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A place for strolling and quiet contemplation, Huntington’s Japanese Garden is among America’s oldest of its kind. Its canyon setting is accented by a shimmering pond filled with koi fish and lovely water lilies.

This exotic garden with its clusters of whimsical cacti and flowering succulents, has an otherworldly feel. One of the world’s finest, it’s a study of the ways in which desert plants adapt to survive in harsh conditions.

This rare 1410 manuscript of English poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous work is complete, in marvellous condition, and filled with luminous illustrations. It’s perhaps better known as the “Ellesmere Manuscript,” after its former owner, the Earl of Ellesmere.

The Huntington Library’s star exhibit, this 1455 Bible is one of only 12 surviving copies printed on vellum (calf or sheep skin) by Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany, the inventor of movable type. The colorful chapter headings and decorations were added by hand.

This romantic garden brings you nearly 1,800 rose varieties, some of them with a pedigree going back to ancient Greece. These noble blossoms may be enjoyed from March right through December, May is the peak month.

The art of grooming and training trees into fully mature but dwarf-sized versions originated in ancient China and Japan. This small but exquisite collection includes specimens of California juniper, gingko, and Japanese black pine.

The palms and stone statues lining the central lawn of this Baroque garden reminds one of European palaces. It connects the Huntington Gallery with a dolphin-studded Italian fountain against a San Gabriel mountain backdrop.

Charles and Henry Greene, known for their wooden houses and fine furnishings, were the first to practice the early 20th-century Craftsman style (see Greene & Greene Craftsman Houses).

The newest gallery space at the Huntington, the Boone began life in 1911 as a garage. With columns that echo the Neo-Classical style of the mansion, it is used for temporary exhibitions.

Camellias reached the Western world in the 18th century. With about 1,200 varieties (in bloom from January to March), this garden has one of the finest collections.