take a deep breath. We recommend listening to a Body Scan on your visit.

Not only can bibliophiles lust after the numerous books found in the lovely Huntington Library, but they can step outside and be transported to a garden only found in a Jane Austen novel. Roses and marble statues surround the ponds and waterfalls, with a Japanese-style bridge in the middle of it all. Lovers of romance and historical fiction will enjoy sitting among the flowers while reading Pride and Prejudice.