History | Highlights | What's in Bloom 

Temple's Garden, 1844s-1866

Formal gardens at Rancho Los Cerritos were first planted by John Temple in the 1840s and '50s. Surrounded by a high redwood fence to keep out the livestock, Temple's garden echoed a colonial garden style found on the East Coast. There was a main path leading from the central door to a focal point, a Moorish summerhouse, with secondary pathways providing access to a dozen raised beds filled with flowering shrubs, perennials, fruit trees and grape vines. Five Italian cypress trees provided vertical accents and, in time, became landmarks for travelers. A perimeter planting of black locust trees added seasonal interest. Plants undoubtedly came from local mission stock, trading ships, and even back East; the museum's archives include letters from Temple to his half brother in Massachusetts, seeking black locust, peach and plum seeds to plant. The garden was cared for by Native Americans, who hauled buckets of water from the river to nourish each planter bed. It was not until a severe drought in the early 1860s that Temple dug a well and built a cistern to provide a steady water supply.

The Gardens Serve New Owners, 1866-1881

Under Jotham and Margaret Bixby's care, and with the installation of a windmill and water tower, the gardens recovered from the 1860s droughts to provide nutritious fruit, glorious color and cool shelter for the family. The children stored their croquet set in the summerhouse, and the women often sewed, read or watched over the young ones, taking shade under the orange trees or veranda in the heat of the day. The only surviving plants added by Jotham and Margaret Bixby during this time were two Australian Moreton Bay Fig trees, which eventually grew together and today have a dominating presence.

Decline and Rebirth

Between 1890 and 1927, when the adobe served as home to various boarders, the gardens were planted with row crops and used to house chickens and pigs. Their glory destroyed, there were only a dozen or so trees still standing when Llewellyn and Avis Bixby remodeled the house in 1930. Selecting noted landscape architect Ralph Cornell to redesign the gardens and grounds, the Bixbys directed their landscaper to incorporate existing trees and the old water tower into the new plan, and to reintroduce historic vegetation known to have been planted in Temple's garden. A vast lawn was installed for the family's use, and the central pathway was gently curved to soften the look and to get around one of Temple's cypress trees!

Cornell also planted the inner courtyard for the first time, since it no longer served as an entryway for horses and carriages of the 19th century. The courtyard became an intimate garden with fruit trees, sycamores and flowering plants, extending the family's living space. A small pond served as a focal point, with a bronze toad presiding over the water lilies.

To the south of the ranch house, Cornell planted a subtropical orchard with a variety of avocado, citrus, macadamia nut, loquat, sapote and cherimoya trees, surrounded by a hedge of lemon and strawberry guavas. This orchard was restored in 2003 with a grant from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association.

The gardens, ever-changing with the season, may be toured throughout the year during public hours or by scheduling a special garden tour. Products from their bounty, including jams and seeds, are available through the Museum Gift Shop.