Wishing tree at Descanso Gardens helps express hopes for a better 2021

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (KABC) -- If there was ever a year that you wished would just end, it was 2020.

But as we enter 2021, instead of dwelling on the past, Descanso Gardens wants you to look forward, stay positive and cast your wishes for the new year.

"We were thinking about how hard 2020 has been and we just thought, what a wonderful way to end the year, for allowing people to come in and make a wish about 2021," said Juliann Rooke, executive director of Descanso Gardens.

Descanso Gardens has transformed an old oak into a wishing tree.

Each pink tag is a written wish. So far, more than 10,000 wishes have been made in the month since the tree was installed.

Jennifer Dionne and her daughter Vivian each wrote down a wish

"We wished for continued good health and more love," she said.

Health and happiness were probably the most popular wish for 2021. Others wished their special someone a happy birthday. And there are some humorous wishes, like one for French fries.

"We have had to take some wishes down so there was room for new wishes. But we're saving them," Rooke said.

Visitors say the 150-acre garden has given them the ability to connect with nature and relax, while helping them cope with this devastating pandemic.

"Just being outside in nature kind of helps us do take a deep breath and reset," Jennifer Dionne said.