Ways to Give

General operating support

Your donation to Descanso Gardens helps us grow! To make a donation, click here.

Tribute gifts

Whether you are honoring a deceased friend or loved one, or simply wish to honor a nature lover, you may name an Honoree when you make a gift to Descanso Gardens. To make a Tribute Gift, click here.

BencHES

At Descanso, we strive to create and nurture a natural, serene setting that offers a variety of experiences to people of all ages. We also want to give people the opportunity to stop, sit, see, and contemplate a bit. Throughout the Descanso landscape, we have identified a limited number of locations that provide an ideal setting for distinctive wood benches where guests can take a break and enjoy the view. Your tax-deductible gift provides important unrestricted support for Descanso Gardens, helps maintain a diverse living collection of plants and promote public understanding and appreciation of plants and the natural environment. In return, you may honor a loved one with an engraved plaque on a bench.

Landscape Benches
$25,000

Benefit: recognition plaque on a bench for a fixed term of 10 years.

These handmade wood benches are available in various locations throughout the Gardens and include an engraved recognition plaque to honor a loved one. To find out what locations are currently available, please contact the Development Office.

Rose Garden Labyrinth Benches
$5,000

Benefit: recognition plaque on a bench for a fixed term of 5 years.  

These hand-crafted benches are located in the newly constructed Rose Garden Labyrinth, a walking meditation space designed to move, breathe, slow down, and find moments for quiet meditation. The installation is complemented by a Labyrinth meditation and a Senses Meditation by Mariko Tu, encouraging visitors to pause and reflect.

For details on bench opportunities, contact the Development Office at (818) 952-4391 or development@descansogardens.org.

Planned Gifts

As an institution that has served many generations—of both plants and people—time takes on a different meaning in the presence of the Descanso oaks, some of them probably now in their fourth century of life. The good that people do in the world can live beyond their allotted years through careful estate planning that includes Descanso Gardens as a beneficiary. Deferred gifts may be pledged to Descanso Gardens. Including Descanso Gardens as a beneficiary of your estate will help the Gardens grow and evolve for generations to come.

Legacy Society

The Legacy Society was formed in order to offer our thanks to people who have notified us of their decision to include Descanso in their wills and estates. Recognition for members of the Legacy Society is provided by inclusion, as a special category, in the Descanso donor-recognition display located in the Courtyard: