Watch, Read, Listen

So the story goes that the upper ponds in the Japanese Garden were filled with mud many decades ago, mud carried down the canyon in flash flood waters. And the significant point has been that rather than dig out the mud, workers just let it dry and then capped it with a new concrete pond bottom. Those upper ponds are significantly shallower than the main ponds at the garden center

Another post in a series about Mr. Huntington's Garden by the botanical director of The Huntington.

While out in the Shakespeare Garden yesterday, one of the guards reminded me that April 23 (this Saturday) is the day we celebrate Shakespeare's birthday. We have replanted the garden just in time to bring a bit more life and color to the clearing over which Shakespeare presides.

A new exhibition opens Saturday, April 23, which happens to be William Shakespeare's birthday. At first glance, "Revisiting the Regency: England, 1811–1820" might seem to be of greater interest to Jane Austen fans than to admirers of the Bard.

Monday was President's Day all over again. Pulitzer Prizes in history and biography went to books about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Ron Chernow's Washington: A Life took the honors for best biography

Botanist that I am, seemingly trivial and arcane plant knowledge sometimes gets in the way of simple, normal experiences. Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which always means to me that people make convenient and curious choices while trying to round up palm fronds for decoration. At our church, the altar greenery was sago palm

A red-caped knight in golden armor rears up on a brave and formidable steed. He thrusts a massive lance toward a newly downed warrior. But wait! Another knight charges from behind with a lethal-looking spear raised high. And, oh no!

Pulitzer Prizes will be announced on Monday, April 18, including the categories of history, biography, and general nonfiction. While Huntington scholars have garnered this top honor on several occasions, including Daniel Walker Howe in 2008 for What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848