Virginia Robinson Gardens

Such a beautiful and inspiring spot!
I helped repaint the railings at Robinsons Gardens and had never been there before. We stayed all day to enjoy the atmosphere. Just beautiful!

This is a very little know tour, I think I saw it on a list of botanical gardens in California, maybe Wikipedia. It’s an estate tour of the house and gardens of the late Virginia Robinson. The tour was almost 2 hours and covered the house, tennis courts, pool, gardens, rose garden and tree forest.
Originally it was kind of a pain because you had to make a reservation beforehand and they only did tours on the weekdays so if you have a M-​F job you pretty much can’t go. When you get there you realize it’s on a residential street in Beverly Hills so the neighbors probably don’t want a lot of visitors on their street so the need for pre-​arranged reservations makes a lot more sense.
I liked it in a way that there weren’t many people around. In fact I was the only one on the tour. The docent was a retired man who had a lot of useful information. The gardens were beautiful and it was nice to be able to go to an older estate house in Beverly Hills. If you think about it you get a lot of what you pay for. The tour was pretty long and since not that many people know about it you really get the full attention of the tour guide.
I personally liked viewing the gardens the best but there is so much more. It has architecture, botany, and history. It would maybe be a good idea to look into the history of Los Angeles and of the Robinson May fortune before you come to get a little heads up.
What I liked about Virginia Robinson Gardens as opposed to Greystone nearby is that it was a little more effort for quite a bit of more reward. Though it was a pain to make a specific reservation I much rather have the personal experience than wander around Greystone with 10 thousand tourists doing the same thing and getting in the way of people’s pictures.

It’s a docent tour which lasts more than an hour… no wandering around, mind you. It was a nice day yesterday to tour the place. Gardens are really beautiful! Inside the estate were antique pieces gathered through worlds travel by Harry and Virginia Robinson. Find time to see the place… by appointment only.

This is truly the jewel of Beverly Hills! I have toured many historic sites and nothing compares to the enchanting aura of Robinson Gardens. The grounds and house are kept up to historic value and the docents and staff are delightful.
I recommend this to all ages! Not only is the tour visually pleasing the spoken history from the docents is amazing. Mrs. Robinson with her glamorous parties was truly the «1^st Lady of Beverly Hills». In addition to the tours, there are a diverse amount of events offered.
Also a great place to get involved if looking to volunteer with a smart group of people in a beautiful environment.
It would be a shame for you to live on the West Side and not experience this place!

Very lovely estate, a hidden find of things to do in L.A. Quiet and beautiful tour of the lovely home and gardens. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable on the interesting history of the Robinsons. This tour is for those that love to get away from crowds for a moment of peering into an era gone by.

Ok… if you have kids… skip this place. If you are interested in history, gardens, and seeing a small luxury house then might be worth it. The house is extremely small… not what you would expect for a mansion in Beverly Hills. You only get to see one part of the house as well. The grounds though are quite amazing and nice. If you are not a walker… with steps etc then you might have a hard time taking the tour. Not a to do list of things in LA but if you have time then worth your trip.

Virginia Robinson of the Robinson– May Department stores, whose family built this home in 1911 was known as the «First Lady of Beverly Hills.»
She was famous for her bridge games and lavish parties– which were frequented by Fred Astaire and Maurice Chevalier among others.
She also loved the tropics and transformed her 6 acres into a miniature tropical paradise complete with exotic plants, rare specimens, pools and fountains.
The estate is listed on The National List of Historic Places and while you do have to make reservations for a tour– the gardens are open to the public.
If you happen to like history and botanicals, like I do you’ll probably find RVG enjoyable.
Additionally, they host an assortment of events. A quick glance at the calendar would tell you that they have a Fendi Board Meeting on September 4^th, A «History of the Dining Room» Lecture on Oct 2^nd and a lecture on Oct 28^th entitled «Learn whats new in drought resistant plants.» All of which sound interesting to me. :)

Beautiful gardens, hidden in the hills of Beverly, up behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. Reservations are required, admission is $ 10. They only have room for limited cars and are only open Tuesday — Friday.
The house is much smaller than someone would build on such a huge lot today. Nice to see that people didn’t need to megamansionize back in the day. The house and garden belonged to Virginia Robinson of the Robinson’s department store family. The estate used to be even larger but I believe some of the acres were sold off over the years.
Along with Greystone this is one of two estates and gardens open to the public in Beverly Hills.
The pool pavillion is beautiful and there are some incredible flowers in the garden, including roses as well as more unusual flora.
The whole time you are there you must be with your docent on a tour, so alas not a place to relax for an afternoon — don’t I wish!