Descanso Gardens

Manchester Boddy, publisher of the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, bought 165 acres of the San Rafael Hills in 1937 and called the estate Rancho del Descanso — the ranch of rest. He planted camellias by the tens of thousands beneath the native oaks, and the collection that resulted is among the largest anywhere, recognised by the International Camellia Society as a garden of excellence. Los Angeles County acquired the property in 1953 on the condition that it remain a public garden in perpetuity. Concerts and performances take place out of doors, among the oaks and the camellia forest.