Self-guided Garden Tour

A Brief History of the Gardens

John Temple built the historic adobe house in 1844 and started planting the site’s first formal garden at that time. Temple was from New England, so the colonial-style garden reflected the East Coast influence. He had black locust, apple, plum, and peach trees shipped around Cape Horn for his new garden. He also planted pomegranates, mission grapes, Italian cypress, oranges, and lemons, which were available in Mexican California.

After Flint, Bixby & Co purchased the property in 1866, Jotham and Margaret Bixby moved into the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe. Maintaining the ranch and livestock was the priority, so they dug a well and built a water tower and windmill. These improvements enabled the garden to prosper as well. The Bixbys and their extended family spent many hours in the garden, as fondly recounted by Sarah Bixby Smith in Adobe Days (1925).

From the 1880s through the 1920s, the property was inhabited by a series of tenants. Row crops replaced many of the ornamental plants, and pigs and chickens had the run of the backyard.

In 1929, Llewellyn Bixby purchased the property and embarked upon extensive renovations of both the house and grounds. Landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell was commissioned to design and install the estate garden. In an attempt to honor the historic nature of the garden, Cornell incorporated much of the existing plant material into the design.

Here is the approximate route you will take on this self-guided tour.

California Native Garden

Designed as a buffer zone and watershed along the property line as part of the 1931 estate, Cornell integrated native plants with popular exotics. Much of this buffer zone has been changed to accommodate the 1950s parking lot and today our Visitor Center. Renovated in 2014, many of the historic trees remain and create a shady environment enhanced with many California native plants.

In 1929, Llewellyn Bixby purchased the property and embarked upon extensive renovations of both the house and grounds. Landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell was commissioned to design and install an estate garden. In an attempt to honor the historic nature of the garden, Cornell incorporated much of the existing plant material into the design.

Plants of Interest in the Native Garden

Leaving the Visitor Center, you will notice brightly colored panels as you enter the California Native Garden. These panels explain how the dry stream bed serves the Rancho and neighboring properties by capturing run-off during rainy weather.

Next to the panels, you can see mahonia. Mahonia leaves shift from shades of dark green to a red color. Small yellow spring flowers add contrast to the foliage. These plants were used by indigenous people for food and dye.

Please note: The indigenous people were experts when it came to the uses of plants. Please do not pick or eat any of the plants on-site.

In between the two panels, you will see a Catalina Ironwood. The ironwood gets its name from the density of its tree’s wood. The indigenous people would use the branches to make tools that range from shafts for paddles and shovels, to building materials. While the wood is incredibly dense it also floats.

You’ll notice the sycamores (trees with pale bark) around you. There are also some oak trees at the end of the winding path. Oak trees are considered the beginning of civilization. They enjoy the same environment that people do and the acorn fed people around the world including the Tongva from this region. When you are ready to exit the California Native Garden you can take the stairs or use the path from where you entered.

Next, we suggest you head to the adobe and enter the inner courtyard.  Once a dusty, bustling place of industry.  In 1931 landscape architect, Ralph Cornell changed the traffic pattern directing guests to the forecourt upon arrival. The inner courtyard became an intimate garden with a brick terrace that extended their living space and a small pond to act as a focal point.

Upon exiting the inner courtyard, turn left to the orchard path to the along the adobe house.

1930’s Orchard

There have been fruit trees on the site since the 1840s, including lemon, orange, and pomegranate. During the 1930s remodel, tropical and subtropical fruit trees were planted along the south side of the historic adobe house for shade.

The orchard includes citrus, loquats, sapotes, cherimoyas, macadamias, avocados, and guavas and was able to provide the Bixbys with fruit almost ten months of the year.

Please note: these historic fruit trees are under quarantine. Do not pick or eat the fruit. Once our museum shop reopens, you can purchase jams and marmalades.

Backyard Gardens

Entering the backyard from the orchard you will notice a large tree very close to the adobe home on your left. This is a Black Locust. The black locust trees, which boast fragrant spring flowers, were popular in New England during Temple’s childhood. Temple planted black locusts along the perimeter of his 1840s garden. The specimen located next to the library is interesting because the family chose to shave the corner of the adobe house during the 1930s renovation to accommodate the tree’s roots, rather than cutting down the tree.

Walk past the Birds of Paradise and take the dirt path on your right lined with pomegranate trees. Three pomegranates remain from Temple’s 1840s garden, and they still produce a small crop of fruit that ripens during the fall. As the trees aged, they reclined and formed new roots where the trunk touched the earth. This extended their lives while adding a sculptural element to the garden.

Water Tower and Historical Features