I missed out on a lot going on around town when I was writing the centennial history book for The Los Angeles Breakfast Club (which is coming out later this year). I was too busy, too overwhelmed to maintain my baseline level of vigilance and diligence when it comes to avoiding regret.
So when the six wooden sculptures of Thomas Dambo’s TROLLS: Save the Humans arrived at South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes in late 2023—and only stuck around for just over three months—I didn't have the bandwidth to figure out what they were or why I should go until it was too late.
Until my coauthor pointed out that Thomas Dambo is Danish and would be bringing a permanent troll installation to California's Danish town, Solvang.
I still haven't made it up north to see that one—which debuted in early 2025—but I got a second chance at the South Coast Botanic Garden this spring, with the arrival of 12 brand new trolls as part of Thomas Dambo’s Trolls: A Field Study, which runs through October 4.
I wasn't going to miss it this time.
While the prior exhibit brought trolls to the botanical garden to teach humans how to rediscover nature and protect the planet, this time around the "Twelvelings" are here to observe and learn about us.
Poppy, the "Bait Troll" in the Desert Garden, draws visitors closer to her with a tantalizing handful of cell phones.
And of course since we've all already got our own cell phones with us, each troll has a nearby plaque with a QR code that leads to Thomas Dambo's Troll Map, where you can mark the trolls as "found" and find out more about them.
Wilde the "Writer Troll" is fascinated with the "magic pocket stars" that humans are always holding in their hands—and the "pocket star world" they also live in. She's the note-taker of the Twelvelings, and she likes to find a little spot of her own, tucked into a wooded corner where she can observe us quietly.
Valle the "Sleepy Troll" finds studying humans exhausting—but also relates to their love of couch time and naps. (I myself wanted to do nothing more than snuggle up in front of him for a few moments.)
Despite what the signs say, there are no trolls crossing the paths that run alongside meadows and groves of eucalyptus.
Instead, they wait for you in hushed crouches, maybe even in disguise, hoping you'll happen upon them. Because as much as we're in pursuit of them, they too are in pursuit of us.
They all have different hair, made from fallen branches and twigs of various types of trees—like Corkscrew hazel, white poplar, beech, birch, conifers, cherry, and walnut, hazelnut, and chestnut.
If you get too close trying to examine the details of the bark, you just might get captured in a net.
Bignut the "Trapper Troll" says it's easy to catch a human, because all you have to do is call out "Free Things!" and they come running.
Fortunately most of the traps are child-sized, so my friend and I couldn't fit inside them even if we wanted to (which, we kind of did).
But as Birch the "Measuring Troll" has learned, humans come in all sorts of shapes and sizes—which he thinks is just marvelous.
Not sure what he thinks of the rest of the animal kingdom, but he's got a cat carved into his measuring stick.
Anja the "Counting Troll" loves to count so much, she's got a handful of rocks and two buckets to throw them in so she can count more than one thing at once.
Like his other trolls, Dambo crafted her out of pieces of discarded wooden pallets, which form even the smallest details—right down to her fingernails.
Kirse does a handstand, waiting for visitors to mirror her movement...
...while Taks, the youngest of the trolls, shields his eyes from the sun while in search of study subjects.
Legend has it, it was Taks who first spotted a human and convinced the rest of the Twelvelings to begin observing us.
And Boge learned the hard way that you can't shake or squeeze humans too hard...
...because although we seem quite tough, and we can act pretty destructive...
...we're actually quite fragile.
The botanic garden has done a good job of marking the Troll Trail with colorful, shiny things—with wayfinding signage that instructs visitors to "Follow the Sparkles" (as if I need to be told!).
But of course I got distracted by some of the botanical delights to behold, like the cotton-ball clusters of the silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa)...
...whose fibers (the "silk floss") erupt out of the seed pods and can be used as insulation or stuffing for cushions and pillows and such.
"It looks like a good time of year to visit because a lot is in bloom," I said to my friend...
...and a volunteer interrupted me and said, "It's always a good time to visit because we have something blooming all year."
Well, it was a good time of day to visit, too—because as the garden was closing, we caught a glimpse of a rabbit tip-toeing through the greenery to catch a nibble or two.
The Trolls exhibit is actually open during limited nighttime events in the garden. Should I go?
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