The Busch Gardens^ Pasadena, Cal 



By Rob?rt G. Fiaser, California 



The construction of the Dusch Gardens was begun 

 November 30, 1904: the first work done, because of 

 the necessity to get grading started, being the removal of 

 boulders and brush and the forming of trails to get the 

 teams on to the ground. In many places fills had to be 

 made from six to fifty feet in depth, the earth being taken 

 principally from what is now known as the Sunken 

 Gardens, the dugouts being as low as a hundred feet at 

 times. The condition of the ground was such that 

 dvnamiting had to be resorted to frequently in grading. 

 The work of grading was largely done by teams, with 

 Fresno Scrapers. The heaviest work was done in the 

 L'pper Gardens, the acreage of which comprises about 

 forty acres. 



The Lower Gardens, which cover about thirty acres, 

 were also graded at heavy expense, although this expense 

 w-as not nearly as great as in the Upper Gardens. This 

 portion of the park is built along natural lines. Here 

 are a great many live oaks which assist in carrying out 

 the efifect desired. The shape of the Lower (jarden is 

 much like an amphitheatre. It is staged with an artifi- 

 cial lake which covers about an acre of land, and canyons 

 made from a higher elevation serve to convey the water, 

 suggestive of a natural source of water supply ; many 

 winding trails lead among the live oaks to resting places, 

 .such as arbors and summer houses ; about ten acres have 

 been set to lawns kept in a condition suggestive of rural 

 swards. The Lower Gardens abound in animal life: tur- 

 keys, pheasants, peacocks, chickens, pigeons : slieep. rab- 

 bits and ground hogs which are a constant source of de- 

 light to children. Here, also, are groups representing 

 different stories from the Grimm's Fairy Tales. These 

 were sent especially from Germany by Mrs. Busch for 

 the express purpose of entertaining visitors — principally 

 children. They represent the Fishermen, Snow White 

 and the Seven Courtiers : Ashputel, Red Riding Hood, 

 Gretchen and Hansel, and others that are fa\'orites 

 among the little folk. 



The Upper (jardens are more conventional in their 

 lay-out. Twenty-five or thirty acres of this land is cov- 

 ered with lawns, the remainder being set out to flower 

 beds, shrubs and trees of all kinds and varities suited to 

 our semi-tropic climate. Here grow a great many citrus 

 fruits — navels, tangerines, grape fruit, lemons, lofpiats. 

 etc. Here are also apples, ]ieaches, apricots, prunes, the 

 bread fruit tree and other tropical fruits. 



Including both gardens, there are fourteen miles of 

 drives and trails in the park. 



All of this work has been planned and carried out 

 through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphus P.usch 

 whose sole desire is giving pleasure to the general public 



as well as to themselves. The park is open to all who 

 may wish to visit it and while away many jileasant hours. 

 X'isitors are welcome daily from nine in the morning 

 until five in the evening. At night the gardens are lighted 

 by electricity. The lights, gleaming out from arbor and 

 tree are exceedingly effective and make tiie Upper and 

 Lovv-er Gardens even more beautiful at night than in the 

 daytime, especially as the ra} ^ strike the water falls. It 

 is at this time that the miniature mill of Banbur}- Cross 

 in ilie Upper (iardens. is ver\" attractive with its big 

 water wheel and flood gates. 



During the building of the Gardens the force of men 

 employed often exceed a hundred. Even now the upkeep 

 of the place requires twenty-two men constantly em- 

 ployed in the winter and about thirty during the summer. 



When Mr. Busch bought these grounds, it was prophe- 

 sied that it would be an impossible task to turn them into 

 a thing of beauty, for they were a waste of gravel, stone 

 and sand, with here and there a patch of riotous growth : 

 but Mr. I'usch proved that "out of the coarsest rags the 

 finest silks can be made" if you only have determination 

 and an artistic eye. 



The gardens being of a ver_\ hilly nature, a vast expen- 

 diture was necessary to protect them against damage by 

 storm waters during the winter. This required thirty- 

 eight carloads of storm water piping in sizes ranging 

 from four inches to twenty-two inches in diameter, to 

 carrv off this water. Another heav\- expenditure in the 

 Lower Garden came from reclaiming a great deal of 

 the acreage and making a new channel for the Arroyo 

 Seco River which is dry during the summer months, 

 but carries an immense flood down from the mountains, 

 where it has its source, during the w'inter rainy season. 

 This has been made to serve as a drainage for the Busch 

 Estate. In changing its natural channel, a great deal or 

 grading and filling in was required, besides the building 

 of reinforced cement walls to confine its flooded waters. 

 This river bed has now been turned into one of the beautv 

 spots of the estate and has reclaimed many acres of what 

 is now alfalfa land used as pasture for the slieep and a 

 run for the turkeys. 



No single city in California could adequately supply 

 water to such a large estate — especially during the drv 

 season. The Pasadena Water Department, therefore, 

 could not supply ^Ir. Busch with the amount of water 

 required to maintain these extensive Gardens: so Mr. 

 Busch had to buy some fifteen acres of land about a mile 

 east of the gardens, put down wells and install a pumping 

 station. This furnishes to the Gardens daily one hun- 

 dred miner's inches of water which is propelled bv elec- 

 tric pressure against a resistance of forty feet. 



CALIFORNIA— The general impression is that it is a land of heat and aridity, but as a matter of fact it has a varied climate — hot and 

 dry in the south, agreeably cool in the middle section, with a mild winter season, while in the highlands of the north the great for- 

 ests of evergreens prove that moisture and a very moderate temperature exist, without which they could not flourish. There can be 



no doubt as to the horticultural possibilities of California. Within twenty-five years it has become one of the chief flower and vege- 

 table seed raising regions of the world. It is one of the richest frut lands on our continent. Wealthy people from many parts of 

 America are making themselves beautiful homes there, and the delightful winter climate of so much of California annually attracts 

 thousands of visitors. From a botanist's and gardener's point of view it is one of t'ne most remarkable lands that can be named. All 

 the best plant, tree and shrub introductions of the Mediterranean region of China, Japan, Chili, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa 

 have been introduced and flourish. Subjects that we in the east can only attempt to grow in greenhouses are here tlie favorite out- 

 door shrubbery or bedding plants. Think of its immense vineyards, its olive groves, orange, peacli and prune orchards, its pineapples, 

 avocados, apricots, cherries, figs, and nuts. It is the home of many of the finest of our annual flowers, such as Eschscholzia. Clarkia, 

 Nemophlia, Platystemon, Gilia, Mimulus, Lupines, Coneopsis, which bloom from February until April, according to the latitude and 

 altitude in which they grow. From the cacti of the south to the Big Trees near San Francisco, and the great pines upon the mountains 

 of the northern tracts, California has a place for almost every class of plants. The hills afford a plentiful supply of water even in the 

 hotter southlands, and with the skill of the growers and a reasonably good soil, even the hitherto drylands are being and have been 

 converted into rich orchards and gardens. 



During this month when the florists, gardeners and park superintendents are making their sojorun there, attention is directed 

 to this land of promise and to its possibilities, which may also be possibilities for you and me, and the influence of the great western 

 state must certainly react for the good and the advancement of horticulture — using that term in its very widest and broadest sense. 

 It is time we all realized more fully just what California is, how large, how varied its topography, climates, rainfall, flavor, and weighed 

 the question. What of its future? 



