Friday, June 5, 2026

Dinosaurs Built From Bark and Branches Arrive at Descanso Gardens

[photo credit: Descanso Gardens]

The La Cañada Flintridge botanical garden opens a new installation of Cretaceous Period sculptures alongside its prehistoric plant collections

The dinosaurs have arrived at Descanso Gardens, and they are made of plants.

Life-sized sculptures of Cretaceous Period dinosaurs and early mammals — crafted from natural materials by the Kentucky-based studio Applied Imagination — went on display this week in the Train Garden and Ancient Forest at the 150-acre botanical garden in La Cañada Flintridge, about five miles from Pasadena. A three-day opening weekend running Friday through Sunday features fossil discovery tables, dinosaur puppet demonstrations from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and hands-on activities for children, all included with regular garden admission.

The sculptures will remain on display through the end of the year, according to the gardens’ event listing. But the opening weekend’s special programming — the puppet performances, the fossil tables, the Little Explorers children’s activities — runs only through Sunday.

Applied Imagination, which has been building what it calls “botanical architecture” from natural materials for more than three decades, according to its website, has created the Descanso Railroad’s rotating exhibits since the train garden opened in 2024. For the railroad’s earlier installations, the studio used cedar trunks, bark, branches, and other organic materials, some sourced from the gardens themselves, according to a 2024 report in the LA Times. The dinosaur sculptures, also crafted from natural materials according to the gardens’ event listing, are the newest rotation for the train landscape.

What makes the Descanso installation distinctive is where the sculptures sit. The gardens’ Ancient Forest is home to cycads, tree ferns, ginkgos, and other plant species that have survived virtually unchanged since the actual age of dinosaurs, according to the gardens’ website. The botanical sculptures now stand among their living counterparts.

On Friday, members can enter at 8:00 a.m. for a two-hour preview before the garden opens to the general public at 10:00 a.m. The opening day schedule runs through 7:00 p.m. and includes Little Explorers dinosaur-themed activities at Magnolia Court from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., fossil discovery at the Promenade from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Natural History Museum puppet performances at the Promenade from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with Little Explorers returning at Magnolia Court from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and fossil discovery at Magnolia Court from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The gardens are also launching a Summer Passport program at the opening. Visitors can pick up a passport at the Bridge and collect a limited-edition sticker during each two-week window through August, according to the event listing. Those who collect all six earn a special dinosaur sticker.

General admission to Descanso Gardens is $18 for adults, $14 for seniors 65 and over and students with current ID, and $8 for children ages 3 to 12, according to the gardens’ website. Members and children 2 and under enter free. The dinosaur installations and opening weekend activities require no additional ticket beyond regular admission. Train ride tickets are $5, available at Guest Services.

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Cañada Flintridge. Parking is free. Information: 818-949-4200 or descansogardens.org.

The Ancient Forest’s cycads and ferns date from an age when dinosaurs wandered the world, according to the gardens’ website. The sculptures beside them are newer — crafted from natural materials — but they share the same idea: that something ancient can still hold your attention.