Sunday, July 6, 2014

Central Garden at The Getty Museum



One of my favorite parts of visiting the Getty Center in Brentwood besides the art works is the garden in the back. The garden is designed with circle of hedges and trees. 



Central Garden is at the heart of the famous Getty Center which is a 134,000 square-foot garden created by artist Robert Irwin. The garden features a ravine and tree-lined walkways. The walkways traverse a stream that winds through a variety of plants and descends to a plaza with bougainvillea arbors. The arbor itself is a piece of art used to hold the bougainvillea vines.  A stream cascades over a stone waterfall into the signature maze of clipped azaleas surrounded by a garden of specialty plants.

The garden is well kept and maintained with all the plants looking nice; no dead foliage anywhere and the hedge are neatly trimmed. The garden needs to be cared for continuously, this is an example of what a garden in Los Angeles should be. Most of the plants are not from somewhere and are not suited for the Los Angeles climate.

If you like a good place to watch the sun set while eating al fresco, the Central Garden should be high on your list when visiting the Los Angeles region. This garden is not for serious gardeners but would be good just for visiting.

The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90049. Other than the parking fee, there is no entrance fee to visit the museum.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Tree Rose



Tree roses are also known as standard roses. They are cultivated by grafting a rose on a trunk to produce a tall plant that has long stems and colorful flowers. Standard roses combine the best elements of a strong rootstock, a tall stem, and the desired flower. Standard roses are used in the landscape to create height.


Just Joey Tree Rose


Full-size standard roses grow 4 to 6 feet while varieties grow 12 inches tall. Dwarf standard roses share the tree-like shape, the long stems, and the rich flower color, just in a smaller size.

I have planted several standard roses a few years ago and they are still in very good shape. I give them a good pruning every spring and once again middle of summer; severe pruning in spring must be done in order to have a compact crown. Deadheading must be done as soon as the flowers fade. 


Red Ingrid Bergman Tree Rose


Some of my favorite tree rose I have in my garden are the Just Joey and the red Ingrid Bergman which I have several. Although both roses does not have fragrance, their bloom size and form are spectacular.