LATE-SUMMER HELLO: We're all a bit used to hearing about cold-climate destinations that sometimes shutter when the frost gets to be a bit too much. Maybe the roads, too, are impassable, thanks to a preponderance of flakes, and perhaps a series of giant drifts are keeping winter visitors at bay. But sometimes celebrated spaces in some of our hotter desert regions choose to slow it down on the opposite end of the calendar. That's understandable, for sure, and certainly when the temperatures push upwards in dramatic fashion. One such place that takes the summer "off," at least in terms of tours if not in other ways, is Sunnylands Center & Gardens in Rancho Mirage. The former Annenberg Estate has been open for tours for a half decade now, and people arrive in the fall, winter, and spring to see the succulent-filled gardens, the beautiful sculptures, and to enjoy the art exhibits. Good news: The re-opening date is nearly here, on...
THURSDAY, SEPT. 14, and tickets are now available for upcoming tours. Sunnylands, which also includes a gift shop and café, closed in early June to tours, but staffers have stayed busy over the summer, and photos on social media have told the tale. There's been set-up (and gallery painting) for the upcoming exhibit "Carved Narrative: Los Hermanos Chávez Morado," and care for the property's flora (and, yes, fauna, too — hello, sweet Great Horned Owl). It's nearly time for the estate's aficionados to return for tours, special movie events, and more. Find your way to one of the desert's most fabled and fabulous spreads by calling upon Sunnylands for a tour, a peek inside the center, lunch, or a garden bask in the autumn sun.
