Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens

The Garden Lanscape
The four acre garden at Rancho Los Alamitos is one of the true traditional California gardens of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The gardens we see today are the work of Florence Bixby, assisted by prominent landscape designers and plantsmen. They evolved from 1906 through the late 1940’s as intimate, lovely outdoor rooms that created a green band around the house in the semi-arid climate. Enjoyed by family and friends alike, the simple, restrained gardens are distinctive because they were created in a time of flamboyant regional horticulture. Discover how the garden plants and trees reveal the region’s culture and environment as well as new borders and boundaries on the once open landscape.

History
Rancho Los Alamitos (Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods) was originally known as Povuu'nga. The story of Rancho Los Alamitos reflects almost every era of the history of Southern California. Beginning around 500 A.D. when the mesa was an important ceremonial and trading center for the Tongva people, the story flows through the Spanish and Mexican periods, spans the great cattle raising years, the early 20th Century oil discoveries, and moves on into the rapid urbanization that followed World War II.

Today, surrounded by modern development, the old ranch house, four acres of tranquil gardens, and barns stand as vibrant reminders of Southern California's rich historical legacy. There are five agricultural buildings, including a working blacksmith's shop, live farm animals, four acres of nationally significant gardens designed by the preeminent landscape architects of the 1920s-1940s, and a sprawling adobe ranch house dating from c.1800. Walk around the site and enjoy this rare oasis and the shared legacy of regional culture and environment.

The Rancho is open Wednesday through Sunday beginning at 1pm, with the last tour starting at 4pm. School and special tours can be scheduled & all tours are free.