Getty Museum Gardens, Los Angeles

We traveled to the west coast last weekend for a family wedding. It was a very scenic venue for the ceremony and reception on a palisade overlooking the beach at Malibu.

We had time to visit the Getty Museum and see Van Gogh's Irises

as well as the surrounding gardens which are truly amazing!

The bouganvillea on the steel pergola resembling trees 

are a striking contrast to the travertine of the buildings.

The stream gardens leading to the pergolas

reflect light and shadow through the branches of the 

London plane trees.

The bowl of the garden continues the play of light and shadow 

on the upper sides

but opens into full sun at the center of the bottom.

When we visited the water was turned off due to drought.

Those are azalea in the floating maze.

Despite the drought, the Brugmansia

or Golden Angels' Trumpets

were in full bloom.

And mixed with exotics are the stuff of everyday gardens:

morning glory on stakes.

And as we walked up the other side of the bowl, we

again entered a play of shadow and light along the paths.

And roses were trained in tree-shaped pergolas also.

The moon was visible above the bowl 

and the Research Building.

The plant material was as sculptural as 

the architecture

 and the Henry Moore Draped Reclining Mother and Child.

The wedding was just magical.

Love those LA gardens!

Mid-August Dog Days

It hasn't seemed like the "dog days" as the temperatures have been cool and the skies sunny, but the garden shows the progression toward autumn anyway.  There hasn't been much rain and the gardeners have the "blahs" also despite the incredible weather for August.

The last of the 'Happy Returns' day lilies.

And the last of my other day lily varieties.

The Helenium or Sneezeweed now dominates the going-to-Fall garden.

Look at all that pollen!

The Buddleia or butterfly bush has its second bloom.

The Heliopsis or perennial sunflower also has a second bloom.

Never as bountiful as the first but fine for the bees.

Irena's indoor hibiscus plant is finally blooming.

First one!  I've been plant-sitting all summer and waiting for this moment.

Mary Ellen's perennial hibiscus is still blooming dinner plate-sized flowers.

And many more buds are visible but the leaves are like lace (being eaten by some bug).

But a real sign of Fall is the first asters...

It's coming, ready or not!